All aboard who's coming aboard

The Teignmouth - Shaldon ferry is England's oldest passenger ferry. The ferry crossing can be traced back to 1296, possibly even earlier. The present boats, Ferry No. 4,  built in 1946, & Ferry No. 5 built around 1973 operate every day except Xmas Day, New Year's Day, plus dangerous crossing conditions. Back in the day  the crossing saved travellers a 14 mile trip from Teignmouth via Newton Abbot to Shaldon. The first bridge across the river Teign from Teignmouth to Shaldon  was built in 1927, saving the longer trip. The service is very useful to locals wanting to nip across to Teignmouth, it's also used by many holidaymakers, & those walking the South West Coastal Path. The present cost of a single ticket for an adult is £1.60, children reduced price, dogs go free.

This morning I woke early, a few jobs to do before I head down to Teignharvey, a bit of a rush, although I don't think I stopped much yesterday, anyway, stored the veg I brought back from the allotment, popped a few Osteospermum cuttings in a pot, rescued my Agapanthus seedlings, up to their necks in water, packed my clothes, packed some veggies etc. to feed myself while I'm there looking after Yogi, & found my wellies in the shed, think I'll be needing those this trip. Quick breakfast, 4 Lotus Biscoff biscuits, then it was time to leave. There is a view down across the estuary from above Weir farm that Rockarea has photographed that I would have loved to have stopped to photograph this morning. The light was beautiful, the water was sparkling, Teignmouth shone in the sunlight. It's a view that I would love to have a go at with a lino cut .... maybe ...... one day ..... when I have time.
Arrived on the dot of 9am, Jim headed off, back some time on Friday. I hauled my bags in then Yogi & I headed down to Hearn field.  Birds galore on the estuary this morning, the tide was going out, there was a flock of geese, not sure if they were Canada, or Brent, not close enough for me to identify, swans, Little egrets, cormorants, gulls, & Terns. The Terns were in the air just above the water en masse, dipping & feeding. Fascinating to stop awhile to enjoy but Yogi had other ideas. He wanted to play fetch, which he's very good at. He stank when we got back,  a dip in the estuary,  so I gave him a quick swoosh in the shower. He stood there as good as gold while I hosed him down. He goes to the grooming parlour so I guess he knows the drill. I had about 30 minutes to kill so picked up some windfall Bramley's, & checked the walled garden, just to be nosy.
Next stop, meet Mum & hubby at Morrison's. We had coffee, & a catch up then shopped. Neither Mum or I  familiar with the layout so it was a tad laboured but we got there in the end. Said goodbye to them both, sat in the car, returned a call to cassiesmum that I missed earlier, sad news, :( , then Googled history of Shaldon/Teignmouth. Nada, well nothing that I found interesting, then I thought of the foot ferry. Drove across to Shaldon, parked up, walked along to the beach, spotted the ferry. No customers. :( Typical! I sat awhile,  spotted 3 "bounty hunters" with their metal detectors combing the point, & a couple exercising  dogs on Back beach. After about 15 minutes, the ferryman came down the beach, boarded Ferry No. 4, then they set sail for Teignmouth. Great! Please let there be some passengers on the return............................... & there were, by which time there was a bit of a queue forming on the beach this side in Shaldon. Click- click- click plus a few more.
Back to Yogi, lunch, then another walk for us both.
Made a scrummy veggie & coconut soup for dinner. I thought to myself when I was picking the runner beans that had got too big for slicing if the could be shucked and the beans cooked like the borlotti beans. I did'nt see any reason why not, so that's exactly what I did. 3 firsts in tonights meal. Homegrown Mooli, Borlotti & runner beans added to my soup. Such a satisfying feeling, such a tasty soup. Made enough for two days, ate it all tonight... Never mind I brought some courgette & hazelnut burgers with me. I won't starve that is for sure, I like my grub too much.

Time for bed, time to get into another book ............. The Lewis Man author - Peter May

Thanks to freyjad for hosting