A Visit To The North West

Dozybean and YarMatt have emigrated to the North West; to the barren wastelands of far northern Britain just outside Exeter.

Mrs The Millbrooker had already been to their new abode delivering Dozybean's motor, but I hadn't. As this is one of the few weekends that I get off from trying to maintain my cool in the face of open provocation from the travelling braindead (sorry - I mean travelling public), we decided it was high time to make the voyage into uncharted territory.

Before setting off, though, Mrs The Millbrooker spent a happy hour or two crawling around in the loft searching out the myriad boxes left behind by Dozy from her formative years:All such stuff was eventually rescued from the loft and loaded into the horseless carriage. After an hour or two riding shotgun through the badlands of Torpoint, the A30 and M5 we reached the little haven of peace that is Bradninch; St Disen's Church is just around the corner from Dozybean and YarMatt's new pad:

First up, of course, it was time for a nice cup of tea and a sit down® during which young Wrigglesworth, who is rapidly outgrowing his name and is much more of a young Intoeverythingsworth re-introduced himself to his Dragon Lord:We conversed in Dragon language for a while (at least that's what I was doing, I think he was just making noises and smacking my head) and then it was time to skedaddle over the road to the Castle Hotel for lunch where Intoeverythingsworth insisted on having a walk around the bar with his Nana:On the strength of just the one visit, I must say I liked The Castle - very friendly, decent pub grub, well kept ale. If you're ever on the M5 around the Cullompton turn off (Junction 28) and you're feeling hungry, head through Cullompton following the signs to Hele and/or Bradninch (it's only a couple of miles). You can't miss The Castle in Bradninch - it's right on the road through the village and it looks like this:Beats the hell out of a motorway service stop. This place comes with a Daily(ish) Millbrook recommendation! Lunch from 12 'til 2. B&B, coming soon, at £55 for the room. Contact info here.

But I digress, and so I shall return to the narrative of the day.

After a scrummy meal and a couple of pints of Betty Stogg's, we set off on a slightly chilly circuit of the lanes to the west of the town. Here's YarMatt doing the heavy work whilst Intoeverythingsworth takes the relaxing option:The wee town (I learned during our stop that it is a town, not a village, having received its charter in 1141) is certainly an attractive spot seen from above and behind (isn't that the case with so many things...)As is inevitable, time marched onwards and our day with the Devon-based Diddymen family drew to a close, but after a slap up tea at Diddington Corner, we were treated to a masterful display of marching up and down the sitting room by Intoeverythingsworth:

Now there was a jolly fine day out. Thanks for having us over, Dozybean and YarMatt - see you again soon.