After years of wanting to visit Devon but somehow never being able to find the time, this year, we were determined to make it happen.

We chose April as our month for Devon destinations and managed to find three house sits to fill the month.

To get the most from our trip, all three were in different locations.

Exeter, Paignton, and Exmouth.

Spoiler Alert! – We got carried away and booked a fourth house sit, which unexpectedly extended our stay into May. More on that next month!

However, before we started our first Devon house sit, we had a one-night hotel stay booked.

One night in a hotel

Our April house sit number one was in Exeter.

The home hosts had asked us to arrive early.

They wanted to show us around their home and introduce us to their pets before they set off for their morning flight.

Rather than stressing about catching a ridiculously early Woking to Exeter train on the day the house sit was due to start, we decided a better option was to check into a local hotel the night before.

All we needed was a place to arrive, eat, sleep, and leave.

It is hard to go wrong with a budget chain hotel, so, on this occasion, we chose Premier Inn.

The hotel was as expected. ✔️

Cheap (£59), Clean (if you don’t count the sock I found under the chair), and, according to their advertising blurb, it guaranteed us a good night’s sleep. (The cynic in me thinks there will be a lot of small print)

The on-site restaurant was a bit of a disappointment. ❌

It was part of the ‘The Beefeater’ chain, so admittedly, any expectations I had of a decent vegetarian option were always a long shot.

Hanging on the wall above our table was a banner. It told us the Beefeater chain had been trading for fifty years.

To be honest, the banner wasn’t entirely necessary. Looking at the Décor and menu, we could easily have guessed.

I stayed safe and went for Pizza.

Karyo opted for what he thought was silver salmon, but couldn’t hide his disappointment when it turned out to be a sliver of salmon.

The highlight of the meal was the look the waitress with a face like a slapped arse gave us, when we pointed out the two, very small blobs of cheap ice cream, on the two, very large plates she brought to our table didn’t resemble the towering chocolate Ice cream Sundae depicted on the menu!

Modern? ❌ Good Food? ❌ Good Value? ❌ Good Service? ❌

A fair summary of the evening would be “sixty quid down the swanny”

First Pet & House Sit in April – Exeter

We woke early and, as guaranteed, we’d both had a good night’s sleep.

The reason we had plumped for this particular Premier Inn was its location.

It was only a three-minute taxi ride or a fifteen-minute walk to the house of our first House sit.

As we were feeling refreshed by our guaranteed good night’s sleep, or maybe because we are tight arses, we dragged our suitcases for fifteen long minutes towards what was to be our home for the next two weeks.

The Pets

We had two pets to care for in our first house sit.

Clover, a five-year-old cat, and Bailey, a sixteen-year-old dog

Clover is an indoor/outdoor cat. She didn’t have a cat flap, but did like to explore the great outdoors.

To let us know when she wanted to go outside, she would sit patiently by the door, looking up towards the handle until one of us opened it.

This happened many times each day. I’m sure she thought the only reason we were there was as stand-in cat butlers whilst her more permanent butlers were on holiday.

Her likes were chasing anything and playing with Bailey.

Bailey is an old lady.

Her hearing and teeth have all but gone, and dementia is starting to set in.

It was impossible not to love her.

She could only do very short walks, but it was obvious that she loved them.

The sight of us holding her lead was akin to her having an injection of magic youth serum, which had her bounding, puppy-like, to the front door.

Her dislikes were chasing anything and playing with Clover.

The Home

This time, we stayed in a large semi-detached house.

Its quiet location at the bottom of a cul-de-sac was perfect for us.

The City of Exeter was about a twenty-minute walk along the main road.

However, there was a slightly longer, but far more scenic route, which ran behind the house. This route followed county paths and the bank of the River Exe to the City centre.

OUT AND ABOUT IN EXETER

This was our first time visiting Exeter, the capital city of Devon, and we were very pleasantly surprised.

Although it is a relatively small city, it has a lot to offer its residents and the thousands of tourists who come to visit this beautiful part of the UK each year.

As we were there in April, the start of the main tourist season was still a few weeks away.

This meant we could enjoy the city and all it had to offer at a more leisurely pace.

The Cathedral

Dominating the city skyline for over 900 years is the Cathedral of St Peter, or ‘Exeter Cathedral‘ as it is more commonly known.

The Cathedral is built on the site of a Roman army camp, and its origins date back to 1050.

Rebuilding of the cathedral, in the Gothic style it is today commenced in 1290.

Inside the cathedral is the longest, unbroken stretch of Gothic stone vaulting in the world.

The Quay

Located alongside the River Exe is Exeter Quay.

Once a busy international port, its cobbled pathways and historic buildings are now a popular destination for visitors to take a break in one of the bars or cafes, or to shop in the long line of unique, cave-like, independently owned shops

Shopping

We were surprised by the size of the city centre and by how devoid it was of empty units.

Here is a varied mix of high street brands, quirky independent boutiques, gyms, theatres, museums, pubs, restaurants, and cafes galore!

Considering the tourist season had not yet arrived, the city was always really busy with shoppers enjoying the early summer weather, which had arrived during our stay.

Topsham

The pretty little town of Topsham, (or Top-sam according to some locals) is a stone’s throw from the city of Exeter.

Some friends had been singing its praises, so one day, we decided to take the twenty-minute bus ride to see for ourselves.

We started the day with a pleasant stroll along the high street, which runs through the centre of the town. It had an eclectic mix of shops catering for all budgets and tastes. From high-end fashion to charity shops. Art galleries to souvenir tat. A well-known supermarket to an artisan baker.

Topsham has it all.

For food and drink, as expected for a town which attracts thousands of tourists each year, there are a myriad of choices.

From local pubs to cool cafes to posh restaurants.

There really is something for everyone in this pretty little town!

After an hour window shopping, we took a walk along the waterfront, then walked away from the town centre, exploring the outskirts of the town.

To end the day, we spent a couple of hours wandering around the town’s narrow lanes where there are many ‘Dutch-style’ colourful cottages and houses.

These are a nod to the 17th and 18th centuries, when Topsham was a major port for exporting wool and cotton to the Netherlands. 

The perfect end to a perfect day in sunny Topsham!

Visiting Friends (1)

The main reason we wanted to come to Exeter was to meet up with our good friends, Alex and Dean. We had been promising for a long time to make the journey to Exeter, so we were delighted we were able to make it happen at last!

Alex is also Greek. He met Karyo twenty years ago when they were both living in Birmingham.

Alex met Dean, Karyo met me. The rest, as they say, is history.

Karyo and I eventually moved to Manchester, and Alex and Dean moved to Exeter, so we have not seen them in years, but we have always remained close, distant friends.

This is one of those special friendships where time and distance don’t matter. It was a real treat to get to see them again.

We visited their home and went on some lovely walks whilst reminiscing about the fun, and often wild, nights out we used to have in Birmingham.

That’s about all I can say on that subject.

What happens in Birmingham, stays in Birmingham!

Second Pet & House Sit in April – Paignton

We had originally only intended to do two house sits in April, but whilst we were on our first sit, we were contacted by a lady who lived in Paignton.

She was going on a weekend mountain hike in Wales, so she needed someone to take care of her two dogs while she was away.

As we were not far, I offered to help. I left Karyo in Exeter and took a beautiful one-hour coastal train ride south.

This was a fleeting visit, so there is not a lot to say about my time there.

When I arrived, the home was a small upstairs flat, and I was surprised that there were six dogs in the flat!

They were all tiny dogs but It did seem to be a lot of pets in such a small property.

Thankfully, I hadn’t misunderstood the number of pets when I accepted the booking.

She was taking four of them with her.

The two dogs left with me were ‘Pepper’, a Boston terrier and ‘Pickle’, a Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix

Both were very cute and great company.

As the stay was so short, I did not see anything of Paignton, but I’d love to return with Karyo on a future trip to Devon.

But for now, I took the train back up to Exeter to re-join Karyo, and complete the last few days of our Exeter house sit together.

⛈️ Rainy Day Blues ⛈️

Whilst attempting to get to our third and final house sit in April, on the wettest day of the month, we got absolutely soaked standing at a bus stop waiting for the number 57 bus to take us on the 30-minute journey to the seaside town of Exmouth.

When we got off the bus, it was still raining heavily. We knew Uber are as rare as hens’ teeth in Devon, and all the local taxi numbers we had were engaged.

Ordinarily, we would have walked the final leg of our journey, but the weather was so bad that we were totally stuck!

As a last resort, drenched and defeated, we called the home hosts, who kindly came to pick us up.

It has been four years since we sold our cars, and since then we have relied totally on public transport.

At the time, cold, miserable, and dripping wet, I have to admit, we were cursing not having a car, but once we had warmed up, cheered up, and dried off, we agreed that we shouldn’t complain.

Let’s face it, one travel failure in four years is not that bad.

You will be pleased to know that our impulsive thoughts of heading to the nearest garage to buy ourselves an old banger were short-lived.

Our love of the plane, train, bus, and good old shank’s pony is restored.💖

Third Pet & House Sit in April – Exmouth

Devon was turning out to be a great destination choice for us.

We had already completed two great house sits

Our next stay in Exmouth was about to make it three in a row 😃

The Pet

When we arrived, we were greeted by ‘Coco’, a miniature dachshund.

Dachshunds seem to be like buses for us.

You don’t see one for ages, then they all come at once!

We had never cared for a dachshund in the four years we have been pet sitting.

Then, in February this year, we went to Barnes to look after Nelson.

In March, we went to Woking to look after Twiglet and Maple, and here we are in April looking after Coco.

The funny thing is, every dachshund we have met has been smaller than the one before.

Coco is a miniature breed of a miniature dog.

If this trend continues, we will be carrying the next one around in our top pocket 😂

I’m not complaining though. She was the sweetest little dog you could imagine.

She hardly ever barked and followed us around like a shadow.

Luckily, she had a bell on her collar to warn us whenever she was nearby and avoid us stepping on her by mistake.

The risk was real!

The Home

Let’s face it. You know you are staying somewhere posh when the first thing you notice on arrival is that your next-door neighbour’s property is basically a castle!

The house that we called home for two very sunny weeks was beautiful.

It was large, spotlessly clean, very comfortable and tucked away in the corner of a quiet road.

It even had a decent gym with a plunge pool! Perfect for our two-week stay.

However, the best feature of the house was its garden.

It was huge, surrounded by woodland, and had a great patio area with a sun loungers area.

The garden also included a pizza oven, sauna, and equipment for just about every sport you can think of, including Football, Cricket, Tennis, table tennis and an adult-sized gladiator-style monkey bar frame.

We stuck to the sun loungers.

There was also a path which ran down the centre of the garden.

The path led to a garden gate which opened onto the beautiful country walks which surrounded the property.

We loved our stay in this beautiful house with the company of Coco.

Normally, we would definitely have made an effort to visit the main town of Exmouth and the seaside, which were a half-hour walk from the house, but we were enjoying the home and garden far too much, so we didn’t stray too far at all for the whole duration of our stay.

Where Next?

Don’t worry. We were not going to miss out.

Just as April and our time in Exmouth was coming to an end, we spotted another Exmouth house sit advertised.

The lady had two cats, a seafront apartment, and wanted sitters for an eighteen night stay.

We applied and were accepted.

April is over, but we still have one more house sit in Exmouth to do!

More on that next time.

Until then, as always, thanks for taking the time to read our ramblings and to catch up on where our nomadic, house-sitting adventure is taking us.

Hugs, Colin & Karyo x