DIS Trip to England Part 2: Devon

I spent the past week in England with my European Sustainable Development class. We spent Sunday through Tuesday morning in London, and Tuesday afternoon to Friday in Devon (southern England). Following are some photos and highlights from my trip!
Tuesday, March 5

1. Arrival at Totnes Train Station

2. Arrival at Sharpham Estate, Totnes

Sharpham Estate is a beautiful 1770's Palladian-style villa located in Totnes in Devon County (southern England). Everyone in our class, myself included, was so surprised when we first drove up to the estate- we had definitely not expected this! Sharpham Estate is surrounded by gorgreous views overlooking lush, rolling hills, a vineyard, and the River Dart. I felt like I had just entered one of Jane Austen's novels!

Read up more on Sharpham Estate here.

The façade of the house.

View of River Dart, a tidal river.

Taken from a walking path in the early morning.

View of the Dart River and Totnes down below.

The Vineyard. And spring flowers!!

Inside, looking up. Egg-shaped foyer with spiral staircase and pink walls.

On the way upstairs (I lived on the top floor).

Into the "Walled Garden."

Inside the Walled Garden.

Reminds me of Mr. McGregor's garden from Peter Rabbit.

Gardens around the house.

Gardens

The Courtyard. My room is the one with the open window on the top left.

 3. Dinner at Sharpham: Fantastic wine and cheese made right on the estate! Doesn't get more local than that!

4. Went out to the local pub with friends and had a pint (or two) or locally-brewed Jail Ale.

Cheers!

Wednesday, March 6

Today we learned first-hand about the Transition Town movement, which is a global movement for towns to develop resilience and self-sufficiency in reaction to peak oil and climate change. Underlying concepts include community-building and re-localizing the economy. Totnes is the first town ever to become a Transition Town!

More eloquently put from the Transition Town Totnes website:

"Transition Town Totnes (TTT) exists for the people of Totnes and District to help create thriving, healthy, caring local communities where people's ways of life take into account the needs of future generations as well as the present ones.  Rising fuel prices, the social justice impacts of being part of a world fighting to take control of every last oil reserve and natural resource, our current economic uncertainty and climate change are just some of the reasons we have for needing to rise to this challenge.  However, TTT focuses on these motivators as opportunities to increase community well-being, to expand our local economy, to take responsibility for the impact we are having on the ecosystem and other people, and to find ways of living that are in line with our Earth's natural systems."

1. Exploring Totnes

View of Totnes from Kingsbridge Hill.

High Street in Totnes. Heading to lunch at Bay Horse Inn.

Traditional Tudor houses in the town square.

St. Mary's Church of Totnes.

2. Lunch at Bay Horse Inn

Local Elderflower Bubbly drink! So delicious!

My plate =)

3. Visit to the "Mushroom Man," a local who sells mushroom growing kits around the world.

 4. Visit to a Transition Street, a neighborhood in Totnes where Transition volunteers have helped locals to retrofit their houses and reduce overall consumption to save on energy bills. The average person saves about $600 a year after doing this program!

5. Visit to Transition Totnes Office: There wasn't much to see here. Instead I offer a picture of the Transition logo:

If you are interested in Transition Towns, look online to see if there is one in our town/city. The network is huge, and there are over 500 official initiatives worldwide. In the Hudson Valley area, I am aware that there are Transition gatherings in Kingston, Rosendale, and Woodstock. For Gettysburgians, there is one in Gettysburg that is unfortunately not active at present. (Get in touch with me if you are interested in starting it up again, as I plan on trying to bring it back to life when I get back to the States.)

6. Drinks with the class at Albert Inn to celebrate a great day!

(not my photo)

Thursday, March 7

1. Dartmoor National Park: apparently a very beautiful place, but it was so foggy and rainy it was hard to see much. Nevertheless, we hiked anyway =)

In my Wellies (rainboots) and raingear.

2. Lunch at Riverford Field  Kitchen



The Menu.

My plate.

Sticky Toffee Pudding. No words can describe how amazing this was.

 3. In the afternoon we went on a walking meditation around Sharpham estate. It was so peaceful and calm. I saw lots of wildlife, including a seal down by the river!

Sheep on the estate!

Dart River, Sharpham boathouse, and fallen tree.

The Sharpham Vineyard.

The River Dart.

4. Fireside Reflection and Celebration: reflection on the walk by the wood-burning stove, and great conversation and live music over a glass of local hard cider. Very, very hygge!

Friday, March 8: Last Day in England

1. Early morning walk with Katie around the Estate property and down to the River Dart.
2. Introduction to Permaculture lesson in the morning at Sharpham
3. Visit to local Agroforest Research Trust for tour of a forest garden.
4. Bye Totnes! It was great visiting!