We have arrived in North Devon!!! We are staying at a friend of a friends place for a couple weeks while they are visiting Canada. It is in a small village about 7 minutes drive from Barnstaple. The Tarka path goes right down the back of the lane and we can walk all the way to Barnstaple on it (it would take about 45 minutes). En route apparently is a great park called Rock park which we will check out in the next few days. The house is an end of terrace, 3 level, 3 bed with loft, 2 bathroom home, and the kids are very happy with all the toys that are here. Tyko has his own 'fort' upstairs that he has claimed as his room. I thought he would want to sleep in with us as the 3rd bedroom has a crib in it but he wants to sleep in the loft in the double bed. He said he loved having his own room.... I think Lucie's snoring was getting to him ;) There are also guinea pigs, chickens (penned), tadpoles and fish in the back garden which they love feeding and playing with. There is a playing field and park with a zip line RIGHT next to the house, I can see it from the kitchen and dining room.

Before arriving here we were up in Lincolnshire visiting family. We went to a birds of prey conservation centre and watched some amazing displays on falconry. The peregrine falcon was ridiculous! She flew so fast around us in a field while the handler described how she hunts. There was also a vulture there that flies up to 37,000 feet!!!! Amazing. We also did a little bit of pig racing while there..... while in Rome... Tyko's pig came first and he spent his winnings on an ice cream. You gotta get your priorities right!

There was also a butterfly area where you could learn about the life cycle as well as walk through their habitat. They land right on you! Can you imagine my Mom going in there??? Nope, she wouldn't go near it.

Taking advantage of our National Trust membership we toured Tattershall castle (rebuilt in the mid 1400s) in Tattershall, Lincs. The kids had their own kids version of the audio tour and learned a lot about this place. There were members of staff dressed up in period style costumes showing/teaching the kids how to do traditional crafts and skills. The woman who showed Tyko & Miss Lu the carding and wool spinning said children as young as 3 would have done this! Tyko was not too impressed with the thought of that! She also taught us all the difference between the Union Flag and the Union Jack. A good history lesson for all.

Tyko went in a soccer camp on Tues while in Lincolnshire with some of the local boys (the kids are on half term break this week) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Made some new friends and learned some new moves. Pete G. we need to email you about it... you would have loved the skill building... it was very good.

We drove down to Devon on Wed (took about 6 hrs including stops). Yesterday we spent a couple hours in Braunton and the afternoon at Croyde. We registered with all the estate agents in town and will be going to Barnstaple tomorrow to register with 2 others we were recommended to. We all really liked the village of Braunton and several of the surrounding smaller villages. It has everything we need and a really nice feel to it. Cool little restaurants, community centre, library, pool, lots of surfing and outdoor shops and very nice people on first impressions. The church had a sign in the front saying it has been doing services there since 550AD! The whole area is connected by footpaths and the Tarka trail.

Recycling and conserving energy is huge here. We have seen lots of signs of alternative energy sources ie. wind and solar. In the next couple weeks we will be checking out the Eden project in Cornwall...have a look online, it looks fascinating!

Weather is gorgeous..... summer seems to have arrived!