Is Devon worth the trip in off-peak seasons?

1.0 Introduction

Welcome back to YAPVibe, I know it's been a while since the last YAP. Think it was back in February when we did the last one which feels like ages ago. So over the last few months I have been finishing Uni and I can finally say that it is all done and dusted and I'm ready to start looking into where my careers going. Exciting, yet stressful at the same time. Anyway, I have not really done much traveling as of late so I am going to take you back to the start of the year with mine and Laura's trip to Devon.

1.1 Background

So why Devon, well we really wanted to go abroad however, January is a weird month since all abroad destinations are pretty cheap but out of season. So we decided to play it safe and go with a UK holiday which was risky with the weather still but really cheap. Think it cost us just under £200 for a week, in a caravan which was pretty decked out with a hot tub. So not a bad deal really, a nice break away from home or was it.

1.2 Driving to Devon

Now if you live above Staffordshire which is where we were driving from, the journey can seem quite long. I think the ETA was around 3 hours. The boss was driving so it was integral that a stop was involved or else the whole plan of getting there could have been in jeopardy. We decided that on the drive down we would stop at a random town when we were feeling hungry, as we drove down and started narrowing down the towns that we went past it became pretty clear that one place would be the stopping destination. We stopped in Gloucester, which admittedly was a town that I had never been to before, it was ok. I mean literally I did not really know what I was expecting but it was just fine, there was not much there really, we went to spoons, got some scran and then left really. Then we were back on the road.

2.0 Don't come knocking when the caravans rocking

Don't worry the title is not insinuating what you are thinking, however, it does give some relevance to the events of arrival. So, once we had faffed about getting to the caravan sight which trust me took us a while, we arrived at the location and swiftly made our way to the caravan. Now me being very, lets just say prepared, was ready to get in and sort out our luggage and what not and jump in the hot tub. However, my advances were pre-emptively disabled by the fact that I was trying to get into the wrong caravan. Sods law I guess, anyway we did find the right caravan and thankfully had enough time to get into the hot tub. Now before we get into the details of the hot tub, the caravan was clean, nice and had a functioning kitchen and shower which is always helpful, trust me I have been in one's that only have a toilet. So I would definitely recommend it, we stayed on a site in Paignton (which annoyingly I cannot remember the name of).

2.1 THE HOT TUB

You know, this holiday is the first time I have been in a hot tub. Pretty crazy right, in my 22 year life time I have never been in one. Now I was sceptical at first, I have heard before that Hot Tubs can be unhygienic (obviously if you do not clean them) but my god in the what 5 degrees temperature we had outside it was like being in the summertime's. It was pretty damn good and we spend most nights in there, I mean the luxary was right there how could we not. But if anyone is wondering whether going to a caravan with a hot tub is worth it then I am telling you now yes it is.

2.2 A day out in Paignton

So our first day we thought we would travel down to the coast town of Paignton which was only 10 minutes away from our caravan site. Normally I'm assuming that in the summer months it's a pretty bussing and thriving place. However, because we came in the January month it is safe to say that what we were walking round was not so far of being a ghost town. Quite literally, it was scarce of any people other than a few locals which walked their dogs on the beach. The weather was windy and gushing, it seemed to be quite the dreary day. But we did not let the gloom ruin our day, we were still persistent that we were going to have fun so we went to the arcade and played on the 2p machines. After exhausting our profits, we then ventured forth to the awaiting Whether Spoons across the road for a quick beverage and a cookie dough (Had to be done). Before long we had decided we would go to the cinema but went against the Paignton cinema as it looked a bit grotty. But before that we actually found a mini golf course which was pretty cool, gave of the vibe of Junkyard golf but was less pricey. Finally we finished the night at the cinema, there was not much on so we decided to watch A man called Otto, which was actually better than we had both expected. The film had both of us in tears.

2.3 Getting blown away by Brixham

Did I mention that it was a bit windy, well our trip to Brixham made that quite clear. We started our adventure by taking a stroll down to the Brixham light house which I believe was a 3 mile walk. It felt like a 3 mile walk as I was trying to hold on to literally anything for dear life. I felt that at any moment I would be blown away by the wind. We felt sorry for a bloke in front of us who genuinely looked like he was struggling but made it back safe. We walked through the town of Brixham again to see not many people around, the rain lashed down and we went into some shops. There was not particularly much there really, most places had closed due to the season which we both found was quite disappointing.

2.4 Love of Aquariums and Gin distilleries in Plymouth

I'll admit the aquarium was my idea as I do love a good aquarium even if they are all terrible most of the time. This was the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, so I was hoping with a name like that and you know being on the coast it would be pretty mega. It's safe to say that it was probably more towards middle tier, it was not really anything special, it was better than the Deep in Hull, but not quite as a good as Blue Planet Aquarium. Safe to say we could return for free for the year and I will not be making the trip back, although like I say it was not terrible. After that we went for a romantic dinner at Subway where I had my signature Footlong Italian herb and cheese BMT with lettuce, sweetcorn, cucumber and ketchup, it was refreshing. Anyway afterwards the weather in Plymouth started to pick up and I had just brought my Mum a birthday present from next and we looked at the time thinking SH*T we need to get to the distillery for 2:30pm UK time. The Plymouth distillery was quite attractive to the eye and the woman who took us around was very friendly and enthusiastic. The gin tasted smooth and was really nice (I am not a Gin Fan), the fruit cup Gin was especially nice bringing a variety of different tastes to life, so Plymouth Gin gets a big thumbs up from me. We received a small bottle of Navy rum as well which was a whopping 57.7% alcohol.

3.0 Conclusion

I could say a lot more about this trip but I fear it may end up being to long. But in general it was a nice get away from home and even though the towns were dead, the aquarium was mediocre. The most important part is we had a laugh and took the mick out of pretty much everything that went wrong. Which I feel you have to do sometimes, much like the London trip, it is good to always have a laugh about these things. Thank you anyone who keeps up with these, I know as I have said in previous YAPs how inconsistent I have been with these, however, I will try and persist. So Devon, you may be better to visit in summer but for anyone who wants the insights for a planned trip to off peak Devon I would recommend making sure that the weather is ok and getting a hot tub. I would rate Devon on a whole a 7 out of 10, it wasn't the best but it sure wasn't the worst either with some great memorable highlights.

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Matthew

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