Lyme Regis

We started the day with a walk through historic Ilminster.

I loved the name of this antique store...

 ...where you could pretend to be a Queen's guard if you wished

As I offered to cook dinner for a family reunion, I spent the afternoon preparing my 'chicken blanquette', an old family favourite

The 3 cousins

The following day, my aunt and I headed to Lyme Regis

 which is on the southern coast of Dorest

It is well known as a holiday favourite and has hosted many movie sets.

You can even rent these cute cabanas to store your beach things

 A stroll through the town reveals historic passages, shops and homes

Loved the outside staircase

The coast itself is deceiving.  It looks lovely.....

 ....but on closer inspection, it is falling into the sea

Efforts are being made to reinforce it with cement sea walls.

We lunched overlooking the harbour at Hix Oyster and Fish House, 

owned by renowned chef Mark Hix

We feasted on Scrumpy Fried Rock Oysters on watercress mayo,

Fish Pie and Curried Axmouth Huss

All washed down with a crisp white

Tomorrow, mills and trains.....

Bye to IOM, Hello Somerset

We left the IOM after 2 wonderful weeks to embark on the next leg of our journey....

 Each year a Somerset Classic car club puts on a huge show in a farmers field.

This is the 5th year we have attended and here are some of my favourites!

Just love the purple

Pop up.....

.......and over

The rusty VW had its interior paneled with denim

 Did you see the little people on the front in the first picture?????

If you don't have enough trunk space, make your own....

 The best sign I have seen in a long time....

Back home for a lovely supper of comfort food

More sightseeing to come

Drag Races

Each year the town of Ramsey hosts the 'sprints', also known as drag racing.

Before heading out to watch the action, we stopped in the park at Mooragh Lake to take in another collection of vintage bikes

This guy wasn't going to let a disability stop him from going fast

Some of the bikes even had names......

.....and so did some cars!

The sprints take place on a public road bordering the ocean.
The drag bikes had to make sure their tires were good
and hot to get the best traction. 

This guy was rocking his bike back and forth for maximum speed!

A little live taste....

I still needed my 'Glen' fix, so headed to the base of Lhergy Frissel, 

to climb the steep embankment of Elfin Glen.

My objective was to get to the top to visit Albert Tower,
which has breathtaking views of Ramsey

The paths were not very well marked, so we did manage to lose our way a bit

It was difficult to decide which paths to follow, so we tried this one with a cute gate

I am disheartened to report we never found the right path so headed back with promises of trying again next year

We took solace in our defeat by joining our friends, the Drinkwaters, and our cottage mates for dinner at The Station in Port Erin.  You must know where this is leading and you are right.....Lamb Shanks!!!!

Stay tuned for our last day of racing.....

On the Grid for race day!

Earlier I mentioned that we were treated to All Access Grid Passes....

Well, here it is!

It gave me the opportunity to be with the racers as they were getting ready to start AND to be on the starting line with them.  What a treat!

I have never raced, but I can imagine that getting your mind and body ready for it must take considerable stamina.  There are very few female racers, but Maria Costello has proven herself over many times.  I almost felt like I was intruding while I watched her stretch before heading to the start line.

 I snapped Michael Dunlop through a series of events during this race.

.....talking to his crew before getting to the starting line....

...and leaving pit lane, looking disappointed, when his bike broke down...

Not everyone had a bad race......and off they go....

Here is what it looks like live...

K was in his element - never did he ever think he would be rubbing shoulders with such brave riders. It was a teenage dream come true!

These 3 handsome fellas were relaxing before their start.  

Keep your eye on the one to the right!

Once the race got underway, we moved to pit lane to watch the racers come in for more fuel

 Once topped up, off they go.....

The culmination of a thrilling day was being close enough to snap all the winners along with the pros!

A well deserved hug

Remember # 2??

The Ramsey 'sprints' (drag racing) up next!