Rural enterprise

A couple of weeks ago, we made our way from Holne to Lyme Regis, with the last stretch being the A3052 from Exeter. First up was the Cat & Fiddle Inn, fifty years ago an important venue for young people. A venue which I think involved both music and dancing, this being a few years before discos took over; one still had rural bands. Rich young people got there in their minis and such like, other people perhaps caught the bus or walked - but I never made it in the course of my stay in Exeter at that time. The place is still up and running, seemingly morphed into a fine dining destination, for which see reference 1.

Just past there, and thinking that it was time for a pit-stop, we came across the Greendale Farm Shop, which we thought would do our business. Most of these places are little more than an excuse for a large cafeteria. This place did have one of those, one which took reservations, but there was also a very large farm shop selling all manner of stuff to eat. This included a large butchery department, offering a decent range of meat, and a fish department. It all looked rather busier and healthier than many places of its kind.

The cafeteria was busy too - lots of young people and lots of young families out for breakfast - this being mid morning - but they could fit us in provided we were quick as the table was reserved. Tea and bun - perhaps a croissant - for me. One of those ungainly cups which you get offered all too often these days, but I did devise a neat way to deal with my tea bag - other than using the saucer. Lots of young table staff running about with breakfast type food which look decent and substantial.

I also puzzled about the table. Was it all fake? If it was, they had bothered to fake up the end grain, which fakers don't usually bother with. The place was a bit too busy and my back was a bit too dodgy to be turning the table over, which might have revealed all, but in the end, I opted for fake as the rounded edge looked decidedly plastic and the end grain did not match the surface grain, at least not to my eye. Clever bit of faking though for all that.

Outside to stretch our legs a bit and to see the sights. Including a plume which looked rather like a fire.

The top of the car park where the offer beyond the maize was a mammoth slip and slide. Something, one supposes, for the children.

And beyond that, gmaps reveals a full-on industrial estate. All kinds of more or less respectable people, including the Royal Mail, DHL and FedEx. Anybody's guess where any farm might be.

Zooming out a bit more, there is more. You would not know it from the road, but the area, not many miles east of Exeter proper, is clearly a hive of rural enterprise. More money, no doubt, in enterprise than there is in farming.

Some sort of recycling operation? Except that the shed (in faint) says BabiesR'Us, which appears to be part of the ToysR'Us operation of reference 3, despite the shed not looking much like a superstore for baby gear. We should have taken a closer look at the time.

From there onto Lyme Regis to try our hand at the car parks there. Our first attempt was on the car park which straggles along the beach at the western end of town. Probably fine if you get there at the crack of dawn, not so clever in the middle of the day. Our second attempt was on the car park at the top of town, the one we had intended to try for in the first place, but missed the turning. This one turned out to have plenty of space and lots of facilities. Including what appeared to be a heritage hut for a car park attendant, left standing between the car park machine and the electric charging points.

The telephone parking option was the JustPark people of reference 4. I was not going to get connected to them then and there - if ever -  I am already signed up with four or five such outfits - but the machine turned out to be quite friendly and I managed to wave my credit card it. Followed by a few circuits of the car park to loosen up after the drive.

PS: sea visible just to the left of the pink building. Proper seaside colour.

References

Reference 1: http://www.catandfiddleexeter.co.uk/.

Reference 2: https://www.greendale.com/.

Reference 3: https://toysrus.co.uk/.

Reference 4: https://www.justpark.com/.