Recently Elliott and I did a bit of exploring on an England staycation, 

We mainly wandered around Devon and a little bit of Dorset. Both counties are extremely beautiful, so if you've never been before and enjoy stunning moorland landscapes or dramatic coastlines I'm sure you'd enjoy it. 

Elliott and I have been to Devon several times before, however this time we went, I was completely disconnected from my social media and the blogosphere. I think this gave me more time to enjoy each day and our time together with no distractions. Don't get me wrong I did have to try really hard to resist the urge to post the many picturesque snaps I had taken. That's why I decided to reignite my travel diaries series (previously called photo diaries) to document all of my favourite destinations and travel wishlists. 

This week I am dedicated this travel diary to the quaint seaside town of Sidmouth in Devon. On this particular trip we explored the town in October, which is definitely one of their off-peak months. It can seem a little sleepy at this time of year, but we didn't mind as we were mainly there to enjoy the scenery and quintessential seaside cuisine. 

One of our favourite things to do in Sidmouth, is to grab a Kelly's ice cream from one of the seafront ice cream parlors and stroll along the beach taking in the relaxing ambience of the sea breeze and waves gently rolling in. Sidmouth beach is a combination of sand and pebble, the sand on the beach is usually rather damp as this can only ever really be seen when the tide it out. So really, I'd class it as more of a pebble beach so remember to bring the right footwear if you want to go right down to the ocean. 

After we've devoured our ice creams we usually wander up the beach some more which presents the perfect opportunity to take some quick photographs. As you can see from the picture above, I caught this shot of Elliott taking a photo of the beach. This is probably a perfect time to mention that all of these photos were not taken on my Nikon like normal, they were actually taken on my Google Pixel phone, which to be honest has done an amazing job. 

When you walk even further down the beach, you arrive at a very narrow coastal path bordered by and iron railing and sheer cliffs. It tends to get a bit quieter up this end of the beach as there is no seafront, just a small pathway to guide your around the jurassic coastline. When the tide is really far out and the sun is shining bright this is another amazing spot to take some photographs. The above image was taken around mid morning without any typical British weather (how lucky were we?). 

Once you escape the narrow path the beach opens up again to reveal a tranquil and almost always pretty deserted area of the beach which provides stunning views of the coastline and a perfect spot to sit and take a small break. After we had a short sit on the pebbles and petted a few local dogs, we decided to climb back up to the road that runs parallel to the ocean. Luckily there's a well maintained but still rather steep slope that gets you off the beach in no time. 

Instead of following the main road back into town, adjacent to the beach there is a small area of gardens called Connaught Gardens. Here you can see some stunningly landscaped gardens full of your favourite English flowers. However - if flowers aren't you thing, you can wander into the gardens some more where you will come across a greenhouse. Inside there are many species of cacti and even some carnivous plants. 

If you walk through all of the gardens you will come to a pretty patio walkway lined with lampposts and railings. Unfortunately once you come to the end of this path it is a dead end. However the viewing platform, offers some beautiful views of the whole of Sidmouth.  

The best thing to do now, is to head back into the town and grab a pasty or two from the butchers which is just by the church. Then make your way to the Sidmouth Wines where you can pick up a local cider to wash down your lunch. The perfect end to a short but wonderous walk around the jurassic coast.