Our Haven On The Moor.......... — Steve Chivers Photography

Well, January was certainly turning out to be a relaxingly hectic month. We had a great time with the kids over New Year, Mudger looked after us royally during a fabulous two weeks in Spain and now, only two days after our return, we were taking Kate’s mum and dad to spend a night at our most favourite hotel in the Uk, the wonderful, the luxurious, the glorious Gidleigh Park Hotel, located on Dartmoor near the village of Chagford.

So, we dialed Gidleigh in to the satnav only to be confronted with all sorts of travel issues. Due to the weather we had been experiencing in the UK, there were all sorts of road closures and the main route in to Gidleigh, via Chagford High Street, was closed due to gas main renovations. So we decided to call the hotel direct for advice but could not get through. We tried their website only to be told that all phone lines were down after the recent storm.

Now regular readers know that La Famille Chivers are made of stern stuff and the Chivers family helicopter was in for an MOT. So, “when needs must the devil drives”, we fired up Bucephalus and with Mrs. C in the navigator’s seat we headed across Dartmoor, via Tavistock and pressed on through howling wind and driving rain.

We knew we were near to Gidleigh as the roads had narrowed to the width of Bucephalus and had grass growing in the middle (never a good sign in our part of the world). I wouldn’t say it was wet but the only other vehicle approaching Gidleigh was Noah and his Ark and he was already preparing to abandon ship!

Despite everything we pressed on until we finally saw the sign that said “ Gidleigh Park Hotel 0.5 miles Do Not Give Up”! As we rounded the final corner the wonderful Gidleigh Park came in to view, our excitement heightened and my blood pressure receded to manageable levels.

As we walked in to the warm cosy lobby of the hotel we were greeted with a most beautiful smile and all the previous travel difficulties just melted away. Our bags disappeared and we were ushered in to the main sitting room where we slumped in to the comfy settees and ordered, wine, smoked salmon sandwiches and a bowl of sizzling French fries for mother.

Very soon everyone was in their respective happy places. Mrs. C, in between glugging a rather delicious Pinot Noir was doing her daily Wurdle, Kate’s mum and dad were preparing for an afternoon siesta and I was roving around with my Leica SL2 and 90mm Apo Summicron SL.

A cheeky little Pinot Noir to kick-off proceedings.

As I had a captive audience I took the opportunity to take some long overdue portraits of Kate’s mum and dad. I know that they won’t mind me mentioning that Kate’s Dad is now 90 and “Mother” is now 88. Both are in fine fettle and with the 90mm apo, one of Leica’s premier portrait lenses, I was delighted with the imagery I captured. I even managed a capture of camera shy Mrs. C. (She wasn’t happy about it and if pictures could talk I would only be releasing this blog after the watershed!).

Following a delightful lunch we headed up to our rooms. As you can imagine they are super comfortable and inviting. A chilled bottle of fizz, courtesy of the management, was sitting expectantly on the dressing table and a rather fine decanter of Madeira perched in the bay window seemed to be calling out to me. As I sank under the bubbles of a steaming bath all was well in my world.

Normally I only use manual focus lenses as I generally find that copious amounts of alcohol and manual focus lenses are not the best of bed-fellows. Not a problem this time as I had the SL2 and 90mm Apo so I had full autofocus and could indulge both creatively whilst satisfying my “hydration” requirements. Aunty Sarah would have been proud of me.

Suitably fed, “watered” and scrubbed up, I decided it was time for a wander and capture some imagery at 90 mm.

Officianados of wellies just know that Dubarry are the only way to go.

The Dartmoor mist creeping through the trees.

Hand held long exposure - a measure of the SL2’s image stabilization.

The beautiful Mrs. C holding something for the nature pocket.

As you can see Gidleigh really is a delightful place. Did I mention that they also have a Michelin Star restaurant? We were invited to the bar by Col, our Maitre’D for a pre-dinner martini (he mixes a damn good martini does our col). Then on to dinner which comprised the most lovely pieces of poached lobster, in a fish broth that screamed eat me, followed by a loin of venison that was doing a breast-stroke in an unctuous red wine and port sauce, all finished off with a rather generous selection of local cheeses. Then it was in to the lounge for coffee and petit fours. Well I certainly was going to sleep well!

Next morning Col didn’t even need to ask what I wanted for breakfast. A full English duly arrived, but not just any full English, it was given the “Full Gidleigh”. Local sourced pork sausage, smoked bacon, hogs pudding, black pudding, mushroom and fried tomato and a beautifully poached egg, all washed down with a steaming hot coffee. I was set for the day.

So there you are, our haven on the moor. A night of luxury and calories. Ah yes, you thought I had forgotten about the “Bench of Contemplation”. This time I captured Mother…..penny for your thoughts?

I hope you enjoyed joining us for a glimpse of glorious Gidleigh. If you are ever in our part of the world do yourself a favour and just book yourself in for a night and you will sure to be hooked.

Stay tuned for more adventures as Mrs. C and I head out to Dubai in my next blog, “Back to the Desert”.

Meantime love and best wishes from a sunny Plymouth.