Gluten Free? Anything in blue.

When my sister moved to Devon it became a “high on the list” place to visit. So nine months after we last bumped into each other in Bideford, we met again in Westward Ho! Staying nearby at Westacott Farm little did we know that Colin’s former colleague would live just streets away and a close friend would be staying just a mile from our next site in Woolacoombe. The trip became one of lots of tea, cake, ice cream, dancing, Betty Beachball and making up for lost time.

Saturday was hot. Hotter than we expected, and sunnier than any ginger without suncream needs. We were tourists. Crazy golf, Hockings ice cream (with clotted cream – who knew!), paddling in the sea and Ploughman’s lunch at Tea on the Green. As someone who follows a gluten free diet, I was worried that I wouldn’t find anything satisfying at Tea on the Green. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong! Ploughman’s lunch with warm crunchy bread, fresh scones, and a fridge full to the brim of cakes (anything in blue is Gluten Free – which is most things), brownies and pavlovas. The choice was immense. The café was busy and rightly so. To avoid disappointment arrive early, hover inconspicuously outside waiting for a table, or simply give your number to the ladies behind the counter. They will ring when a table becomes available and it is really worth the wait.

There is parking in Westward Ho! but be prepared to pay in peak season in the centre. Those with a Motorhome, it can be an absolute pig, but you can park in North Burrows Country Park for a small fee or, in off-season when unmanned, for free.