Ivybridge is a village of about 11,000 people ten miles east of Plymouth, Devon. It isn't the prettiest English village, but the location is wonderful. Built right on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, it is only a short drive to Plymouth and about 30 minutes from the coast. Only a few minutes walk from our house up on to Dartmoor and we could see the ferries leaving Plymouth destined for Brittany, France. We were fortunate to find a neat, comfortable, detached house in a lovely cul de sac. Sara was only 10 years old and within a few hours of our arrival she had met the 14 or so children, ranging in age from 5 - 13, who also lived in the cul de sac, and with whom she spent almost every waking moment for the next 7 months.
They played in the woods at the end of the street or on the green at the other end, and often they just played in the street which was quite safe as there was no through-traffic and all the houses looked down onto the street. We all loved living in Ivybridge.
The main street of Ivybridge (also known as Fore Street or High Street).
The bridge after which the village was named.
The River Erme flowed under the road at this point. I spent much time watching the water rushing by, especially after heavy rain. Salmon could also be seen leaping from the water.
The River Erme.
10 comments:
thankyou Alice - my Pa's family came from this area and it is good to see a little of it. I hope to oneday visit !
It looks pretty from the pictures. Thanks for showing us these.
Beautiful photos, Alice! Thanks for sharing those with us.
And thank you so much for your compliment about my flowers. I will try to scanner some vegetables, too.
Judith (from Knitagarden) said that I am going to start a scanning epidemic! LOL!
England, Oh England! Now that spring is ‘nearly’ here. Although I love Wales, I’m an English girl thro’ and thro’. Beautiful pictures Alice, I love the one of the bridge. Marion
What a lovely place to live! Do you wish you were there now, since it is sooo hot where you are? A nice place to raise kids, sounds like. If the town was named after the bridge, I wonder what year the bridge was built? Thanks for sharing.
Oh it looks lovely! I would love to live in England for a bit, just to experience it. And it's so green!!!
I see we each have our ways of coping with the heat - some of us go to the cinema or pool, you look at photos of England (watch the temperature of your computer, Alice!). I too loved the photo of the bridge, wonderful that such scenes still exist.
It might not have been the prettiest English village, but it looks delightful to me. The bridge is so picturesque with the ivy growing all over it and the village looks very quaint. What a lovely opportunity that was for you to experience living in England. My dad came from Birmingham to Australia when he was about 8. I'd love to visit England one day.
We are planning a trip to England soon, can't wait to experience it too.
Hi, Stumbled on your blog - I have lived in Ivybridge for 25 years - love it. Brought my children up here and they spent hours playing and swimming in the river in the woods - cool, shady and ice cold water. The first record of a river crossing here as Pont Ederosa (1250) and Ivybrugge (1292). The Paper Mill was built in the late 1700 and the town of Ivybridge was born. An ecclesiastic district of Ivybridge was formed in 1836. Ivybridge Urban District Council was formed in 1894. There does not seem to be a record of exactly when the bridge in your photo was built but the New Bridge further down the river was built in 1817 to allow for heavier traffic.
It's a lovely place to live and if anyone is coming to Ivybridge, look me up and I'll show you around - Sue Carlyon (sue.carlyon@hotmail.co.uk)
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