On Monday September 13th At 12.08 precisely (this is important), our coach left the village hall to take us all on Westbury Friendly Society's Annual Senior's Mystery Outing.

 

As usual our destination was a very well kept secret and as we headed off to goodness knows where, speculation was rife amongst the passengers. We turned south onto the M5, thus eliminating several Bristol and Gloucestershire options.

In the event, with Malcolm giving information on places of interest en-route and feeding us with sweets, we arrived , at Seaton Tramway after a journey through some most glorious South West countryside.

 

Seaton Tramway is a true English folly.  In 1970 It was moved  lock, stock and barrel to Seaton from Eastbourne .   A disused branch line linking Seaton on the Devon coast with the villages of Colyford and Colton up the scenic Axe Valley , has become home to a varied selection of trams both old and new.   The track runs on narrow gauge which means the trams are decidedly dinky.  It attracts tourists in the summer and bird watchers in the winter and provides spectacular views of the River Axe.

It was such a colourful sight to see all the trams lined up spruced up and ready for action! With our tram ready and waiting for us, we took to the tracks, stopping half way at Colyford  for the driver to alight and give us a bit of local history.  At the terminus, we all headed for the station Buffet where we all had cups of tea and a few of us, some rather splendid coffee cake. Along the way there was an abundance of wild life, and hedgerows full to bursting with blackberries and sloes.

After the return tram journey, we found our coach and headed off to another secret destination.  This time it was to the Donkey Sanctuary just outside the town of Sidmouth, The Donkey Sanctuary is home to around 500 donkeys. Set in unspoilt countryside, it's aim is to prevent the suffering of donkeys worldwide, through the provision of high quality, professional advice, training and support on donkey welfare. No donkey is ever refused admission to the Sanctuary - provided it has a certificate of fitness to travel, and each donkey is guaranteed a life of loving care and attention. They all looked in pretty good nick to me!

We had our cream tea in the restaurant there, and very splendid it was.

On the journey home, Malcolm organised a quiz on facts  fed to us  along the way. The first question, however, related to our time of departure.

Back at base in the Village Hall, the volunteers had once again excelled themselves with their tasty spread of ham salad with all the trimmings, a choice of sweets, cheese and biscuits and tea or coffee.

A big thank you to The Friendly society comes from all the Seniors who went this year. It was a truly 'Grand Day Out'

Jan Fisher