We’ve been back for a while now from a delightful trip to the United Kingdom. After a short stay in Exeter, where I went for runnings along the River Exe, we traveled on to Bovey Castle for the Fruity Knitting retreat. This report describes the activities from the perspective of a non-knitter. I’m not writing about the workshops.
We had high expectations going in. At Bovey Castle, we would get to meet the people behind Fruity Knitting: Andrea and Madeleine, whose beautiful videos we’d already watched on their channel.
Fruity Knitting organized a knitting retreat for a group of people at the beautiful Bovey Castle. There was also a program for non-knitting partners (under the expert guidance of Ryan). Plenty of sports facilities. The castle features a fitness center, spa, and a charming swimming pool.
Bovey Castle is nestled in Dartmoor National Park. Every morning at 6 a.m., I went running with Ryan on a set 8-kilometer route with quite a bit of elevation gain. At the highest point, we always took a break to enjoy the stunning view. We were greatly surprised when we spotted a large herd of deer. We were startled by a pheasant (which Ryan claimed was a turkey).
It turned out to be a trip that shattered our preconceptions. People of various nationalities took part in the trip, which led to interesting conversations. About the U.S. healthcare system, facts about the Pope, or the situation in Israel.
We visited Hound Tor. I hadn’t heard of tors before. They are hills whose summit is a single rock standing alone in the landscape. Writing it down here makes it seem less spectacular than the magnificent natural phenomenon we were able to witness.
On a group outing, we stopped at John Arbon Textiles. There, we got to see how wool is spun. Robust machines, each with its own name, take on this task. At British Wool, we learned how wool is selected. The people radiated a joy for their work.
That same day, we also visited a honey farm. Two beekeepers tend to about 1300 beehives there. The explanation was thoroughly professional. A camera zoomed in on the combs of a beehive, searching for the queen, whom we unfortunately couldn’t find. The tour concluded with a short workshop and a tasting of their delicious honey.
The bibliophile in me also got to indulge. On a hike with the non-knitters, we ended up at St. John the Baptist Church, which had a small library where you could borrow books for 50 pence.
An enthusiastic falconer with a thousand and one anecdotes about his hobby showcased his birds at “The Falconry Experience.”
We had another experience at the retreat: watching the film “Picnic at Hanging Rock.” I’ll just say this: it’s a peculiar film. We keep wondering why a man in a pirate costume suddenly appeared during the search for the schoolgirls.
The knitting retreat concluded with a full-fledged fashion show where participants could showcase their creations to the tunes of Queen and ABBA. Ineke proudly displayed her wedding shawl (designed by Stephen West).
After the knitting retreat, we headed to London where we explored the Bloomsbury area. The small studio near King’s Cross Station (Studio2Let) was cozy.
On the penultimate day of the trip, I went to see the wildly entertaining musical Mathilda. I laughed so hard: a hammer-wielding headmistress, parents who described their pregnancy news as “the worst day of our lives,” Mathilda’s clever pranks. The musical did full justice to Roald Dahl’s wonderful story.
This trip recharged all my batteries. When showing our travel pass, I thought… United Kingdom… why on earth did you leave the EU?
© Dieter Bruyneel
Translated with the help of DeepL.com
DIETER BRUYNEEL (MIJN PEN, MIJN WERELD) 