In praise of Holiday Inn

A wet and misty start to our drive home last week. But at least we were on proper roads: I had found driving in the mist and rain on road across the moor very tiring a few days previously. One really had to concentrate and when the central white line vanished, as it did from time to time, even worse. Luckily we met no speeding idiots.

Mist in the valleys

This telephone snap does not give much idea, but the mists over the valleys looked very pretty from the safety of the kitchen of our cottage. Just so long as you did not have to drive in them.

Eventually we got to the Honiton road, east of Exeter, to be rewarded by a hillside full of pigs, something we had not seen at all during our week on the moor, this despite being able to buy hogs' pudding.

And after that we got to the Cartgate service area, the facilities of which have slowly grown, over the years, and now include a large refreshment shed. A shed which includes quite a lot of arty junk by way of décor. One can only suppose that the owners have some connection with local art schools. But it made a refreshing change to visit a service area which was not run by one of the major operators and populated by the major chain operations - particularly since Starbucks have mounted major incursions along the A303.

And so to Solstice Services, run by one of said major operators and a family favourite, being just about half way between Exeter and Epsom. Not that we have ever used it as a spring board for visiting the new visitor centre at the local World Heritage Site. Never got beyond talking about it.

Charging point outside the Holiday Inn

Candelabra inside the Holiday Inn

Interested to see a charging point outside the Holiday Inn, which perhaps means that one can make it from Epsom to Exeter in an electric car. Will we be tempted when we run our current Ford into the ground, in say five year's time? Given the climate business, and my own stand thereon, I suppose we ought to. Not, I hasten to add, that we clock up many miles, by land, sea or air. By road or by rail.

And amused to see that they had not bothered to unwrap the candles on the large candelabra in the lounge, candelabra which we have noticed before. Did the manager have local purchase powers and buy them from the huge Home Bargains warehouse across the way? A place which I believe sells the same sort of stuff as can be found in the extensive non-clothing parts of TK Maxx. That is to say, what used to be called fancy goods.

But I do not mean to mock. This Holiday Inn provides a very convenient place to stop, to take tea & biscuits (very reasonably priced) and to make use of their other facilities. And they don't seem to mind when we take a discrete picnic in their car park afterwards.

PS: did they check our car registration to make sure that we had stayed there in the past? And, in our defence, we will probably stay there again, at some point in the future. Good will works.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/06/batteries.html.

Reference 2: https://polar-network.com/.

Reference 3: https://www.homebargains.co.uk/.