We’ve had a wonderful and industrious few days away in south Devon, my writing chums and I. We go away several times a year for a short break, three or four days or so, to somewhere we think and hope might inspire us. Our first ever foray was to Lyme Regis in Dorset, four of us who’d become friends through our writing group. We did suggest others might like to come but would need to find their own accommodation, but for whatever reason, none did. We had such larks and such fun and wrote so much, it was so profitable to our writing, that we repeated it the following year. Since then we’ve also been down to Cornwall, to Gloucestershire, to Pembrokeshire and other places in the southwest and south Wales, in search of inspiration, adventure and bookshops. This year we returned to Devon and stayed in a cottage with a long and significant history, just outside Totnes, near the village of Longcombe. It is probably the oldest place we have stayed, a wonderful cottage, beautifully and comfortably restored retaining many old (very old) features as well as having every modern convenience!
Parliament Cottage is a historic 17th-century Grade II listed property located near Longcombe on the outskirts of Stoke Gabriel and Totnes in Devon. Legend holds that King William III held his first parliament or council meeting here in 1688 while marching to London.
We found it quite inspiring to be in such a very old cottage with so much history attached, and significant history to the whole of the country. If you’re interested, the following will lead you to find out more about the history and see a view of the cottage itself:
Lois Elsden 