Some days go exactly to plan. This wasn’t one of them.
With Mum’s recent obsession with Antiques Road Trip (which, naturally, has now become my obsession too), today’s mission was obvious: go hunting for treasures around South Devon. The only problem? We’d forgotten it was Monday. If you’ve ever tried antiquing on a Monday, you’ll know that’s the retail equivalent of turning up to Christmas lunch on Boxing Day.
First stop: Ashburton
Even with a few shops closed, Ashburton absolutely charmed us.
The streets are full of colourful old buildings, independent shops and enough antique stores to make any collector’s heart beat just a little faster. It has that wonderful “just one more shop…” feeling… which is both delightful and slightly dangerous when you’re travelling with limited luggage space.
Thankfully my self-imposed rule of “If it doesn’t fit in the suitcase, it doesn’t come home” kept my spending mostly under control.
Mostly.
My favourite find of the day was In a Nut Shell Antiques & Interiors. The shop is packed floor to ceiling with fascinating pieces, from quirky home décor to genuine antiques, and I could happily have spent another hour just wandering around. It has exactly the sort of atmosphere that makes you wonder about the stories behind every item.
Unlike several of the shops we’d visited, this one managed to tempt me into opening my wallet. I left with a little treasure tucked safely into one of their paper bags—proof that my luggage rule has a few carefully negotiated exceptions!
Not far behind was Craftmongers, another lovely independent shop full of beautifully made gifts, homewares and artisan pieces. If I hadn’t already been mentally calculating the remaining space in my suitcase, I suspect I could have done far more damage there too.
Sophie, meanwhile, continued her role as Official Travel Mascot, charming everyone she met while supervising our shopping expedition.
The hunt continues…
After wandering Ashburton we headed off to another little village to continue our antique treasure hunt.
Unfortunately… Monday struck again.
Quite a few more shops were closed, so Mum decided she’d earned a well-deserved break and stayed in the motorhome while I had a wander through the few places that were open. Even with limited shopping, it was still lovely simply strolling through the pretty streets and soaking up the atmosphere.
Sometimes the best part of these little English towns isn’t what you buy—it’s simply enjoying the character, quirky buildings and discovering somewhere new.
And then… the day took a turn
You know those ridiculously narrow Devon lanes that everyone jokes about?
Well…
We found one.
We were almost at the end of a long single-lane road when another driver in a tiny Mini refused to reverse to let our motorhome through. Instead, we ended up reversing what felt like forever—probably close to a kilometre—back down the lane.
Needless to say, manoeuvring a motorhome backwards along a narrow country lane isn’t exactly relaxing.
The driver wasn’t exactly handing out kindness either, and by the time the whole episode was over he’d managed to turn what had been a lovely day into a rather stressful one.
It genuinely upset me, which doesn’t happen very often while travelling.
Still… deep breaths, a RedBull back at camp, and reminding ourselves that one grumpy person doesn’t get to ruin an entire holiday.
Final thoughts
It’s funny how a day can be filled with beautiful little moments—colourful streets, hidden shops, friendly conversations and unexpected discoveries—and then be overshadowed by five minutes of someone else’s bad attitude.
Thankfully, the good memories won.
And honestly…
Although it was Monday the 13th, it definitely felt more like Friday the 13th! 😅
Tomorrow is another day… and hopefully with significantly fewer reversing lessons. 🚐💜
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