far far away downunder... 遠得要命又顛倒的地方: 英國行 – 南岸小鎮遊 / UK Trip

不知何故, 我很難把英國跟海岸線聯想在一起(…明明她就是個島國…), 趁著這次出遊, 好好把我的腦袋裡的資料重整一下…

我們從Wells 出發, 開車不到2個小時就抵達臨英吉利海峽的渡假小鎮, Sidmouth, 延途盡是農田, 牧場, 很難跟海邊扯上關係, 豈知翻過一個山頭, 地勢驟降, 一個海鳥群聚, 海浪拍岸的臨海小鎮就呈現眼前了

Sidmouth 的海岸以石礫, 岩岸居多, 沙灘很短, 小鎮迷你, 並非一般家庭觀光的理想地點, 但因地方小, 觀光景點和鬧區集中, 小鎮附近丘陵地多, 適合散步, 多數飯店歷史悠久, 且是秉持傳統服務的老字號, 所以這裡很得長青族的青睞.

有多受長青族歡迎呢? 最明顯的例子就是在我下榻的飯店用早, 晚餐時, 餐廳裡聚集了滿滿的白髮長者, 我估計最年輕的也超過六十歲了, 我跟Andy彷彿誤闖了老人國.

在Sidmouth停留期間, 我們還去參觀了驢子保護收容所 (Donkey Sanctuary www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk ), 這是由一位喜愛驢子的Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen創立的慈善機構, 最初是收留在英國 Devon 郡因工作受傷, 或退休的驢子, 但現在這收容所的義行擴及全球, 照顧遠至歐, 非, 亞洲受傷, 老殘的工作驢.

在英國, 我看到很多”不因善小而不為”的實例, 從維持個人生活品質的小事, 到維護整體國民, 全球人類, 動物權益的大事, 每個人都很積極的維護自己, 跟他人的權益, 不論你是多數, 還是少數.

We had a short visit to Sidmouth while we were in UK, which is located on the southern coast of England. On the route from Wells to Sidmouth there were endless farm lands and I was wondering how we could reach UK coast line in less than 2 hours of driving? Then right after we descended the last steep hill, there it was, Sidmouth situated on the English Channel

Sidmouth is a small hilly town with a mainly rocky coastline and beach, without too many entertainment facilities which does not make it an ideal holiday destination for young families. However, as the high street and beach front are within walking distance of the town centre and the hilly coastal roads providing an easy place to stroll along and provide picturesque views it makes a very popular destination for the older tourist. In addition most of the hotels have been in business for decades and provide services in the traditional way which is also popular for the older guest.

Apart from beach scenery, there’s also a nice tourist attraction in Sidmouth called Donkey Sanctuary (www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk), which was founded by Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen. It’s interesting to pay a visit to see friendly donkeys, getting to know more background of working donkeys, and how they have been taken care of in this sanctuary.