Exploring Devizes

Tuesday 14th August 2018 in Devizes.
These are 72 hour moorings, so we can stay here today and spend time looking around the town. The morning sky was dramatic.

There is a very active canoe club here and we have seen many groups of youngsters like these enjoying mucking about on the water.

A trip to town provides another opportunity for a visit to "guess where?"

There are 13 Wadworth pubs in Devizes and they all have beautiful hand painted signs and lovely hanging baskets. Indeed, Devizes rivals Stratford-on-Avon for its colourful floral displays.

The "White Bear" claims to be the oldest pub in Devizes and it can boast a listing of every landlord going back to 1571, when it used to be known as the "Talbot".

In the centre of town is an imposing building called the "Handel House", decorated with gold embossed names of famous composers. It is now a bookshop but in 1881 it became the business premises of Ezra Price, described as a "Piano Forte Dealer and Tuner" and founder of E. Price & Sons, who continued in the Piano Forte business until the 1960s.

Ezra Price's house, and his original showroom still exists - it is now a very familiar landmark visited by R!

Opposite this Costa, M loved the "Make Do and Mend" shop, a real cornucopia of delights including a huge selection of sewing "notions".

One window of the shop displayed an eccentric collection of novelty tea cosies.

We spent the rest of the day quietly on board MM, who had another day's rest.