Hello and welcome to my December newsletter. Well, it won't be long now until Christmas! Fingers crossed the new covid variant doesn't upset everyone's plans. I'm feeling pretty organised at the moment. It was a relief to get my third book published and be able to...
My December Guest: Amanda Sheridan
I first met this month’s guest on social media through our shared interest in reading and writing, and we quickly became friends. Amanda has written two books, “Rapid Eye Movement”, and “The Dreaming”. I have read and enjoyed the first book which is very unusual, and...
My Interview with Alex Pearl
My guest today is Alex Pearl, an author living in North West London. One of his many claims to fame is that he was inadvertently locked in a record shop on Christmas Eve! Alex’s first novel was published in 2011 and is called “Sleeping with the Blackbirds”, a darkly...
My November 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my November Newsletter. I was looking back over my newsletters earlier and realised that I sent my first one out in November 2020. Where has the time gone? Last year I wrote that a vaccine for Covid was in sight and that, hopefully, there might be...
My November Guest Author: Elizabeth Ducie
This month, I am delighted to interview Elizabeth Ducie, an author who, like me, lives in Devon. I first met Elizabeth when a magazine editor suggested I contact her for some guidance in promoting my books. Elizabeth organised a Zoom meeting and provided me with some...
My October 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my October Newsletter. What lovely weather we have had during October, but sadly the sunshine has left us now, and as I write this it is pouring with rain outside. I guess it had to come sooner or later. I've made the most of the dry...
A Visit to Avebury and a Haunted Inn
In the absence of a holiday abroad this year we spent a weekend in Marlborough, a pleasant little town situated in the picturesque rural northeast of Wiltshire. It has a wide High Street, lined on both sides with characterful old buildings, a good variety of shops,...
A Trip on the Tiverton Canal
During the summer, I enjoyed a trip on a 75-seater, horse-drawn barge on the Tiverton Canal, and it was such a lovely experience I thought it was worth sharing in a blog. We booked in advance to avoid disappointment but did not need to pay until we arrived to collect...
My September 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my September newsletter. I seem to be having a very busy summer this year. We have quite a big garden, laid mostly with lawns and flower beds, and keeping it tidy sometimes feels like painting the Forth Bridge. I work my way...
A Walk to The Valley of the Rocks
This is a relatively short walk of around two miles, but it includes some spectacular scenery. Hollerday Hill in Lynton is 750 feet in height, and its proximity to the coast provides views of the island of Lundy. On clear days the coastline of Wales is also visible...
My August 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my August newsletter. Well, what a difference in the weather this week. A week or so ago we were in the Lake District, basking in glorious sunshine and now it is blowing a gale and pouring with rain. This was a holiday we should have taken...
A Walk from Hele Bay to Berrynarbor
This lovely walk has magnificent coastal views and country scenery and is around five miles long. The circular walk starts at Hele Bay on the road from Ilfracombe to Combe Martin and the route is via Watermouth Cove and Berrynarbor. There are two options for parking,...
July 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my July newsletter. This is always a busy time of year for me as I'm torn between lots of jobs in the garden, writing, or watching Wimbledon. I did a bit of all three yesterday. In the morning we went to our allotment and picked peas...
My Visit to Historic Tewkesbury
I recently visited Tewkesbury with my husband, Bryan, to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary. Apart from visiting family, it was our first trip away from home for well over a year, owing to the Covid pandemic. We were lucky in that the weather was fine and sunny...
My Walk Along the Hartland Cliffs
This beautiful North Devon walk from Hartland Quay to Hartland Point is only around five miles long, but it is quite strenuous as there are some steep inclines to overcome. We have walked it at different times of the year, but I think it looks at its best in the...
My June 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my June newsletter. How lovely to have some warm, sunny weather at last. I'm a keen gardener and just a few weeks ago, I was fed up with watering and wishing it would rain and then it didn't know when to stop. My husband, Bryan,...
Devon Book Club
Discussion on Blogging, Vlogging and BookTubing I have previously had the pleasure of featuring Marcia Clayton's novels in our theme weeks. Marcia also responded to my invitation to this theme week with details of her blog and a couple of others that she recommends....
Barnstaple: The Oldest Borough
I’ve written two historical romance books set in the 1880s in Hartford, an imaginary village in North Devon. “The Mazzard Tree” and “The Angel Maker” are part of the “Hartford Manor Series" and I’m working on the third book to complete the trilogy. Part of...
Circular Walk along The Bude Canal and Coast Path
There are so many lovely walks in Devon and Cornwall that it's difficult to pick a favourite, but this is definitely one of mine. The walk is around 6 miles long and there are a couple of steep inclines, but generally not too demanding. The scenery for the...
My May 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my May newsletter May is my favourite month of the year. Everything is so fresh and green and it's great to see the trees slowly unfurling their leaves. The hedges are full of primroses and violets and the bluebells are...
A Visit to Beautiful Corfu
It's been a long time since many of us have been able to take a holiday abroad and I recently spent a nostalgic hour looking at some holiday photos. My husband and I have been lucky enough to visit a few of the Greek islands and one of our favourites is Corfu. There...
A Circular Walk from Landkey to Birch via Harford, East Bradninch and Gunn
This is a walk my husband and I discovered during the Coronavirus lockdown and it has now become one of our favourites. I’m ashamed to admit that although I was born in Landkey and have lived here for many years I did not know of this walk until last year. There...
My April Guest Author: Sophy Layzell
I first met Sophy Layzell on Facebook when she took an interest in my books. Since then we have read each other's books and become friends on other social media platforms, although we are yet to meet in person. Maybe when the lockdown is over and things return to...
My April 2021 Newsletter
Thank goodness the clocks have changed and the evenings are getting lighter. Even if we are still restricted in our social lives because of the Coronavirus, at least the weather is improving and it will be easier to meet outside. It’s been a long winter in more ways...
My Walk from Church Cross, Filleigh to Triumphal Arch
Filleigh is situated on the B3226 between Landkey and South Molton. This is an easy, undemanding walk of around two miles with a few gentle inclines. It can be slightly muddy in places, but is generally a good walking surface. The walk begins at Church Cross in...
My March 2021 Newsletter
I’m so pleased to have done some gardening this week now weather is improving. I feel a bit like the plants in that I’m looking forward to coming out of hibernation. That’s what a long lockdown can do to you! Last Autumn I invested in some mulch for the whole garden...
The Great Fire of London 1666
Hurrah! I've just finished writing the first draft of my latest book in the Hartford Manor series. My debut novel is called "The Mazzard Tree", and the sequel, "The Angel Maker". The books are set in a rural village in North Devon in Victorian times. The third book...
My February 2021 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my February Newsletter. I live in Landkey, a small North Devon village and fortunately there are lots of lovely walks right on our doorstep. During the lockdown my husband Bryan and I have tried to get out for a walk on most days, as it...
My Floral Art Designs
In September 2018 I started attending a floral art class. I've always liked flowers and arranging them in vases, but I'd never experimented further than that. The class was held every other Tuesday evening. During the first part of the class, everyone would make their...
Winter Delights
Now that the country is in lock-down again because of the Coronavirus, many people are walking more, and this is certainly true of my husband, Bryan and myself. We like walking anyway, and our idea of a good day out is often a lengthy walk, followed by a pub lunch....
My January 2021 Newsletter
Hello and a Happy New Year to you.I hope you all had a good Christmas, despite the difficult times we live in. We had a quiet Christmas like most folk, but did enjoy a Skype quiz with our family on New Year's Eve. It was cold, with a hard frost in North Devon on...
My Walk to Braunton Burrows on New Year’s Day
It was a cold and frosty day in North Devon on New Year's Day and my husband and I went for a walk with my niece and her partner, and their dog, Piper. It was minus 5 degrees first thing, but by the time we started walking the temperature had risen to a balmy minus 2...
How to Make a Christmas Holly Tree
Instructions to make a Christmas Holly Tree.
My Walk from Landkey to Swimbridge
A description of a walk from Landkey to Swimbridge
My December 2020 Newsletter
A December Newsletter providing information about the books and blogs of Marcia Clayton
My Walk from Landkey to Bishops Tawton
Old Coach Mounting Block This is a walk from Landkey to Bishops Tawton, partly along the Tarka Trail. The walk is approximately 4 miles long. There are one or two steep hills and in some places the ground can be muddy so walking boots are recommended....
My November 2020 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my newsletter. Have you started on your Christmas shopping yet? I’ve bought a few presents so I’m feeling slightly smug. I’ve also made my Christmas cakes. It’s an old recipe my sister Gill gave me and the main secret is soaking...
How I Came To Write A Book
In my youth I had never really thought about writing a book or becoming an author, though I had always enjoyed reading. As a youngster my mum was often telling me to "get my nose out of that book" and do something useful. However, I'd always enjoyed writing essays at...
So What Are Mazzards?
This is a post about the mazzard tree and how it was saved from extinction.
My Granny’s Arithmetic
Arithmetic in 1900