Straight from a storybook, the lemon bon-bon wash of The Thatched Tavern bids you enter a sunny world of wishing wells and dog-friendly delights…

Diamond-paned leaded windows and bristly thatch are a new experience for a dog brought up in gangland LA, yet Bodie seemed curiously at home on the front stoop.

Perhaps it was those Torbay palms reminding him of California…

The promise of Fresh Bean Coffee lured us up this pretty path…

In the Summer this place must be a crush but we found perfect peace…

The garden was a sun trap adorned with spring flowers and wishing well…

Bodie’s wish came true almost straight away…

And then we discovered there’s a special Pies Galore menu! £7.95 every lunchtime mon-fri and evenings mon-thurs with options including Steak & Ale and Chicken, Ham & Leek. Here’s Bodie looking utterly perplexed at why someone would photograph their food when they could be eating it.

We shall be returning soon for a dessert dilemma – Fruits of the Forest Eton Mess or Apple, Sultana & Cinnamon Crumble with Clotted Cream…

THE THATCHED TAVERN

Website: thethatchedtaverndevon.co.uk  

DOG-FRIENDLY MAIDENCOMBE BEACH

Just 300m and a set of steps away you will find the little curved bay that is dog-friendly Maidencombe Beach.

The waves were really thrashing and frothing upon the nutmeg-coloured sand so I was a tad concerned that Bodie was going to get swept away. Wisely he stayed away from the surf (possibly encouraged by my howls of Noooo! every time he went for a paddle) but then he turned his attention to the rocks…

It was all fun at first – he’d have a tootle and then come back to dig and hang out…

But then he got a little over-ambitious in terms of squeezing through craggy crevices and emerged with a bleeding eye. This is me comforting him though it looks a little as if he’s washed up on the shore and I’m giving him the kiss of life.

IN CONCLUSION: Maidencombe Beach has a Quality Coast Award and is dog-friendly year-round but is perhaps best-suited to pups that a) know the scene and b) don’t try to push themselves through small spaces with sharp, scratchy surfaces.

Note: Bodie’s eye healed quickly and he’s now back to giving knowing winks.