Today is the day I'll be vacating my flat. After breakfast, I put all the remaining stuff I had into my car boot and rearranged the furniture so that they are back to their initial positions. Next, I pop over to the rental agency to return the keys and also the receipt showing the carpet in my flat has been professionally cleaned (costs me ￡30 to hire the carpet cleaner). I stopped by the company to pick up a letter from my boss. and also to bring in some cakes as my birthday is coming up soon. It's a tradition of the engineering team here :)
All set, I drove south west to Ilfracombe. The entire journey took approximately 3hrs. I checked into the Ocean Backpackers Hostel which will be my base for the following 3 nights. Ilfracombe is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the north coast of Devon, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs. The town stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 6 km along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west. Walking towards the harbour bay there were quite a number of boats stranded on the sand as it's low tide now. Several people fishing by the pier where you can also take a boat trip out to the nearby Lundy Island. Next to the pier is the St. Nicholas Chapel, sat on Lantern Hill since 1361 and acted as a beacon for over 650 years. This could be the oldest lighthouse in Britain. Half way up, I noticed the change of sky with dark clouds quickly coming towards my direction hence I quickly descend. The rain poured just as I took cover under a shelter with many other tourists. We waited about 15 minutes before the rain subsided and I walked back to my car for a thicker jacket before going to the tourist information center at the Landmark Theater to get a local map. 
The Landmark Theater is an award winning theater in the North Devon coastal town of Ilfracombe. Of unusual (even controversial) double conical design, it is locally referred to as Madonna's Bra, a reference to its shape and that of an iconic brassiere worn by the singer Madonna.
Walking along the High Street, there're quite a lot of pubs around town and one of them claimed to be the oldest, established since 1360. Since the sky has cleared up and the sun is out again, I went back up to St. Nicholas Chapel for a panoramic view of the town. Going back to the pier, it was a completely different view. The place where the anglers were fishing earlier on has now been submerged under water. Ahh… it's high tide now, all the boats on the sand is now afloat on the water and the anglers have relocated to another spot.
Back in the hostel, I boiled some broccoli and also reheated the rice and chicken I brought for dinner. I'm staying in a 6-bed dorm with one other roommate, Katie from Kent. She's actually here in Ilfracombe for teacher's training and since her rented house is not ready until next week, she is putting up in the hostel. She has a degree in Children Psychology and has been working in London for the past 6 years. However, she and her boyfriend loved the nature and the countryside too much that they decided to move to North Devon. Whilst talking to her that evening, she told me that there are quite a lot of difficult / troubled children in this area as there are quite a lot of them who came from poor families relying on benefits and a lot of their parents are alcoholic. Hmm... guess this means its not so safe to go out at night then...
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