BOVEY CASTLE
Bovey Castle is the perfect place for family fun.  In addition to gorgeous architecture and stunning art deco style art in the high-ceilinged rooms, it is surrounded by 400 acres of grounds next door to Dartmoor National Park.  We took a drive one evening through the moors, where sheep and wild ponies run free alongside more rabbits than I’ve ever seen anywhere.  In the moors are rock formations called tors, which are hard to describe except to say that they are giant rock formations sticking out of the ground in unexpected places.  The lodges at the castle are named after the tors.  (We were in Hound Tor, or Dog Rock lodge.)  We had so much fun at that dinner that we made a pact to meet at the same place on the same day 25 years from now.  Kate wondered what Barry would do if she didn’t show up.  Barry promised her he’d be there anyway.  But he probably wouldn’t eat.  He’ll likely be the reigning world snooker champion by then.  Here he is in the infamous snooker room, home of the international incident.  I had a lot of fun learning to fly fish, and the kids… the kids loved everything.  Ben was especially good at archery and shooting, Kate loved the miniature pony farm next door, they both learned to play croquet and generally had a lot of fun just running around and wading in the many streams and ponds.  Ben won the Chappell Family First Annual Paper Airplane Flying contest.  If you look closely at the photo of Barry and the kids on the balcony of the lodge, you can see his winning entry in flight.  Bon voyage!