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Up early this morning for a trip to Donington Park. It’s a truck meeting, but there’ll be plenty of other things to watch.

Pit crew surround the Renault factory truck.

A marshall tries his luck with a grid girl. Don’t think he got a phone number, but full marks for trying.

The trucks seem huge compared to other racing cars, but the competition is furious, and very noisy!

They fly past the pits..

Trucks are surprisingly vulnerable to damage. This one got a bump at the back which destroyed a rear tyre.

Next up are the Formula Ford single-seaters. These are driven by a mixture of kids wanting to become the next Lewis Hamilton, plus a few guys of my age who have more money than sense.

The kids didn’t all make it to the finish.

Donington Park is right next to East Midlands airport. This can lead to some slippery track conditions as the jets spray the tarmac with fuel on take off.

The winner of both truck races. A mechanic struggles to change a wheel in the background.

Jim, with an enormous American truck.

Next up we have a Porsche race. I know some of the drivers from the Porsche internet forum. Everyone here is an amateur, but the cars are really well turned out. Here are Fraser and Andrew.

Marcus and Ben in the Hartech Boxsters. The beauty of this class is that you can enter pretty much any car you like as long as it’s a Porsche.

Mark in his 996 Carrera. He won the first race.

Despite the apparent difference in performance amongst the Porsches, racing is very close. Performance is evened-out by making the more powerful cars carry some ballast.

At the end of the day there’s plenty of time to see the cars before everyone packs up and leaves.

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Or you might argue, the festival of diesel, as wind and tide were not favourable for a run up the estuary this afternoon under sail. No matter, it was an impressive sight, with just about anything that would float making its way from South Sands back to the town in flotilla.

Lifeboats, new and old, lead the way.

The fleet follows on.

Lovely old lifeboat bringing up the rear.

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Last night we had dinner in the Galley, and got a window table!

Lobster, very nice.

This morning, we start with a D Day remembrance ceremony.

Open day at the Salcombe lifeboat “Baltic Exchange III”

Inshore lifeboat “Joan Bate” with a new coxswain.

And at last, the suns puts in an appearance.

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Pouring rain last night. We ate at Dick & Will’s restaurant, which has a wonderful waterside deck. It wasn’t getting much use.

This morning we woke to drizzle and low cloud. An inland walk seemed the best option. The rowers weren’t put off however.

We head inland from Shadycombe towards Higher Batson and Horsecombe. The footpath verges on the extreme in places!

Eventually we cross the main road and arrive in Malborough. In every village we have seen scarecrows. The local school is running a competition – each scarecrow represents a children’s story, and if you can name them all you win cream teas for 6 at a the Soar Mill Cove hotel. Can you guess this one?

Lovely old cottage (offers in the region of £2 million) at Coombe on the way down to South Sands.

World’s biggest rhubarb? This stuff grows along the stream that runs down the valley. It is at least ten feet tall.

The weather stayed dry, but it was too chilly to tempt many people into the water at North Sands.

The ruin of Fort Charles. The Royalists withstood a long siege during the civil war, but were eventually overcome. The castle has been abandoned ever since.

Our track for today.

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OK let’s deal with yesterday evening first, as it was simply glorious.

We had cocktails at the Island Street bar, which seems to have become the favourite hangout for the local youngsters. My G&T was simply divine darling!

And that’s about all I can remember from last night.

This morning we got up early as the weather forecast wasn’t too clever. Got the ferry across to East Portlemouth.

Great views of Salcombe from here.

And off we go, first heading inland to Rickham Common, then south again to the coast path at Gara Rock. Quick coffee and off along the coast path.

Some lovely views from the cliff path. Weather beginning to close in.

The Salcombe bar, as immortalised by Lord Tennyson.

Back in Salcome, the weather continues to deteriorate, and there is a great commotion as we walk around Customs Quay, followed by the roar of mighty engines. The coastguard has received a Mayday call on VHF, and they’ve instructed the RNLI to launch the All Weather Lifeboat.

The RNLI quickly post some details outside the boathouse.

The weather continues to worsen, but that doesn’t stop the fleet of ‘Solo’ class dinghies from having their race around the anchorage. Val counted 42 of them!

Salcombe is looking good for the Jubilee. Here’s the pub where we’re staying.

Here’s our track from this morning:

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Arrived at Kingsbridge about 12, crab sandwich on the quay. The new car did well; I think we got a podium finish in the M5 grand prix.

Descended into the madness that is Salcombe, and set off on a walk to Snapes Point, a hilly promentary just north of the town. Needless to say, it starts with a steep climb.

The views are great from the top however.

Back in Salcombe, the boaties are getting their craft into the water. There’s a fair degree of one upmanship involved, but I think this guy pretty much wiped everyone else out.

Despite all this high octane, high testosterone competition, Salcombe remains a peaceful spot. Batson creek at high tide this afternoon.