Another charming village is Axmouth, situated on the river which
gives its name. Old-fashioned cottages with gay little gardens
straggle up the hill, down which the clearest of streams runs merrily,
affording delight to a myriad of ducks who dip and paddle to their
hearts' content. The church has Norman features, and the tower
some quaint projecting gargoyles. From the other side of the river at
high tide the old church and cluster of cottages around it, backed by
the graceful slope of Hawksdown Hill behind, make a charming
picture. High up in the hills, through typical Devonshire fern-clad
lanes, is Bindon, an interesting Tudor house containing a chapel of
the fifteenth century. The entrance from the road, with its circular
stone gateway and gables with latticed mullioned-windows peeping
over the moss-grown wall, is charming, as are also the old farm-
buildings at the back, in which an enormous canopied well is
conspicuous. But more gigan
[Pg 171]
tic still is the well at Bovey, another Tudor house, near Beer, which bears the reputation of being haunted. But with the exception of some
gables at the back, Bovey is less picturesque than Bindon, owing,
perhaps, to the fact that the roof has been re-slated.