The Round House

A Memory of Shaldon.

Pip Parkinson's memories are so similar to my own that we could have been on the same holidays. I first went to Shaldon with my parents in 1952 and we returned for one week at Easter and two weeks in August every year for the next nine years. We met the same families each year also - the Lees and the Parkers - there were six children in total and we did pretty much the same things that Pip did, including the mackerel fishing with Gordon Hook. The Round House was originally a hotel owned by Stu and Mick Clarence, which they converetd into apartments in around 1957. They had two children, Jill and Chris and Chris still lives in a flat within the original Round House - his son and grandchildren also live in the village. For some reason, I didn't go to Shaldon between 1964 and 1996 but when I did go back, I knocked on Stu and Mick's door and Stu opened it and without hesitation said "Hello John, come in". We now return for at least one week every year and have introduced our children and grandchildren to it now, and they enjoy it as much as I ever did. What a wonderful place.