Week 5 Mon 12th Nov to Sun 18th

Hi all,

Apologies for the delay in the latest post of the Mints On Tour Blog, but disaster has struck!!!

The laptop had a major paddy last Sunday, and crashed completely, destroying everything that had not been saved elsewhere .... which included last weeks diary and photos, so it has gone to be rebuilt and we are sitting in a library with 30 free mins to put down as much as our fingers can manage in that time!!!! SO better get on....

Monday 12th November - day 30
Move day from Treamble, to the deep south. We have booked to stay on a farm just outside Helston, not quite so romantic as it sounds! The farm is situated just beyond RNAS Culdrose (it is amazing how many planes the Navy fly!!) Chris had even more fun with the porch as we are staying on hard standing (shale). As we were wrestling with the guy ropes we noticed that there was a beautiful red sky behind us, so we rushed off to beautiful little Poldhu cove to enjoy our first beautiful sunset. What we did not notice was the dirty great cloud settling between sun and horizon

so sat watching the red fade to grey!!! We were not alone, also enjoying the bay were 3 young school girls, still in uniform running across the rivulets and having great fun, - what a play ground to come home to!! Still managed a lovely stroll along the headland though, listening to the waves slapping the rocks as the light faded.

Tuesday 13th November - day 31

Went to Penzance today to take a look around. Walked around the docks looking for signs of fishing boats (and the hope of purchasing some supper!) but only saw this interesting old ship which was being renovated.

Walked into town to check out the shops, and passed a couple of interesting pubs, one called the Admiral Benbow, and one called the Humphrey Davy, a local hero famed for his new Miners lamp, which were calling out for further exploration on another occasion.

The shops were also interesting, we went into a sort of wholefood/ organic shop for some bread and watched the lady in front of us pay £1.70 for 2 bananas, (had to pick Chris's bottom jaw up off the floor - not a pretty sight!) We spent a fascinating 15 mins in a shop called Bay Trading but having decided that we could not afford to purchase Christmas presents there either we moved on in search of a fishmonger...... but........ no fish to be found so home for spag bog!

Wednesday 14th November - day 32

Planned a walk along the coastal path, from Zennor to Pendeen, we started out in fair weather conditions, and enjoyed a stroll around the village, passing a local treasure - the Wayside Museum filled with local historical artifacts, none of which we saw because it was closed until Easter, in the church however we did see the world famous (?) mermaid seat, the only one of it's kind to be found in a church! On then to the coastal path, in search of those breath taking rugged views........and down came the rain!! We had not thought to carry our waterproof trousers so each step got heavier and squelchier!! Needless to say we did not get as far as Pendeen but headed back when we got to Gurnards Head, home to a hot shower and a brandy!!

Thursday 15th November - day 33

We are not doing to well today in interpreting local information! We planned a sight seeing tour of local historical landmarks, as we did not fancy getting wet again so we set off to find Chysauster - an ancient village now owned by the National Truss, we got there to find that it was closed until Easter (a running theme) so we moved on to look for Lanyon Quoit an ancient burial ground but drove straight past there!! We were not to be beaten though and stopped in a beautiful spot for our first official picnic - Chris was in his element balancing a soup bowl on his knee!

By now the sun was shining, and the light was crystal clear so we found ourselves hurriedly donning boots and kagools to walk around the headland from Morvah to Potheras Cove - good move, the views were fantastic and the sun on our faces was lovely and warming. As we rounding the final corner we saw the first glows of pink that are the (possible!) foretastes of a glorious sunset, so we hurried back to the car and sped (a relative term meaning to move into fourth gear because you are aiming to drive faster than 25 mph!) to beautiful Cape Cornwall just beyond St Just.

Tonight we were not disappointed, the sky glowed, and for a moment we contemplated the idea of buying a little house on one of these idyllic cliff tops.

Friday 16th November - day 34

Back to St Just today, to walk to Lands End. We managed to do our usual hurtle to the bus stop with micro seconds to spare, my job is to rush ahead and ask very slowly if the bus is going to our required destination while Chris locks up the car (we are getting quite practiced now!)

As we walked it was interesting to note that the hard black jagged landscape of previous walks was turning to softer browner more rounded stones and the path is easier on the feet. We see few people on these walks and, having reached Whitesand Bay, stopped to have lunch, and straight into our quiet solitude, a man, waving camera shouted to ask if he could take our photo, we said yes and the camera friendly Chris got up to pose, but the photographer gesticulated saying that he only wanted our backs as they were a good filler for his wide shot of this beautiful long beach!!!

We followed his footsteps a while later and walked the length of the beach to arrive in charming little Sennen Cove, we were lured into the old round wooden Capstan which the local artists had turned into a gallery and shop, promoting their crafts. We were tempted by some beautiful pieces, but when we discovered that a small glass square Christmas decoration would cost us £8 we left quietly!

On finally, to Lands End, and discovered that we had entered a theme park, we were completely bemused by what we saw and went to have a cuppa whilst we tried to work out what Doctor Who, the Labyrinth and a retail outlet had to do with the last bit of land in England, we could come to no conclusion so left and drove to Porthcurno for a hopeful glance at Minack, the outdoor theatre set in the rock face, but we had arrived too late so will have to return.

We decided to return to the Admiral Benbow (Penzance) for a fishy supper, as it had looked so interesting, and boy we were not disappointed. We entered a colourful world of nautical artifacts including half a gig! We all sat at higgledy-piggledy tables and leaned against old ships panels painted in gold, green, red or brown, and were served by the rosiest cheeked serving wench, the whole experience could only be bettered by the fabulously fresh Newlyn cod and local Sea Bass, joy, will remember that establishment for a long time, take a visit if you find yourself in Penzance!

Saturday 17th November - day 35

Very blowy today, decided to take a trip down to Marazion and walk across the causeway to St Michaels Mount. The walk across was very refreshing, and holding onto Chris whilst he took photos of the island could even be described as quite exciting, but the visit was brief as again we found the sign closed until Easter - I think that is when the National Truss have their holidays!

As we walked back to the mainland we were amused to watch the windsurfers, who had taken over from the surfers around here.
The winds were so high that the little sails and boards were acheiving faster speeds on the water than we do on the roads, (this may be a mode of transport to consider.......... but maybe not)

Marazion was filled with beautiful galleries all celebrating the works of local artists, we visited them all but again left empty handed as the prices were still beyond our means!

We retreated to the local hostelry for the BEST home made cream tea that we have ever had, we sat and savoured each mouthful slowly, as we looked out from our cosy warm vantage point, to those intrepid wind surfers and even braver dog walkers.

Sunday 18th November - day 36
Another wet day today, so trip to Geever Tin Mine to get some answers to the growing number of questions that we have concerning the mine shafts that keep cropping up on our walks. The answers all came during an interesting tour of the works and a shaft, of this longest surviving tin mine in Cornwall, next to it was Levant, but we didn't attempt to visit it as we suspected that it would be "Closed until Easter"

We moved on then to Minack for a proper look round, it was spectacular and well worth the return trip. I could really imagine the atmosphere that this round stone theatre would create for those sitting on a warm summers evening watching "Henry IV"

We left there to visit Mousehole the light was fading by now, and the little tumble of houses nestling above the harbour looked even more charming when viewed by their lighted up windows. This is the prettiest fishing village that we have visited so far, and the moonlit walk along the promentary will stay in the memory!

Week 4 Mon 5th Nov to Sun 11th

Welcome to week 4's diary entries. There is so much to do and see down here, we seem to just keep scratching the surface, but we are so enjoying the scratching! Hope you enjoy to.

Monday 5th November – day 23

Another walk planned for today, although the early rain almost unsettled the plans!
Drove to Porthcothan, then took the bus on to Harlyn, for a slightly shorter and easier walk (than Saturday), back to the car.
The scenery and paths were gentler on this stretch, but there were still magnificent views, especially once the wind started to whip up the waves. There were signs everywhere asking us to keep to the path as the RSPB and the local land management group were keen to support the resettlement of the elusive and endangered corn bunting; we thought we saw one near the end of our walk, but we could have been mistaken.
I need to raise a concern here, we are reading of walkers doing 18 to 20 miles a day on these paths, and I am beginning to wonder how they do it, because it takes us hours to complete maybe half the distance, if we are not stopping because we have reached the top of a steep bit, we are stopping to drink in another glorious vista, and now we are beginning to try and identify wildlife - there is just so much going on all around us, and there just doesn’t appear to be enough time to take it all in!
One particular detail of note though is the way the Cornish build their walls; the style is called “curzy”, as the narrow slates are laid in a sort of vertical herringbone pattern, apparently so that the rain falls away from the wall more easily.

As it was the actual Bonfire night, we decided to join another throng of locals/tourists/surfers down at Porth beach to watch another fire work display. It was a completely different experience than the glorious evening at Port Gaverne, as it was put on by the local surfers pub, and there were a lot more young people there rather than small families.
It took an age to begin and there was no lovely bonfire to offer warmth, just as we were beginning to wish we hadn’t bothered stopping we heard the count down from the pub, the DJ struck up the Star Wars anthem(!) and the fireworks began. Boy were we glad that we had stayed, these were carefully choreographed by a pyrotechnic specialist team for sure, we have never seen such a fabulous array of colour, pattern and sparkle since the millennium!!

Tuesday 6th November – day 24

Another golden day, the wind had blown the clouds away and we woke to bright sunshine. Again a shorter walk planned allowing for plenty of time at Bedruthan steps, which had received an enthusiastic write up from the National Trust.
We are beginning to crack this bus catching business as for the second day running we arrived in good time to get boots on and rucksack ready, and still have time spare to stand at the bus stop, unfortunately today it was the wrong bus stop, but happily for us Chris noticed that there was bus standing on a corner a little further down the road, in just enough time for us to stride purposefully towards it, indicating our intention to the bus driver!
Our walk today started where yesterdays finished, at Porthcothan, and we walked the headland, again offering magnificent if somewhat softer views of scrubland and gorse, with the regular dramatic cliff drops to remote little inlets. We spotted a Cormorant along the way, and were helped to identify it by a helpful group of bird spotters, keen to inform us of other birds to look out for!
We arrived at Bedruthan a little earlier than anticipated but it did not stop us availing ourselves of the delightful little tea rooms after an explore of the steps.
Although not owned by the National Truss it had all the gentility, graciousness and green paint of its host, and the counter groaned with delights such as warm plum sponge with clotted cream, and did we have any…… best not ask I think!
Sadly this little haven of confectionary bliss, (like so many other thriving Cornish establishments) is closing at the end of the week, and I am caused to wonder what the locals do for a little refreshment after a bracing walk along the cliff top once we have all gone home? It seems that the Cornish only cater for the tourist but offer little for themselves once the holiday season has ended.
On then for the final (thankfully) gentle walk back to Mawgan Porth, then home and an early supper to be ready for Spooks….!

Wednesday 7th November - Day 25

Windy and rainy today, good day for chores so nothing more than an exciting (and expensive) trip to Morrisons and the laundrette acheived today!

Thursday 8th November - Day 26

Bright and blustery day to start with, off to have coffee with Alan and Margaret, who are staying at Chapel Amble for a few days; we started with lovely coffee, then went on a lovely stroll along Rock beach and back for an even lovelier lunch!
We finally left at 3pm to head for another look at Padstow, and I think Marg and Alan had to head for the sink after our visit!!

Whilst there we had our first glimpse of the local air ambulance in action, parking very deftly on the quay, before whisking someone off to Trelisk.
The wind really started to get up by late afternoon so we made tracks back to the caravan via the scenic route, and spent the evening holding onto our hats inside the van!!!

Friday 9th November – day 27
After a windy night, the weather was unsettled today, so took a tour round, stopping at Crantock where Chris had stayed years earlier when Andy and Will were little, walked along the beach and picked up some interesting looking shells, on to Holywell Bay, but didn’t stop as it looked rather cheerless, and Penhale Military training camp rather dominated the landscape, then finally took a windy road to Perranporth, which was not the little fishing village that I had hoped, but we thoroughly enjoyed a bracing walk along the headland to watch the wind really churning up the water. Before we returned to the car, we took a steep flight of steps almost hidden from view that led down to the water (we presumed that it accessed a little beach when the tide was out.) There was just enough room for Chris and I to stand on a turn in the steps, and we stood for ages just watching and listening to the sites and sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks. We were out of sight from the headland path, and felt quite isolated down there - quiet observers of the power of nature.

Saturday 10th November – day 28
Today saw us back on the Coastal Path, where we parked at a pretty St Agnes, we walked up a hill, (where don’t we,) and off on to the coast path. Our initial route took us past our first view of the tin mining that was so active a century before, here not much in the way of physical buildings but plenty of spoil. The path wound us along past further examples of derelict tin mining buildings and of course the spoil, it really is extensive and intrusive on this section of the path. However we firmly held our gaze on the active sea and coastal rocks for a while, the wind was set for a good blow and had us hugging the left side of the path as we walked along. The going has relatively easy once on the top, it undulated along rising and falling about 10 to 15 meters all the way to Chaple Porth.
Here we dropped down to a car park with a small NT café, now burnt out, and firmly closed loos. Then onward and of course up to the top of the cliffs again.
The path continued to rise and fall and set us towards yet another old tin mine, whose main building had been partially restored by NT, and you were able to get close and go inside. The brick and stone work was impressive and restored quite well, but it was difficult to get any real idea of how it worked when in operation. We moved on towards Porthtowan which was round the headland, just in front of us. Stopping on the last descent we sat to watch the surfers and have a sandwich. We could not understand why they paddle out so far and then sit and wait, letting so many waves pass, are they waiting for the perfect wave? (or just recovering).
Moved down into the village and a welcoming pub for a small libation and a wait for the bus to bring us back to St Agnes.
As we journeyed back through this pretty little town, we found a lot of little streets and small interesting shops that looked ripe for exploration on another visit.
Back to the caravan, a quick change, then off to Truro for a much looked forward to supper out. Arrived in town and went for a look around to select a restaurant, we passed one called “Indabo” a fish restaurant, just outside the car park, we walked firmly on towards the centre of town and hoped we would find something round by the cathedral, we passed many but none that really suited so……. back to the first one and a really first rate meal, we would thoroughly recommend. Our waiter, as it turned out was a surfer, so we asked him about the waiting, we were told that they are recovering after getting that far out, or coming down from the adrenaline rush of the last triumph!

Sunday 11th November – day 29
Throughout last night we thought the porch outside the caravan was going to take off, the wind was so loud and boisterous, and blew fit to bust; therefore we slept very little.
After such a disturbed night we rose late (no surprise here!) moved slowly off to visit St Ives. This delightful little town was all we anticipated it would be, first impressions are that it is very “arty” as there are any number of galleries with art for sale from either this or that local artist, they come from the sublime to the ridiculous and on to the mass produced tat. There are also lots of other little shops, full of all sorts of the interesting and varied, including a number selling the ubiquitous surfing paraphernalia. There are a real jumble of small and winding cobbled streets to meander down with interesting houses from times past, a good sized harbour with lively craft bobbing to the dance of the sea. We walked round a number of these little streets, looked in lots of the shops, and finally sat down to eat in a small blue restaurant called Sea Food Café and had some wonderful fish soup with garlic and granary bread.
We will return for further investigations of this lively little town.

Week 3: Mon 30th Oct to Sun 4th Nov

Hello all, and welcome to week 3 of "Mints on tour." We moved down to a small site between Perranporth and Newquay on Thursday, and keep expecting to spot Andy Pennell on one of the surfers paradise beaches but no luck yet, however the story so far.........

Monday 29th October – Day 16

Admin beckoned again today, as we still had to settle on our travel plans for the next few weeks, so after much gazing at the website/Directory and several phone calls later we have secured our route until Dec 10th, hurray!
Chris had to spend some time on flat administration, and our only highlight of the day was a trip to Morrisons to get new supplies after Tim’s visit!

Tuesday 30th October – Day 17

Waking to glorious sunshine, we made the easy decision to make a return trip to Hartland to walk more of the path; Picnic at the ready we set off from the Radome, (previously a WW2 military site, now an Air Traffic control radar tower) just before Hartland Point, and walked round the headland.

The scenery was breathtaking, the air was clear, and the sun on our faces was as warm as any June summers day with a light breeze just to keep the heat off.

It was hard not to stop at every view point to take in more of the contorted stone strata, impressive ribs and pinnacles’ covering much of the beach, the sea was much calmer and gentler today, giving us chance to study rock rather than wave.

We picnicked high above Damehole Point, near Hartland Quay and watched a couple of merlins hover and dive; Chris named them Sharon and Tracy as they looked like a couple of game birds, just as we had named them we were visited by another pair of game ol’ birds recceing a path for their lady ramblers group, we vacated the bench for them and moved on. Unfortunately we had to leave the coastal path soon after as we had planned another circular route to avoid finding public transport, (though I think it is more efficient round here) We were hoping for a detour through Hartland Abbey but it looked very closed and unwelcoming so we moved on, back to the car through high sided cycle paths which were miserable in every sense, soggy under foot, and too high to view anything!! Finished pleasantly enough with a flask of tea and a danish, drunk watching the sky turn red and sun sinking into the sea.

Wednesday 31st October – Day 18

A mizzling sort of a day today, lots of mist and a fine rain, (oh well can’t have it sunny all the time). So we shelved our planned walk and decided to go and view our next camp site near Perranporth, the route was good so we hopefully will not encounter any hazards.
This done we went on to see Newquay, much as we remembered it, though there was an abundance of surfing paraphernalia, and subsequently a much more youthful or energetic vibe, which we felt rather too much of in the Central Inn (do we need to say more!)
On then quickly to Padstow or should it be Steinstow now, with a “Stein” based shop/café/bistro/restaurant/deli/fish and chip shop/gift shop and cookery school all baring that name, it is no wonder he is “popular” locally! However it has to be said that the retail and restaurants all around the rest of town had been lifted to an altogether higher standard, giving the town centre a much more dignified and elegant air than remembered.
We finished our tour of Padstow as evening drew in, and decided to take in our first Cornish Cream Tea at the lovely For’c’sle. We managed just one scone each but it was enough to remove any desire for further sustainance until breakfast!
So impressed are we with little Padstow that we agreed that we will definitely be returning.

Thursday 1st November – day 19

Spent the day either preparing to move, moving or resettling having moved! We left Cozy Cats at 13.30, had an easy journey and arrived at Little Treamble Farm, Goonhaven (just outside Perranporth) soon after 15.00. The set up was easier as we begin to establish our routines, and it only took 30 mins to set up the 5min easy porch! An improvement of 15 minutes!
Our reward was a return trip to Padstow to join several others in attending the cinemas final showing, as it now closes until Christmas due to lack of local support! We watched “Atonement” an absorbing but frustrating film as it co-starred a 13 year old girl who DEFINITELY needed a slap!!
The film started at 8pm and there was much discussion in the caravan about the joys arriving early for a stroll or beer (or both) before the show, and it still remains a mystery just where that spare 30 minutes went as we left skid marks on the roads leading into Padstow, arriving breathless, just after 8pm…. Now that will be a surprise to a few of our readers, I’m sure!

Friday 2nd November – day 20

Dull day in every way, jobs to be done, one of which included a trip into Newquay as evening fell, so managed a stroll along the long wide sands until concern that the tide might block our exit forced a turn around, not before we noticed an amazing house built quite literally on a 50 mtrs high island just big enough for a single house, there was a bridge – not unlike Clifton Suspension Bridge, connecting it to the main land, no risk of flooding there, but I did wonder what they might do in high winds!

Saturday 3rd November – day 21

A golden day, from beginning to end, started well as we actually got up early to catch a bus from Polzeath to go to Port Isaac so that we could walk back from there along the coastal path. Surprisingly we realised that we would not make it in time to catch the 9.45am bus so we took a detour to visit Trebetherick, and St Enodocs Church.

It is a lovely little 9th century church where, we discovered, John Betjeman was buried, however we nearly missed it as the tomb stone was rather insignificant, for a man of his literary standing! The other interesting note is that the church also has a very short and twisted spire, much like the shape of a witch’s hat.

We had 2 hours to wait for the next bus, so on leaving the church, walked back along the path, over a golf course and on down to the beach.

We returned to the car then on to Polzeath for a coffee (took a moment to think of Alison Withers and her team at the Tubestation – looked fab). It was only as we ordered our drinks at the beach front café that we noticed that it was now just 10 mins to the next bus, so Chris dashed back to the car to collect the rucksacks. We caught the bus only because I was making a return journey to deposit the extra coat that Chris had brought over, and was able to flag the bus as it came round the bend (still holding said article) and hail Chris who came hurtling from the café, holding a the rucksacks and a smoothie that the kind waitress had just transferred to a plastic cup for me! We had reached Port Isaac before either of us had dried our eyes from the laughter.
We were just beginning to wonder why the bus was hurtling along the roads to Port Isaac at an unprecedented rate, and when we found that the bus driver had a bag of pasties, still warm, to be delivered to his house, on route.

As we were getting off, our helpful bus driver not only gave us directions to the coastal path, he also told us of the free bonfire on the beach at Port Gaverne being held that evening.
Having left the delightful, windy and narrow picturesque Port Isaac, and an even lovelier potter/artist’s gallery, the walk today, although taken along even more fabulous cliff paths and headlands was not the high spot; apart from the MANY flights of steps that assist the walker getting up and down the steep gullies (Chris counted 145 in one flight!).
We were somewhat disconsolate to find that having climbed for 2 ½ hours a sign at lovely

Port Quin, showed that we had only travelled 3 miles (sigh!)

We rounded Rumps Head and came back along the path into Polzeath beach, my hot feet were drawn to the gently lapping waves on this pretty, wide shore (very popular with surfers) so off came the boots and down to the water I went, wonderful whilst in the water but the walk back up the ½ mile beach was pain itself as the cold entered my tired crampy digits – big time; I was not the only one suffering, I think Chris’s hips had had enough of the steps, as I have never seen him move so gingerly back from the loos!
The time was now 6pm we had some hot tea from our flask, and headed off to Port Gaverne to join the hundreds who had also heard that there was a good firework display.
It was a magical evening, as we walked down a single track 1:4 road that overlooked this typical Cornish bay, cliffs flanking the narrow inlet which opened into an oval shaped beach, rather like an amphitheatre as Chris pointed out.
The huge bonfire had been built in the middle of the beach, and the evening started with a ceremonial adding of 4 guys made by local children to the top of the bonfire, and an almost choreographed lighting, its heat was soon felt by all!
As the bonfire settled we were treated to a 30 minute spectacle of light and sound and almost as if planned the huge rockets burst into life just over the inlet and momentarily lit up the sea – pure magic.
When we thought the day could not possible be improved upon, we went in search of supper, not finding a pub that did “something in the basket” we went back to the cafe where we had coffeed in Polzeath earlier, only to find that it had morphed into a fab fish restaurant, and we managed to get the last “table for two” and were the two lucky beggars that had crab, scallops and sea bass to finish the perfect day!

Sunday 4th November – day 22

Went inland today to see “Trerice”, a National Trust property just beyond Quintrell Downs. Lovely gentle afternoon of pottering round house and gardens, and the sight of the autumn leaves brought home just how bleak and stripped the trees are on the coast, as if the wind has blown them straight into winter (assuming that they “leaved” this year).
This elegant and dignified Tudor house was taken over by the NT in the 50’s having been purchased from Cornwall County Council, who in turn, had been sold it by the last owner in the early 1900s in favour of his principle home further south.

House and gardens had been lovingly restored, and after a good wander we took tea (and cake) in the Great Barn, which sustained us enough to then visit the lawn mower museum, and down memory lane, though only one (the female of the party) had childhood memories of helping father mow the lawn!

Mon 22nd Oct to Sun Oct 29th

Hello folks,

Well here we are at the end of our second week, and as they say, what a difference a day makes....Lots of sleep, good food, fine views and weather have all played their part in unwinding our tires and frazzled spirits, and we are TRULY on holiday now, here follows a taste of what we have been up to this week, for those brave enough to scroll down further!

Happy reading.......

Monday 22nd Oct – day 9
Trying more of the coastal path today, public transport still not working for us, so another circular route planned. The weather is colder and windier but still clear. Parked back at Lee Bay, walked up to Hunters Inn through woods and across fields. Final descent to the Inn was down steep hill with gradients of 16% (but what does that mean, really!) let’s just say it was steep enough to crush the toes in the boots! The reward was stopping for a clotted cream ice cream, then on to Heddons Mouth and back along the coastal path, panoramic views all around but no camera to record them with, as forgot to bring it. Final leg of the walk included a bliss reminder of childhood as we rebelliously scuffed up clouds of dead leaves, not caring if there was dog pooh underneath (don’t tell mum)
The walk ended foolishly as we found an off road sign pointing to Lee Bay, which we thought may be a short cut, and kinder to our feet and tiredness. However 20 minutes and a steep gradient later, we followed by a cut back to within two minutes of where we left the road earlier!
Home for a warming supper and an evening of frustration with the blog, hey ho!

Tuesday 23rd Oct – day 10
Grockles day planned drove down to Coombe Martin for a walk and picnic. Sat on a bench overlooking the beach watching the other grockles enjoy the late autumn sunshine, paddling but fully dressed in rolled up trousers and woolly jumpers, Ahh, the great British seaside holiday.

Then on to Watermouth for a more invigorating walk along a coastal path, with a tour of a derelict WW2 pillbox on the headland and magnificent views back towards Great Hangman lit by a warm early evening sun.

Wednesday 24th Oct – day 11
More of the coastal path today, taking in the stretch between Lee Bay and Woolacombe; parked along the esplanade and walked through the lovely Mortehoe. Picked up the path to Lee Bay over the fields, it is much quieter here, having left the crowds behind.

Again panoramic views greeted us as we joined the coastal path. The walking was a bit like being on a roller coaster at times, as we went up one side and down the other only to be greeted with the next incline almost immediately.

The National Trust very kindly laid steps for the steeper ascents, Chris counted 57 steps to get half way up to the top of the first rise, (only he would be counting them all!)



Morte Point was fascinating, with some dramatic rock work, which looked rather like a dragons back descending into the sea

As we are walking these narrow cliff pathways, with steep and deep drops very close to the path edge I am beginning to wonder just how many lives have been lost over the centuries, as some of these narrow cliff side paths must become very dangerous during times of fog or wind.
Back to the car by 6pm and off for a well earned pint of Barum for Chris and Scrumpy Jack for Helen, a wonder round Woolacombe and a romantic moonlit (well street lit actually!) walk along the beach to end a lovely day.

Thursday 25th October – Day 12

Moved out of Twitchen Farm and onto pastures new in The Cattery near Crackington Haven, south of Bude. Easy journey and settle in, set up took a little longer as we now have a new porch, the instructions are all written and no pictures, however we shall, and did, overcome. This provides a much needed breaker from wind, and another lay out area. The instructions advise that it is an “easy porch” that can be erected in 5 minutes, not so, it took at least 45 mins, we can only assume that practice makes 5 mins.
The pitch looks out over farm land and those all important “views”. The camp site is very well maintained and reasonably level. The on site facilities are much improved from Twitchen as the unit’s purpose built, the shower gives good spray and is free!
The decision to eat out was unanimous, and we decided to go to the Coombe Barton Inn at Crackington Haven. This was shown in the Good Pub Guide but can only assume that it is listed as it is the only one in the village. However the food was adequate for the evening but we decided that in future when we eat out that we look for the good food guide instead.

Friday 26th October – Day 13

Our first day out from The Cattery and returned to Devon to visit Instow, we decided to drive through and from what we saw carried straight on and over to Appledore! Instow its self is really only a strip of beach with some housing, etc. Apart from an ancient signal box on the railway there appeared to be of little interest to us to stop.

Appledore however was a delight, with lots of old terrace cottages which were the old fisher cottages. It was a real trip back in time passing along these colourful terraces.

We walked out of the town and round the end of the bay towards and into the Burrows which is an area of grazing, mudflats and sandy beach. We walked along the edges of mud flat and beach and enjoyed the freshness of the wind and wildness of the area.

Toward the end of the walk out we watched an inshore fishing boat returning to its berth, and it caused the comment that it would be great to buy fish on the quayside.

Returned back to Appledore, but now had to walk on the high tide path, back through the terraces of cottages. By now we were getting quite hungry and decided to try a local fish and chip supper, these turned out to be really very good, and we felt like a couple of postcard cartoons as we sat on the quayside and ate out of the paper, yum! As evening settled in and we noticed some lights further down the quay and people walking back with plastic bags of fish. We finished our supper and strolled down to find the earlier seen trawler selling the fish off the quay. Our wish came true, so we purchased two plaice for £3.00 and supper for another evening.

Saturday 27th October – Day 14
Tim returned from Paris, as no work had materialised, and he is home for a few days to organise a European rail card before setting back off again for a month’s European city hopping. We arranged that he should come down and spend a day or two with us, but we did not expect to find him sleeping in the car as we set off for our morning shower. The young chap loves the sense of adventure of driving through night, especially as it’s in his dad’s new Jaguar, arriving before dawn and managing several hours’ kip on arrival!
We were well prepared with the eggs, bacon, beans etc and lingered over our brunch as we caught up, then set off out to take in some of the local sights, Boscastle first, where we had a pint in the Wellington Inn, which was featured in one of those fix it programmes (DIY SOS?) after the flood, there was a plaque showing where the water came up to ….. on the first floor!
We walked down towards the headland and were diverted into a visitor centre, to see some of the news footage during the flood in 2004. It was amazing to see the cars and vans being pushed along in the flood water, and the escapes of the local people by being winched up into helicopters. As we walked along the river bank we saw all the new flood defences that are being made, and all house repairs seem to have been completed, so there is hope for the Horsefair.
Moving down the river to the original sea defences, we walked up the hill to watch the great foaming breakers crash against the rocks - made us feel glad to be alive. I think this may have
been the highlight of the day.

From here we went over to Tintagel, - another grockly disappointment! - taken over by commercialism and everything hyped on King Arthur, Merlin and Camelot. (except of course the old post office which looked incongruous amongst its brassy neighbours)

Leaving Tintagel on foot we took a walk through the drizzle, out along the headland to see an ancient church and even older remains of a fortress, well worth the trip, you could really imagine the living conditions in the swirling mist and drizzle.
We returned home via the Coombe Barton for a pint before supper, but as we arrived we could see the sea pounding onto the beach, and the incoming tide breaking onto the beach and rocks.

Tim felt he could get a better view from further down, and ran at speed across a small gully, but unfortunately not as fast as the incoming waves …… he was cheered by us and other visitors as the wave caught him mid way and was caught up to his knees.

Following a restorative pint we were home for dominos and cards, which Chris seemed to keep winning, we have not yet worked out his technique ….. but we are watching!

Sunday 28th October – Day 15

After a very windy night, we were greeted by low cloud cover in the morning, so to arrive at Clovelly in warm sunshine was a real treat. The cost of £5.00 per person to visit this chocolate box tourist trap winded us a little, but as we had made the journey we decided to look big and pay up.
I have to say it was worth it though, the sun shone brightly on us as we weaved our way down the cobbled streets to the little harbour. We discovered the locals method of transport, as we spotted a sled used for carrying down any items too heavy to carry.

We broke the crawl back up the hill with a well earned pint in the New Inn, and were well rested before we set off for the final trek!!
However much we enjoyed Clovelly the real thrill for us was the next stop at Hartland Quay.

The wind had got up again and was whipping up the waves along the shoreline. I was a little sad that we didn’t have time to get the boots on and stride out over the headland; maybe we will get an opportunity before we move on from the Cattery.

As dusk fell we made our way home for locally made Cornish pasties, we switched on Radio 4 to listen to the 6 concerned for a while about her error until Tim asked the pertinent question ……. “When did the clocks go back?” did we miss our lie in,… drat!!
After supper and a film (bless the PC) Tim left late, for his midnight journey up the motorway.