Last year we went to Wales to stay with Nicole, Tim and the Twins, as they had a spare room in their holiday home but could only stay for three days. This year they were going to Cornwall, again they had a spare room and this time Dot could get the full week off work. Also good for this year, Tim had a seven seater car for the trip, with our topbox on and one seat down we had room for all of us plus all our luggage (at a push).
Day One, 3rd August 2013
We set off very early and the drive down was uneventful, although the M5 is very busy and very slow. My sciatica was a problem though, I was in constant pain for almost all of the journey, even though the doctor had given me a mix of stronger pain killers for the trip (the sciatica is also restricting the amount of time I can type this blog). I was glad to get out and walk off the pain as the others unpacked.
We had planned to get breakfast on the way down but is seemed that every service area was stupidly overcrowded, one even had attendants directing the traffic in the car parks, something I have never seen before.
So the first thing we had to do on arrival, was find somewhere to eat. We crossed over the river Fowey, had a quick walk around the main streets in the town and then called into the Globe Inn for lunch.
They had three hand pulled beers on offer, including one I had not had (I covered the beers in a separate blog so I can do them all together, although I will link to them).
We all enjoyed our meals and the beer I got was very good as well.
After lunch and later in the afternoon the girls went for a play in the river Fowey, they had seen other children playing in there. There is a small beach next to the old bridge (see the photo of the bridge above), that is perfect for the kids to play next to and in the river, although it disappears at high tide.
Very tired, after showers, we had cheese and biscuits for supper and an early night.
Day Two, 4th August 2013
Not a very good day weather wise, had a lazy morning and booked Sunday lunch in the restaurant at the Globe Inn.
We also booked train tickets, for a trip into Penzance for the Friday, unfortunately the ticked where not available from the train station outside our holiday house. So the others all went into St Austell to pick up the tickets there but I didn't want to sit in a car again for a while and stayed at the house and rested as best as I could.
Day Three, 5th August 2013
Georgia and Emily's tenth birthday.
I was up very early (about four) took pain killers had lots of tea and tried to walk off the pain in my leg but it wasn't long before I was joined by Georgia. She wanted to know if her and Emily could get up, I said ask Mam and by five everyone was up drinking tea.
After opening the presents at five thirty, most of them went back to bed.
The surprise for their birthday was a visit to the Eden Project, Nicole had used Tesco Vouchers to get cheap tickets.
When we arrived it was raining, but there was a bus from the car park to the covered entrance. As we already had tickets, there was no queuing and we went straight in, I say straight but it is a long windy path down to the domes, but it had stopped raining.
The first dome we came to was the stage, used for music events but today was being used for children's activities. Kids were building, buildings from recycled materials, I say kids but it was mainly grown ups doing most of the work. The decision was made to join in and do this as well, before visiting the main domes.
Once the wigwam was dismantled and all of the parts put back in the relevant spots, we headed to the large Tropical Biome, I could tell you all about how it is made and how big it is but it is simpler to link to the Wikipedia entry. What I will tell you is, that it was a whole lot warmer in there and it was busy, very busy.
At first the lens on my camera kept steaming up but eventually it it warmed up and I took too many photos of flowers and not enough of the birthday girls.
Looking up, some parts of the dome looked like scenes from science fiction films (I think some were filmed there) and there was also the walkway high up in the top, you would never get me up there though.
We spent about an hour in the Tropical Biome, before heading off to find some lunch. We didn't fancy the huge food hall, that looked a lot like a German beer hall and was very busy. So we walked to the cafe in the Core, the home of the Seed. We only wanted a light lunch as we were not sure what we would be doing for the girls birthday tea.
The Core has hands on educational information and a giant sculpture of a seed at its centre.
The girls also had a go at pumping water and crushing nuts using a great big machine that looked very Steampunk or Heath Robinson to me.
Next we made for the Mediterranean Biome, which I did not find to be very impressive at all but that could be just me. By the time we left there the sun was shining and we had a slow walk back up to the entrance complex to get the bus back to the car parks. I did fine new beers in the gift shop but I figured I could get then cheaper elsewhere.
From there we headed to seaside at Fowey, the others had all been there on day two, when the went out for the train tickets, so knew the best place to park. However as we walked along the sea front it started to rain, so we popped into an Italian for an early tea. They were only serving pizzas this early but that suited everyone, the service was very slow and I would not recommend the place to anyone, although the pizzas were quite good.
Back at the room there was cake for Georgia and Emily, we all had some.
Day Four, 6th August 2013
I was up early again, in pain but this time I think the extremely hot chilly off my pizza the previous night was also a contributing factor. After the painkillers and two hours in and out of the toilet, I got back to bed about four, for a couple of hours more sleep.
After breakfast and while the others were getting ready for a day out, I went for a short walk to try to loosen my leg up for the day in the car. I followed the railway until I came to river then turned back towards the accommodation.
It was quite a short but peaceful walk along the river and I got all of the others to wave to me from the balcony.
I think the plan for today was to visit Mevagissey and then continue on to the beach at Gorran Haven. Dot thought she had visited Mevagissey as a child whereas I thought I had never been there but it all looked very familiar (I will dwell more on this, after tomorrows trip to Polperro).
Parked up some way from the sea front and walked down to the harbour. Mevagissey is a lovely fishing village, although the tide was out, so the inner harbour was not looking it's best. As we explored the harbour the twins kept asking to go onto the beach and into the sea but we had to keep putting them off, as we had a very nice beach to visit later (and there wasn't much of a beach here anyway).
We walked along the piers and both sides of the the harbour. I tried out the panorama setting on my new camera again and while is is easier to use than the old model, some of the frames are not stitched together perfectly.
On the west side of the harbour there is a lighthouse and and aquarium, so we had to make a visit to both. The aquarium is free and you can view all of the fish from the local waters off the south west coast.
The drive to Gorran Haven was along very very narrow roads and when we did arrived, you could not even see the beach for the crowds of people already there.
We had passed through a small place called Portmellon where there was a nice but small beach but with no crowds. So we turned around and headed back there.
As soon as we got settled on the beach we had our picnic but I could not get comfortable at all, so moved to a bench seat up on the side of the road. While the others, mainly the twins had fun in the sea, I read my book, until I eventually gave in and popped into the pub next to where I was sitting for a beer (I will cover the beers in a separate blog soon) .
I had a traumatic incident outside the pub, where I spilt nearly a full pint of beer, after the initial shock, I checked my pockets and thankfully had enough money to purchase a replacement. Panic over, but the experience will stay with me for a long time.
Then much later back at our holiday home, we had beer and pizzas on the patio next to the river in the evening sun, it doesn't get much better than that.
Day Five, 7th August 2013
Nicole's birthday
Usual morning routine for me and the pain is not getting any better.
I think we had bacon sandwiches for breakfast as it was Nicole's birthday but I could be wrong, I know we did one morning.
I had a much longer walk as the others got ready for our day out, I say much longer but it was still only relatively a short walk. I did the same walk as yesterday then continued over the level crossing and part of the way up the hill on the opposite side of the track (not the wrong side of the track). I found another pub up there that I had not realised was there. I also sat on the station platform, watched two or three trains pass through and took several photos.
We had to go out over the level crossing to get to Polperro and just our luck the crossing gates came down just as we got there. I got out of the car to take some more train photos.
On arrival at Polperro, we parked up in the large car park on the outskirts of the village and set off down this hill towards the harbour. Everyone has to do this but there are little electric buses you can take if you want (for a small charge).
Most of Polperro was just how I remembered it, well most of it was.
You know how yesterday I said I had never been to Mevagissey before, well I must have been, because lots of things I though existed in Polperro where not there and were actually in Mevagissey. It would seem that besides the walk down to the harbour, all my memories of Polperro were actualy of Mevagissey. Around 1980 we must have visited both places in one day and I had just got it all muddled together in my head. I have checked the photo evidence from our trips to Devon around that time and we only did one venture into Cornwall. Strange how time plays trick with your memory.
The waterwheel at the top near the car park and the walk down were just how I remembered Polperro though.
We walked round both sides of the harbour (much smaller than Mevagissey) and even climbed on the rocks, where the boat trips leave. As yesterday the twins were itching to get into the sea but also as yesterday we had plans to do that later in the afternoon.
It was great to just sit in the sun for a change this year.
Dot wanted to find the shell house that she remembered from our visit years ago, a house decorated with sea shells but when we found it it wasn't as impressive as we remembered.
On the way back out of the village while shopping and exploring, we came across a small cafe with a seating area out in the sun and stopped for a drink and a pasty. We were rewarded with the most miserable waitress I have had the displeasure to meet in a very long time. The pasties were nice but the service wasn't and most of the others eating there were visitors from our European neighbours, she was not setting a very good example.
As we headed back up the hill towards the car park the girls got ice creams and then decided they would take the bus ride. The man operating the bus said it was ok to take their ice creams on board so Dot, Georgia and Emily went that way. Nicole, Tim and me walked back.
Next we drove to Looe, another place that looked completely different to my memory. I wonder where the place is that I always remembered as Looe.
We could not get parked in the centre of town so headed back out and parked in the large car park by the West Looe River, near the confluence with the East Looe River. The girls wanted to go crabbing and had all the gear required with them, including bate, but the tide was out, although some were grabbing in the pool there. We walk walked along the river were we could then crossed the bridge into town and passed all the shops to the beach. We got some money from a bank and I got a cup of tea from a small cafe.
As soon as we got the the sea the girls were straight in,Nicole and Tim sat on the pier close to where they were playing,
Dot and I, sat on the end of the short pier where we could see the girls playing in the water and it was nice and warm, shaded from the cool breeze. But we had to move when a couple of groups of teenagers assembled at the end. Why do youngsters have to shout everything, they do not seem to know how to talk or read come to it. As they started jumping of the pier, right next to he sign forbidding jumping off the pier. Also amongst the shouting every other word was a swear word, showing their total disregard for others, mainly other families walking the pier.
After the messing in the sea we had a quick look into the shops then sat outside a cafe, the Court Yard, for a warm drink and some cake. Very different from the last place, here they were very friendly.
So now it was time to go crabbing, there were a few people trying to get crabs from the river in town but we made our way back to the West Looe River closer to the car, where we knew there where grabs. The tide was well in by the time we got there and plenty of people were catching plenty of crabs. Once we got the hang of it we caught plenty too.
When it got too cold (for the grown ups) we packed up set the crabs free and headed back for Nicole's birthday meal.
Nicole had picked out an Italian restaurant for her birthday meal but when she phoned to book it was already fully booked. We had read good reviews for the pub I had found on the morning in the accommodation visitors book, so I got dropped off there as we passed, to check it out while the others got ready.
I had a beer and took a photo of the menu with my phone, I also booked a table provisionally for 20:30 and set off back to the others.
After deciding we would go to Earl Of Chatham (the pub), I rang to confirm and we set off to walk in plenty of time to be early. Unfortunately the level crossing caught us out again, so I rang again to say we would be late.
We had very good food and service, plus I had a couple of new beers.
Later back at the room, We had chocolate cake for Nicole's birthday.
Day Six, 8th August 2013
Quite a long day planned for today, with visits to Tintagel (of King Arthur and Camelot fame), Port Isaac (the home of Doc Martin) and Padstow (the home of Rick Stein). Well that was the plan when we set off that morning.
I had been up during the night as usual but didn't need to go for a walk, as we were all going to have a look in one of the shops in town. Unfortunately it was not open when we got there but the shop opposite selling beer was, I picked up several bottles of new beer but more about that in a separate, Cornwall Beer blog.
Here's the thing, continuing on from yesterday, Tintagel was not what I expected either, I had been confusing it with the Minack Theatre, or I had assumed in my fuzzy head they were the same place.
Once parked in Tintagel, it is a long walk down a very steep path, to get the the Visitor Centre, where you pay, and then start to climb back up to where the ruins are. I would not recommend this to anyone with a bad back and or bad knee, you can pay to take a Land Rover up and down to the Visitor Centre though.
After paying (and using the toilets), we set off back up hill to the ruins, it is steep and narrow and I think that if I was not "out of it" on painkillers, I would not have made it. As I have got older I have started to suffer from vertigo (not confirmed medically), brought on by heights and would have been too dizzy to do parts of the this path.
First we crossed the bridge (this would have freaked me out normally) and climbed to the top of the section called the island. The views are spectacular, so well worth the climb, on the other hand there is not much left of the ruins to see but enough to keep you occupied.
We visited all of the places on the map we were given, you can find them all on the English Heritage interactive map.
We then headed to the castle, or mainland courtyards, which meant going back down the way we came (a very congested path), only to climb back up the other side(also very congested but a wider path).
Back down as far as the bridge, the others went down to the beach to Merlin's cave while we continued up the other side to the castle. Just as we got to the top and stopped to look over the wall back down the path (for a rest and to get our breath back), we were surprised to see the others not far behind us.
The path/steps down to the beach were closed as they were in a dangerous condition but we could see plenty of people down there. What had really happened was (I think), they had just commenced some repair work on the steps and just closed them while the work was done.
The was actually not much to see at the castle (the views are good) so after a short visit, Dot Emily and me set off back to the town, while Nicole, Tim and Georgia made a detour back down to the visitor centre first, to get something Georgia had spotted earlier. The walk back up seemed to be even steeper than it do when we walked down.
As Dot and Emily looked in the shops while we waited for the others, I popped into a pub for a small beer, a new one to me (previews to follow soon). After I got caught out drinking, the girls were pleased to use the toilets in the pub, before we left there for ice creams.
We were hungry by now, so decided to give Port Isaac a miss and head straight to Padstow, to get fish and chips from Rick Stein's chippy.
Tim drove straight to the harbour, knowing the was little chance of a parking space but as we turned through a car park that said full, to head back to a further out car park, someone pulled out, what a lucky break.
Now here is another one of my misconceptions, I always thought Padstow was a small quiet fishing village but it isn't its a huge tourist attractions. I am not daft, I knew it would be busy but I didn't expect the town to be so big, Rick Stein (who mentions Padstow in every TV program he has ever made), always makes it sound like a small fishing village. It isn't.
We were hungry and as we walked it was not obvious where Rick Stein's chippy was, so we just bought from the first one that looked nice. We then found a bench on the harbour wall to sit and eat, luckily some very nice people let us in.
As we were eating I became concerned for some very young children who were very exited about crabbing and looked like they were going to fall into the harbour at any time. The parents did not seem concerned at all, even when the aforementioned exited children were pushing past us and getting in our way. I had to move away.
We all mover away from the crowds in to end and had an ice cream on the sun overlooking the beach. A beach that was either a very long walk away or an even longer drive away. So we decided to drive back to Looe to do some more grabbing where we knew a good spot.
First though we had a walk around the shops, we found Rick Stein's Patisserie, cafe and shop but not the restaurant or chippy. There were a couple of Rick Stein's beers in the shop but I didn't bother getting them but Nicole and the girls got them for me.
In Looe we parked in the same place and went straight to our grabbing position, the tide was just coming in so it was just about time to start.
It was getting late before we arrived back home, so we just had a family supper, cheese, crackers, crisps (chips), toast & pate etc.
Day Seven, 9th August 2013
Usual for me up early in pain, take tablets, drink lots of tea to get ready for the day ahead.
For my warm up walk I took Georgia with me, we went over to the train striation, to check which platform we needed to be on. If you are on the wrong platform when the train arrives there is no way to change and you just have to miss your train. We were on platform 2, the one were we had to cross over the level crossing.
While we were out, we had a play with the panoramic setting on the camera, to make identical twin Georgias.
Georgia, Dot and Me were first back over to the station and on the right platform, the others were on the wrong side with the crossing closed. Luckily the crossing reopened before our train was due. I was surprised that it arrived on time.
Our transport for today was a three carriage commuter train, we has designated seats for the train back but on this one it was everyone for themselves. The train was on time but it didn't leave on time, a leak had been spotted, the driver had to checkout the leak and the breaks before we could continue.
After about ten mins, we on our way but split up all over one of the carriages, after the next stop, when people got off, we all got seats together. It took about one hour twenty to get to Penzance Railway Station, I enjoyed the ride but not the crowds (being too close to too many people).
Out of the station we headed for the beach, we turned right and followed the sea front until we could get down onto the sand.
One of the first things we came to was a pub, so we popped in for a beer but it was really just to use the toilets, honest. We sat outside to have our beers, it wasn't the best place as we were next to a busy road, I would put a photo here but I seem to have lost any I had. What I did get a photo of though, was a gold postbox next to the pub. These gold postboxes were placed in the home town of every UK gold medal winner from the 2012 London Olympics.
This one was for Helen Glover MBE, a rower and a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team, Helen won gold in the women's pair with crewmate Heather Stanning. A coincidence as the gold postbox close to the twins school is for Katherine Copeland, a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team. Kat, who went to the girls school, won gold in the lightweight women's double scull with Sophie Hosking.
Just along from the pub is a lido, the Jubilee Pool, the UK's largest seawater lido. The others all went in there rather than the beach, while Dot and I went for a walk along the promenade. Georgia had decided that she no longer needed to wear her wetsuit (she has very sensitive skin), so she gave it a go. She was right and seemed to be fine in the salt water of the lido.
We walked along the promenade in the nice warm sun as far as the outskirts of Newlyn (about as far as I could walk), before heading back to meet up with the others. After we turned back we got very good views of St Michael's Mount, bringing back good memories of our visit to Mont Saint-Michel in France.
After our walk we had a cup of tea in the cafe above the lido where we got a very good view across the bay and also of the girls playing in the pool (yes I know I said tea).
Although taking photos is not allowed in the lido, it is from the cafe, where we took photos of Georgia and Emily playing in the pool.
By the time we finished our drinks the girls were out of the pool dried, changed and ready to go. They met us at the cafe and we set off into town for a late lunch. It took us a long time to find somewhere to eat but we did eventually and I also got a new beer, (review to come in a septate blog).
By this time it was nearly time to get the train back, just enough time though to look in a few shops before going back to the train station.
The Train back was a lot nicer than the one there, this was the London train and we had numbered seats, there was also a buffet car. So Tim and I set off down the train for some drinks.
Straight off the train, the river was perfect for the girls to play in, it was flowing just right to play on their boogie boards.
While the Nicole and Tim took the twins back to clean up and then order our supper from the Chinese, Dot and I waited in the pub. I didn't take long before they were all back to join us for our last pub drinks in Cornwall (I even got a new one), as it was home tomorrow.
Day Eight, 10th August 2013
There were a couple of things I wanted to see and photograph on the way home, the Tamar bridges and the transporter bridge at Newport. If I got to see the transporter it would be three transporters in one year, our own over the Tees, the one in France over the river Charente in Rochefort and the one in Newport over the River Usk.
First stop than was at Saltash or Saltmill, down to the river Tamar to see the bridges from there, just my luck, Brunel's rail bridge was covered in scaffolding and tented out for work. The work on Brunel's bridge even spoiled the photo of the road bridge. With a very disappointed me, we continued on our long drive home.
The traffic out of Devon was very slow but we turned out of the traffic jam towards the next bridge, over the river Seven in Wales. I thought I might get photos of the two Seven crossing bridges but it was not to be. I did however get some good shots of the transporter and if we had more time, could even have crossed over the river and back again.
Our next stop was in Monmouth for lunch but it was very busy and parking spaces were sparse. We got parked and found a nice pub for food and while we waited for the food to arrive, I set off to find an interesting looking bridge we has passed on the road into the high street.
Monnow Bridge across the River Monnow, is the only remaining mediaeval fortified river bridge in Great Britain with its gate tower still standing.
After a nice meal and a new beer and while the girls had an ice cream, I had a mess about with the panorama setting on the camera. Monmouth looked like a very nice place and well worth another visit sometime.
From there it was still a long journey home and a painful one for me.
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