A Hard Few Days in the 'Office'

A Hard Few Days in the 'Office'

Well, maybe not quite the office, but a hard few days never the less!  Mostly because over the last few days, and the next few that are pending, we have done or are going to do, much more exercise in the form of walking and cycling than we've been used to off late!!

Wednesday 23rd September 2015

Today we moved the Tardis again - to another ACSI site at Treverven Farm, where we will make our home for the next 5 days. We didn't save quite as much this time - only £2 per night - but already our stays have more than compensated for the cost of membership.  On the way we stopped off in Camborne for shopping and then at Marazion for lunch, however when we arrived there we were quite disgruntled to find that they discriminate against Motorhomes!  Not height barriers this time, but parking charges!  Just before the village there's a large car park where they obviously want everyone to park, and their prices are displayed on a board just after you enter.

How can the justify charging £5  for a coach with it’s possible 40+ passengers but £8 for a Motorhome?  We thought it was very unfair and unjustified so we voted with our tyres, turned tail and parked about half a mile down the road for £2.10!.  

One of Marazion’s main claims to fame is that it is the place from where you can cross to St Michael’s Mount via an ancient cobbled causeway which appears at low tide.  

Unfortunately, at the time of our visit the tide was quite high, and a board informed us that it wouldn't be safe to cross by foot until nearly 6pm, so on this occasion we didn’t bother - but we have been over before.  Many years ago when our children were small we paid a visit, and very nearly didn’t beat the tide back -  I recall wading through knee deep water and having to carry our youngest son Ben!

The castle is the main feature on the island, and these days it is in the care of The National Trust .  It was given to them in 1954 by Francis St Aubyn whose ancestors lived there as long ago as the 17th Century, and his descendants still do today.  Furthermore, as he retained a 999 year lease it would seem likely that they will be there for many years to come.   

As we couldn't visit the castle we had a little potter around Marazion and it was here that we learnt an interesting fact about ‘Cornish Pasties’  Apparently they were awarded ‘A protected Geographical Indication’ by the European Union  in 2011, which means that only Cornish Pasties made in Cornwall and following the traditional recipe can legally be called and sold as ‘Cornish Pasties’.  A genuine Cornish pasty is filled with uncooked roughly chopped beef, swede, potato and onion, and when cooked the pastry should be robust enough to retain it’s shape without splitting or cracking in the slow baking process.  Furthermore, apparently no artificial flavourings or additives can be added, so it really could be considered a reasonably healthy fast food hand held option as long as you're in Cornwall!!

Marazion is a pretty village that provided numerous eateries, galleries and other tourist aimed shops, but we didn’t want to eat out or do any shopping so we were soon back in the Tardis for lunch, and then we hadn't got far to go before we reached our campsite.  Now all we needed was a plan for the next few days

Thursday 24th September 2015

Today we decided to do another walk along the coastal path. We planned to walk from our campsite to Mousehole - but we didn't quite make it (why later), and I really thought there wouldn't be much to write about for today - how many times can you describe this beautiful area without being boring - I will try very hard not to be.

Spot the Seagull!

We passed by Coffin Rock, Merthen Point and then came to a sub tropical area which led us down onto a boulder strewn beach. 

If your interested our route can be found here, http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/walking/lamorna.php, but if you're going to follow it, take care - from this point on the going gets much tougher!

Why was it tough - well it was certainly something to do with the rocks and mud that often obstructed our way, necessitating using all 4 paws to climb over, round or under, and while doing so having to negotiate wide tracks of thick squidgy oozing mud which tried to pull our boots off, or cause us to slip and slide with the ever present risk of landing on our a..es bums - luckily neither of us did but for me it was a very near thing more than once!

Along the way we climbed up onto Boscawen Point and had an excellent view of the Lighthouse at Tater-Du, and further along we found this 'Throne' at Corn Barges.

From here we continued on to to Lamorna Cove where we paused for lunch, and then we walked further along the Coastal Path to the rocky headland of Corn-Du ...... a point from  where we thought we would be able to find a footpath that would take us back to Lamorna, but our way was blocked by an electric fence, so rather than struggle around it we just retraced our steps back along the coastal path to Lamorna Harbour.  

Our choice now was either continue back the way we had come,  or to follow several small lanes that would eventually lead us home.  We chose the latter to avoid gong back through the mud baths - and we were quite glad we did, because our ongoing path led us up through Lamorna village with it's cute little pub 'The Lamorna Wink', and past the old Post Office -

a place we had visited previously when we did  a 450 mile tour of Cornwall on our Bikes with our friends Sharon and Paul.

We also came across a Stone Circle, The Merry Maidens,

and additionally an old Burial Chamber that is thought to date from 2000BC.

We arrived back at the Tardis a little foot sore, but having thoroughly enjoyed our walk.  We hadn't made it as far as Mousehole, but we both agreed if we had gone that far it may have become an endurance test rather that the very pleasant outing it was.


Friday 25th September 2015

Today was a day were we mixed cycling with walking, and were we visited lots of Saints and Coves - we cycled most of the way but several big hills tipped us off and made us walk!! That's the trouble with coves, the're nearly always at the bottom of a very big hill, and what goes down must come back up!

As we left the campsite we commented to each other that it felt really good to be back on two wheels, and as we peddled along quiet country roads with sun shining warmly on us we felt very contented.

Our Trusty Steeds (Scotts)

To start with we were heading towards Porthgwarra which was 2 miles down a dead end road, so we knew we would have to retrace our steps, but it was well worth it.  The cove is pretty but tiny, really just providing a slipway for small fishing boats, and a cafe for tourists.

We continued through the settlement and followed a track up to the Look out Station which provided stunning views over the rugged coastline.

We then returned via the way that we'd come and headed for Land's End and Sennen Cove, however we didn't linger long at Land's End because we plan to visit there tomorrow, but we were lucky enough to pick up an off road route that runs alongside the coastal path that took us right into Sennen.  By this time we were both quite hungry, and once again the chip shop tempted us to buy an accompaniment to our packed lunch, and following our purchase we sat on the wall above the beach and munched our food while watching all manner of people enjoying the sunshine and sand.

Now the main downside of going to Sennen is that there is really only one road out, and it is extremely steep, and this is where we were tipped off out bikes for the first time - it was a long hot walk!!

Anyway, we continued on our way for another 8 miles or so, mostly steadily uphill, but then came pay back - a lovely downhill section into St. Just.  From there we continued on to Cape Cornwall where the road dropped away very steeply again,  leading down to Priest's Cove, and it was here that we had our coffee break, and then another long walk back up the hill in the very warm sunshine!!

 

In fact, we were so hot by the time we got to the top, that we felt  we would need lots of refreshment for when we got back to the Tardis, Therefore, we felt compelled to stop off at the local supermarket at St. Just to collect some Doombar - an ale that is brewed on Cornwall's North Atlantic Coast - and very nice it was to.

Our journey was now nearly complete, but on the way back we stopped again in St Buryan to see the old Church,  and then pushed on for the last few miles back to the campsite.

Saturday 26th September 2015.

Today is the day we planned to go to Land’s End.  We walked about a mile and a half from the campsite to the bus stop and then caught an open topped double decker bus to take us there, but our homeward journey would be another along more of the coastal path.  

A Coupe Bus!

We were quite lucky and got the last 2 seats on the top deck, and then we were whisked along narrow country lanes, with the wind whistling in our hair,  and an occasional need to duck as tree branches intruded into our space!!

When arrived we had a quick look around the attractions, and the most interesting for us was the ‘end to end’ exhibition (which was free), where the method by which numerous people have completed the ‘end to end’ (John O’Groats to Lands End) provide the display. 

We also visited the 4D film, but that was a bit of a disappointment , it just bumped us about a bit and sprayed water in our faces, and it had absolutely nothing to do with ‘Cornwall’!  Finally, we had a wonder down to the ‘First and Last Refreshments in England’ but that was closed! so we sat outside and ate our picnic and then set off on our 7 mile + return trek. 

The scenery around Lands End is spectacular but, we both agreed with many others - that the 'attraction' part of it really is ‘a bit of a blot on the landscape’.

Our return journey was another very uppey downey trail and in more very hot sunshine.  Therefore, we were quite glad when we got back to Porthgwarra and found the little cafe still open.  We sat and had a cream tea before continuing our journey which led us past the Minack Theatre (which isn't visible from the path), and soon after to a delightful little beach (see below) - white sands and very blue clear water - it really could have been somwhere on the Med! 

A little further on we came across a little cobbled fishing cove, I commented to John ‘it looks like a film set’, and we had only taken a few more steps when we came across a sign to say that filming had been in progress - not sure what for - maybe Poldark!  

Happily, form here it wasn’t far back to the Tardis but there was no let up in the arduousness of the trail, we still had 2 more deep clefts with lots and lots of steps to negotiate.

When we finally arrived home we were soon restored by a nice cuppa and half an hour with our feet up, but all to soon it was time to get busy again making tea - I think we've both been surprised by how little time we have to spare in our busy schedule!  All our time seems to be taken up by walking, cycling, blogging, surfing (the net) and the general ‘house’ work we need to do. Indeed, when I retired from work and we started out on this venture, I thought I/we'd have loads of time to spare, but this has'nt proved to be the case!

So with that in mind we've made a bit of a plan.  Tomorrow we've got tickets to go to The Minack Theatre to see ‘The Proms Concert’, and after that, on Monday, we're moving to Tenerife!  (Tenerife campsite on The Lizard Peninsula that is).  Also the weather forecast is for more sunshine, so we've decided to give ourselves a couple of days off and just relax and enjoy it!

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