Day Tripping around Cornwall

It was too good a day weather wise, to pass up the chance of a day out.

We decided to use our National Trust passes and visit Trengwainton Gardens.

Upon arrival, we were disappointed…… it was the only day of the week that the place was shut! Typical…. Anyway the best days are the ones that go  to Plan B, so we headed off along the coast and soon arrived at Cape Cornwall.

It was such a lovely day, despite the high winds when we climbed up onto the headland, but, very worth the views.

As we reached the car, we decided to have a gentle drive home up the coast via St Ives.  Then we spotted the sign for Botallock.

Paul is fascinated by the mining industry in Cornwall, and so we detoured off the main drag, and down the lanes towards Botallack Mines.

We got some lovely shots of the area, and then hopped back into the car and aimed for St Ives.

We parked up near the Tate and wandered up and down the streets, finally settling at The Hub for a cuppa and some supper.

What a fantastic day! Who needs a plan A when Plan B is even better!

Jo Anne

 

Old Pals Meet Up

A little while ago an old friend and ex work colleague got in touch with us to ask how we had gone about moving down to Cornwall.

It’s something that they are not yet ready to do, but is at the back of their minds for the years to come…. and as we know only too well, it does take some years of  planning to pull off, and a lot of stashing of finances to help ease the transition from rat race to laid back and “dreckly”

Anyway, they were down here on holiday this week, and we managed to arrange to meet up for a catch up and gossip about the ‘old days’.

We met at the Gold Centre, Treasure Park and had drinks in the cafe there, before heading on down to the beach for a stroll.

The tide was almost high, and we had only a short time on the beach before taking the smugglers path up and over, coming back down behind the surf life saving centre, and back to the cars.

It was a lovely afternoon, and we hope to be able to do it again during their September holidays.

It was great to see you both again x

Jo Anne

 

Blog Buddies Meet

Both Sally-Ann and I have been following Sage on her blog for some years now, and finally we managed to arrange  a meeting between us all.

We had decided to take all of the dogs on a walk around the tracks of Portreath.

Sage’s two boys are large and full of energy, so will require some tiring out, and our two lads were up for the challenge.

We started off by walking up to the farm, so that I could see the Reindeer whilst they were resting between North Pole gigs.

Whilst there, we also managed to see the goats and hens.  Unfortunately  the piggies were persona non grata on this occasion.

Having taken some pictures of the animals we headed around following the path and came across a new development of holiday homes that are attached to the Gwel an Mor complex.  Not that we are known for being nosey, but we did manage to get some brochures and ask many questions to the poor unsuspecting  chap in the sales office!

It was then time to retrace our steps back down to the village and onto the beach.

The tide was way out, so we were able to walk around to the section of beach and rock  usually hidden by the tide.

The boys played and romped in the water (with the exception of Fred who is a wus when it comes to water), and finally it was time to say goodbye.

Two soggy black Labradors headed back to the car with their Mum, tired but happy from their walk and new found friends.

Meanwhile, Fred and I arrived home and crashed out on the sofa.

Sunshine, fresh air and walking with friends, a great way to spend the afternoon recovering from the ardours of work that morning!

Jo Anne

An Impromptu Family Day

I had to pop out this morning, just as Paul answered the phone to his little sister.

An hour later, upon my return, they were still chatting on the phone…… would it not be easier to pop over I asked!

We were soon all together.  The roast chicken was in the slow cooker for our lunch, and I was mixing a cake batter to go in the oven whilst chatting, and catching up on University updates.

We ate our roast dinner and then decided that as we were all stuffed, it would be wise to walk some of the calories off.

We piled into Priscilla with Fred in the boot, and headed off down to Portreath for a wander on the beach.  The weather was glorious…

Paul had his new camera to practice with whilst Fred watched on, very bemused….

and then gave up to investigate the beach and pools

Sally-Ann and Hamish met up with us at this point….  It took Hamish a moment to realise we were up ahead…

Then it was off the beach and up Lighthouse Hill for a cardiac workout!

then it was a gentle walk down the mule track back to the village

A very unexpectedly full day that was finished with tea and coffee and walnut cake straight from the oven. Lovely!

Jo Anne

Mike’s Birthday Roast

As it is Mike’s birthday we had decided to go for a Sunday Roast at the local Premier Inn that had opened recently.  The Trevithick Inn has given us 3 or 4 really good meals so far, so we knew were would have a good day.

We arrived and ordered the 2 course meal each.  and settled down to catch up on the latest gossip.

We had a great roast, followed by some very yummy puddings.  A great treat.

Happy Birthday Mike.

Jo Anne

A Trip to Trerice

I am on annual leave today, Tuesday and Wednesday, and wanted to make the most of them.

Sally-Ann and Mike agreed that a National Trust trip was about due, and so, we decided on Trerice House and Gardens as it’s the only property that is open with NT at this time of year in our area.

We drove out of heavy rain in Redruth, up towards the blue skies of Newquay, and the grounds of the house at Trerice.

The sun shone down on us, and after entering the gardens we were rewarded with a view of hundreds of daffodils in the early stages of blooming or fully showing their colours to us.

The grounds were undergoing an archaeological dig to investigate whether the trust could lay a new formal garden.  If the archaeologists had found anything to prove a previous historical garden it would mean that nothing could be done.  Fortunately it seems that nothing was found and therefore the new formal gardens can begin to be planned.

The house itself is 15th century, and although very small in comparison to some other NT properties we have visited, it is very pretty.

The great hall contained a lovely fireplace, remarkable ceiling and suits of armour and chainmail.

We were not allowed to use our cameras anywhere else in the house, however I asked if I could stick my arm over the minstrels gallery in order to get a full picture of the Great Hall.

Having looked around the house, we headed outside to walk the side of it, around to the tea rooms for a coffee and something naughty.  En-route we spotted some lovely flowers.

Having exhausted the house and gardens, we headed on over the the Anne’s Cottage Factory Outlet, and then onto Kingsley Village for a mooch before heading home.

A lovely way to spend a holiday.

Jo Anne

Trago is Tops

Brenda really has the bug for card making now, and wanted to buy some essentials to get her started, with a little help from her craft guru (that’s me!)

We agreed to meet both her and her husband Eric, at Trago Liskeard, as there was also something quite big we needed to get if we could.

Having arrived at Trago about an hour before we were due to meet the others, we headed over to the bathroom department.  We need to replace our bath, as it is badly damaged, and this is the place to find a good quality replacement, very cheaply.

Having chosen, paid for and collected the bath, putting it in the back of Pauls cavernous estate car, we had just put the car back in a parking spot, when I had a text to say that they had just arrived.  Perfect timing.

We had a good old mooch around the craft department, filling Brenda’s trolley with glass cutting mat, craft knife, pokey tool (yes that’s what it’s called!), card blanks, double sided tape and peel off stickers.

We all even managed to get a few other odds and sods that we ‘needed’, before heading off for a quick bite to eat.

It was a great day, that proved to be very productive for all of us but soon it was time to head home. 

Our new bath was right at home in the boot LOL!

Jo Anne