Two must-see places for visitors today – Fowey and Charlestown. I have already written about the former as one of my favourite towns, and it was a delight to wander yet again amongst the brilliant small shops and back lanes all the while immersed in the special atmosphere of a  seaside town and port. Charlestown is different, very different.Located about a mile outside the town of St Austell it is ‘an amazingly pristine, unspoiled example of a late Georgian working port. It was constructed between 1791 and 1801 by Charles Rashleigh, entrepreneur and member of the local landowning family, in response to the growth of the local mining industry. Originally built to export copper and import coal, it was soon being used for the export of China Clay. It is from its creator that the the port gets its name.

Upon completion, Charlestown was a model Georgian “new town”. By the 19th Century various associated businesses were established in sheds and warehouses around the harbour such as pilchard curing, shipbuilding, brick making and lime burning, and the population exploded to close on 3,000. Many attractive period properties sprang up in the village, ranging from elegant Georgian houses to squat fisherman’s cottages, and by and large they remain giving the town an unspoiled Georgian character. This unique combination has lead to Charlestown being a popular location for film and television locations, and to some extent this has probably helped subsidise its existence and prevent development. Credits include Poldark (past and present), Hornblower, Mansfield Park and many more.

There is usually a fleet of square riggers ships to be seen, so it is more than worth a visit.

A huge benefit of being retired is that you can take advantage of any fine or relatively fine spell of weather at the drop of a hat. So today we went to the seaside. As we were going to Lappa Valley theme park, our beach destination was on the north coast. Exploring a new beach can be hard work, so refreshment is sometimes needed!  Lappa Valley is a theme park for younger children, which is ideal for a half-day visit combined with a beach. There are 3 steam trains and loads of mini playgrounds, plus a good collection of animals. My daughter rated it quite highly for a two-year old, and would definitely come back. She enjoyed it as you can see. Although we are in south-eastern Cornwall , all Cornwall is quite accessible for us, and you are never more than 16 miles from the sea wherever you are. The weather can be quite different on the south and north coasts at any one time, so the possibilities are endless. We are really looking forward to exploring more and more of the coastline, especially when the temperature is more suitable for picnics.

Now it’s the turn of my daughter, son-in-law, and gorgeous grand daughter to visit, and you can still enjoy our beaches on a non-sunny day. Beach combing is such a pleasure, especially when you are young! It does all get a bit much at times though….We now seem to have got into the habit of taking our visitors to The Talland Bay..you always get a nice welcome, the food is good and reasonably-priced, and there’s plenty to keep you occupied whatever your age…and preaching to the budgerigars can be fun……

But who’s this?

We will come here one day with summer visitors, and enjoy the gardens and views more, plus it’s only 5 minutes walk to a rather nice little beach.

First visitors to our new home in Cornwall were our son and daughter-in-law, David and Jennifer. First place we took them was on the beautiful bus run to Looe, where we looked at the beach, walked to Hannafore, had lunch at the award-winning fish and chip
shop ‘Catch’, and walked the streets to take in some shopping. Catch is super, located on the harbourside the fish comes from just yards away, there is always a daily special, the freshness is palpable, and basically it’s a bargain meal. The next day we took them to our favourite hotel in these parts – The Talland Bay. What a fabulous and quirky place this is, and probably my favourite hotel in the world. Set on the hillside above the small beach at Talland in extensive and as we will see unusual grounds, with a marvellous sea  vista and sideways view to the small hamlet of Talland and its impressive cliff-top church, it is more or less halfway on the coast path between Looe and Polperro, and reachable by us in the car in 15 minutes. The church at Talland,  is dedicated to St Tallanus and as such is unique in Britain. Unusually it has a detached bell-tower on the south side which was joined to the main body of the church in the 15th century. There survives old woodwork in its fine wagon roofs; and the many benchends (partly ca. 1520, the rest ca. 1600) are of the usual Cornish type and among the finest examples of these. But back to the hotel, not only do the gardens contain loads of talking points but inside is crammed full of quirky art works…..you could be in a boutique hotel in Barcelona. I particularly like the budgies outside and, the cheerful clock inside, and I love the naked bottom hanging outside the Gents!

I have mentioned the walk to the local well and back (about 2miles) and which we do just about most days unless we are going somewhere else. And here is the reason why I think it is getting better and better….the hedgerows becoming a sheer delight at this time of year.

Here is the view from the window of the hairdresser’s in Looe where F and I both had a cut. I sent it to my children to indicate how we are getting on…..that such a mundane thing as having your hair cut could be such a pleasure. We got a nice cup of tea, and the best ever cuts to boot. Not bad for £31 for the two of us. I am a little worried that I am not doing so much reading at the moment, but on the other hand we are working hard at our boxes and having a fantastic time. I also plead the ptrygium I have which makes reading a pain (literally) sometimes.

We decided to explore along the coast and go to the twin towns of Cawsand and Kingsand. A warm summer’s day yet again (remember this is supposed to be March!) meant the whole trip was idyllic, and the two towns themselves were a veritable revelation…pretty as a picture, full of interesting old cottages, splendid pubs, three small beaches, views in the bay of yachts and large freighters (presumably waiting their turn to enter the Plymouth docks), and also, as I found out later, a Dutch frigate, a German frigate and a US Fleet supply ship….Having parked in Cawsand we walked through to Kingsand and exiting that via the beach we entered Mount Edgcumbe Park, sat on a bench to admire a bank behind us full of daffodils in bloom and the bay spread out in front of us, and walked towards two large birds of prey ensconced in the trees above us…now, having got home, clearly identified as buzzards, always a magnificent sight. We hit very lucky for lunch as we ignored the cafes with sea views (fine though they looked) and decided on The Old Bakery. We couldn’t rate it more highly…lovely toasted sandwiches with the most amazing sourdough bread. The bread itself had all sold out otherwise we would have stocked up, and although Monday night is artisan pizza night, we couldn’t stay til 5.30pm ( but can’t wait for when we can ). We took the minor coastal road on the way back and stopped at Downderry where we had a wander on the beach doing a bit of beach combing, another lovely place worth a re-visit…the places to revisit are coming in thick and fast!

Bus to Hannafore Point which is just beyond Looe – a lovely little place in itself and a super walk back into Looe with sea and estuary views all the way. More fresh fish….this time a whole lemon sole (which we had as an old-fashioned ‘sole meunier’ and was absolutely delicious (altho F didn’t like the capers), and two large steaks of Conger Eel which we have never eaten before….this one must have been a truly ferocious fish. Not quite so nice…will give it a miss in future….On the way back into Looe you see a statue of ‘Nelson’ a one-eyed seal who used to be almost a permanent resident in the harbour….a nice touch!

We decided to visit Exeter today being as it has the only John Lewis in these parts and we wanted to source various things. Once at the city, we travelled in on the excellent Park and Ride (free for us) and had a quick look around the outside of the magnificent cathedral, which we have visited before, being amazed again by the stupendous West Front. Here is what the official cathedral site says….”The West Front Image Screen of Exeter Cathedral is one of the great architectural features of Medieval England.  The addition of the image screen around 1340 marked the completion the re‑building of the cathedral in the Gothic style.  Work continued on the screen with the additional top tier completed about 1470. Behind the screen, to the right of the Great West Door is the burial chapel of John Grandisson who died in 1369 after more than 40 years as Bishop of Exeter. The screen is covered in a wealth of carving, dominated by three rows of statues in niches.  At the bottom are angels appearing to support all the figures above.  Most of the figures of the middle row represent Kings of Judah. In the upper row, to right of centre, is a representation of God.  On His right hand would have been a seated figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Her image was destroyed in the Reformation and, later, mistakenly replaced by King Richard II.  Also in the upper row are figures of the Apostles, the Evangelists and Old Testament Prophets. Dozens of figures also peer out from the battlements above and the whole screen is decorated with plants and animals. Originally, the image screen was entirely coloured and must have made a convincing vision of heaven.”

Having lunched in the top floor restaurant at JLP looking out over the city roof tops and being over-warmed by the splendid sun, and having shopped, we then had a look round the rest of the central shopping area.We found everything we wanted and noted the excellent use of many historic buildings. Exeter deserves a medal for the way it has really looked after its historic centre…busy but unspoilt and full of character. Very reminiscent of Chester. We look forward to a return visit.

We’ve been having absolutely incredible weather for March – sunny and warm. So today we did what we said we would do more of when we moved down to Cornwall, and used our old persons’ bus passes to jump on the bus in St Keyne and take it to Polperro which we hadn’t visited since before we were married (so that’s quite a long time ago). The bus journey was really lovely…..the first bit of countryside from here to Looe was all ups and downs, deep gorges heavily wooded and with beautiful views (which I could enjoy since I wasn’t driving). We then followed the river into Looe as it broadened into an estuary. This was the first time we had come along this road with the tide in, so instead of mud flats we had mediterranean blue-green sea sparkling in the sunshine. In Looe we crossed over the medieval bridge and then went along the seaward side of West Looe to Hannafore Point, an exceptionally nice route, before we doubled back and climbed out of the town to the Polperro road. In 15 minutes we disembarked at the Crumplehorn inn and walked into the village (when we were here in an earlier life we remember driving in in our little Mini, but you can’t use the car beyond the inn nowadays). Polperro is not only picturesque, but a proper Cornish fishing village, a working port as well as a great tourist attraction. Because Easter is at hand everyone seemed very busy painting and tittyfying ready for the influx, and many shops and cafes were closed. Having walked to the harbour across the Roman bridge (must look that up), we proceeded up the cliff path to the old Net Loft and sat in various locations, the best being the Net Loft itself a white hut which had attracted the sunlight so much it was actually warming…sitting there in the sun with a view of nothing but the sea was so nice.