Having raved about the Truro and Penwith College restaurant in Penzance – Senara – we thought we would try their sister operation in Truro. “It’s run entirely by our Professional Cookery and Professional Food and Beverage students, who gain valuable experience whilst working towards their qualifications.” Three courses for £10…..you can’t go wrong. Here’s their sample lunch menu…
Example lunch menu
Spicy roast pumpkin and sweet potato soup.
Smoked mackerel tian with pickled cucumber and crostini.
Mozzarella with broad beans, mint, lemon, olive oil and pea shoots.
Slow roasted belly of pork on puy lentil and chorizo broth with curly kale.
Battered pollock with hand-cooked chips, crushed peas, pea puree and deconstructed tartar sauce.
Gnocchi with roasted vegetables, tomato sauce & pesto.
Autumn Eton Mess.
Lemon tart with clotted cream.
Cornish cheeses with chutney and oatcakes.
What I have to say is that although we would definitely recommend Spires- it is incredible value, and we would go there again, – it didn’t come anywhere near to the standard of Senara. Strange in one way as they are part of the same organisation, but then again the staff are different so I wonder whether that is where the difference lies. Do they sample each other’s fare? Perhaps not. At Senara it started with the bread beautifully made, tasty and a choice on offer. At Spires we were given white bread which wasn’t fully cooked through. And the different courses each had their small failings….salad not picked through, no dressing etc etc. Still we enjoyed ourselves. We then tootled off to Truro on the Park and Ride to spend my book token in Waterstone’s. Walking through Truro is always a pleasure with plenty of fine buildings and the streetscape is great. City Hall we noticed had closed – it is being converted into flats I believe. This was where the TI was located where we wanted to get some bus timetables, 
but right opposite is the new TI which is really really good. here is a little seating area just as you enter…..very jolly!
Just to the left is the old ‘Coinage Hall’ so-called because of Truro’s past status as a Stannery. The current building is Victorian. 
Granite cobbles and kerbstones impart a lot of character as does the leat system for water thought to be a system the Victorians used as for street cleansing and drinking water for horses.
Truro’s cathedral is obviously prominent in the town but on a day with cloudless skies it is magnificent.
Truro is less than an hour by car for us so a great place to visit. The weather hasn’t all been blue skies as these recent pics of our garden show….
but we like our walk along the local lanes whatever the weather, particularly just now when the wildflowers are starting to appear in the Cornish hedges….
Looking at our local map we saw that there was a potential new walk from Duloe, the next village to us. It did have some rather sharp contour lines, but looked promising. There are no public footpath walks from St Keyne, our village, which is a shame, although we do constantly walk along the lanes. Anyhow, off we set. First of all there were some rather lovely catkins decorating a few trees at the start of the walk. Then, after crossing the dry bed of a little stream….
we walked through an orchard which belongs to 
We descended sharply to the valley bottom through 
…….someone yet again had blighted the landscape with uncaring dumping of litter. Who are these people? Well, on the way back up to Duloe on the lanes I noted a discarded outer of Carling Lager, and scattered for a mile or so along the hedgerow I counted about 10 cans of Carling. Idiots all these people.
There was a rather nice cottage on the way up which had a lovely rustic gateway which added to the view…..I do so like the gates and stiles and crossing points you see on country walks and often take pictures showing the huge differences in regional styles (not a pun!). I really would like to write a booklet for 
We noted some wildflowers in bloom, and when we had finished our walk I drove to the edge of Duloe……. 
to take a picture of a clump of daffodils that have been in flower since December…..this bank where they are is full of daffodils in Spring, so I am frankly amazed at this one clump with no sign whatsoever of any others….perhaps a very early variety anyhow.
Other things are blossoming at this time in Cornwall…here a camellia and…… 
….in our own garden this azalea has been in flower since at least early December, probably November.
Well, we did our 8000 steps, but I don’t think we’ll be in too much of a hurry to do the walk again. It was a little uninspiring……
After a quick trip to the doctors, warmth and blue skies beckoned us to the seaside, so off we went on our local 73 bus to Talland Bay for a walk to Looe. The start was downhill from the bus stop through a tunnel of green and brown to the shore. 
When we arrived at the beach we saw that the cafe there, which we have never seen open before, was indeed doing business. After ordering our coffee and tea we decided to make use of their wonderful little beach huts. What a great idea of theirs and how sympathetic to the setting. A pleasant 10 minutes was spent admiring the view.
That set us up nicely for the very steep climb up coronary hill…
and luckily someone who had obviously enjoyed this walk in the past had dedicated a seat just before the top…
From now on a walk along how the Coastal Path should be – with stunning views and scenery….
and again some lovely turquoise colours in the sea…..maybe a result of the china clay residue which has filled this Bay for hundreds of years!
You know when Polperro is just round the corner when you see that some people are using other means of transport than feet…..
The beach was fairly busy, as was the town (half-term). But in truth it is not a particularly nice beach (sorry Polperro). 
We saw one house that had four substantial flying buttresses holding it up – a feature which you only normally see on cathedrals, and here was the so-called ‘house-on-props’.
Really good there is a decent pub just by where you wait for the bus….
And, as we had to change buses in Looe, we walked up to Looe beach which is very nice…
On the way home I took some moving shots just to show how green is my valley….virtually the whole way home you go along the river and are surrounded by trees…..
and you have races sometimes (in my head anyway) with the train on the adjoining line which stops at Sandplace station only a handful of times ….. approx 30 passengers per week. We’ve never seen anyone waiting here…..
The start of my walk today 
We parked on the road by the side of the fort….it’s great that we are outside the tourist season as parking is eased all over Cornwall. We then walked down by the side of some of the ranges (later on we were to hear plenty of small-arms fire). An interesting notice for my collection…
You can just see some of the targets in the pic below….here we are looking back towards Looe in the far distance.
And it wasn’t long before we started to see the wonderful extent of 
F. walked with me for a short while and we could just see ahead my objective – Rame Head. Throughout the walk it was extremely difficult to take pics of the way ahead as the sun was so dazzling (October in Cornwall!).
It was in between tides so at absolute low tide one can imagine how magnificent the beach looks.
F. turned around after a while and was due to meet me with the car somewhere on 
At one isolated spot a lookout appeared, and I assume this is one of the National Coastwatch Institution’s as there is one somewhere around here. Having visited two in the last couple of weeks I gave this one a miss.
All at once chalets appeared which seemed to cover the whole cliffside. What a lovely unspoilt walk this would be without them. Looks like a shanty town.
I assumed this walk would be quite flat. Wrong again, and I was glad F. had insisted I take my walking stick which is a tremendous help.
The path appears and disappears as you have to make your way through all the chalets (or huts)…..
Quite a few I noticed had Indian names, so I am assuming they were from the thirties or thereabouts…
There are things blooming in Cornwall at all times of the year. Gorse is well-known to flower here all year round. This hedgerow was brightened up considerably. And I did see some wildlife!
Whilst the temptation is always to look seawards on a walk like this I did cross over the road (which you have to use occasionally) to get a great view in the distance of Plymouth.
Of course there is danger wherever you go on the Cornish coast but this little monument was very poignant….
I did see one restaurant with excellent views called rather unimaginatively 
I do like benches with a view and this was one of those walks where there were many.
Nearing Rame Head the cliffs were still dangerous. 
I could just see Polhawn Fort another one of the three along here. Polhawn Fort faces out over the beach and was built in the early 1860s to defend the eastern approach to Whitsand Bay. If was armed with a battery of seven 68-pounder guns. A design flaw was that its exposed left side could be attacked from the sea and this was not as heavily fortified as the front which faces onto the beach. Rather than improving it, its role was taken over by the batteries at Tregantle and Raleigh and Polhawn was abandoned by the MOD in 1928. The building survives in good condition as a hotel.
It was round about here with the Rame Head chapel just in reach that I received a message from F. saying she couldn’t get to Rame Head because the road was closed. I therefore decided to cut across the peninsula and meet her at Kingsand. My path led to the charming little hamlet of Trehill. It reminded me very much of a Lakeland village.
As I dropped down into Kingsand I saw the third of the forts. Cawsand Fort was originally a Palmerston fort, and was remodelled as part of the late nineteenth-century defences that included the batteries at Pier Cellars and Penlee Point. Today it is a complex of luxury apartments. Good to see the variety of uses to which Palmerston’s forts have been put.
Perhaps you can just see a couple of bathers near the little beach at Cawsand – it was warm!
As I have said before Kingsand and Cawsand together are one of the most delightful spots in Cornwall, and we always discover some new angle….
Pity the houses are so expensive……..
A beautiful October day again saw us drive to Trenarren the end-point of my last walk. My destination from here this time was Pentewan which we had never visited. F. drove there after a short stroll with me on the first bit of my walk. I optimistically thought I would see her in an hour. It was more like three. Such are the vagaries of the Coast Path.
Very wooded to start off, it was interesting to note some private accesses to the Coast Path (must be nice).
The view back was towards St Austell (mining country still) but the whole bay could be seen at times.
In places the sea was the beautiful turquoise colour which you find in photos of more exotic places….
I soon saw ahead my first objective – the little promontory of Black Head. I found the engraved stone at the neck….This granite memorial engraved with “This was the land of my content”, was erected in the memory of Arthur Leslie Rowse, a Cornish writer and historian. Rowse was born in 1903, the son of an uneducated china clay worker, and was the first Cornishman to win a university scholarship, reading English at Christchurch College, Oxford. Rowse published about 100 books. By the mid-20th century, he was a celebrated author and much-travelled lecturer, especially in the United States. He also published many popular articles in newspapers and magazines in Great Britain and the United States. His brilliance was widely recognised. His knack for the sensational, as well as his academic boldness (which some considered to be irresponsible carelessness), sustained his reputation. His opinions on rival popular historians, such as Hugh Trevor-Roper and A. J. P. Taylor, were expressed sometimes in very strident terms. All three were well-known to me when I studied History at Oxford in the late Sixties……..And in fact Rowse retired to Trenarren House. I enjoyed learning all this.
Great views of the bay and unsurprisingly there is a stone-age fort at the head. I thought I could discern some of the outline of ditches……
Walking back along the promontory I discovered what I assume is a First or Second World War gun emplacement….
Moving on steeply down, after leaving Black Head, I could see the isolated little hamlet of Hallane with two or three houses or cottages strung down the combe ending up at a rocky cove. Ideal for smugglers. 
The problem was that each building had carefully marked off grounds with the sort of ‘Strictly Private’ notices some folk love to put up. Failing to discern the correct route for the Coast Path I nearly ended up back at Trenarren, before consulting the OS map on my mobile. You would think that on a coastal path you may not need a map at all. Just keep the sea to your left! But it certainly doesn’t always work out like that.
Presumably horses can get tired with the gradients round here too!
The correct route took me off into a wood along a pretty little brook on a stretch of land called The Vans (derivation?).
Next one of the brutal sections with very steep ascents and descents via steps, of which this shows just a small part. One can only laud the people who keep these footpaths in repair, but when you are using them you despair that they seem designed to be as difficult as possible, being half a step too long or too short between each riser…just the wrong amount especially for someone with bad knees like me.
Another individually designed bridge,,,
Good views of isolated little coves with no apparent access. Let’s hope the bamboo doesn’t become as much as a problem as in our garden. I do think Cornwall is in real danger of being suffocated by bamboo.
What I had estimated and told F. in the beginning was starting to look silly now. What looks a short distance on the map, if full of these ups and downs can take 2 or 3 times as long as you think…..very dispiriting too to see them ahead of you, and to know from experience that what goes up must come down!
Looking back at this point I could just about discern the red and white stripes of the distant Gribbin Head marker as well as Black Head itself.
And since I have no head at all for heights I must mention that parts of this section of the Coast Path do seem very exposed with steep drops inches away from the path….
At last my destination of Pentewan Sands can be glimpsed..
But as it gets nearer the whole view and all sense of rural idyll is spoilt by the horrendous mobile home park typical of much else that totally spoils Cornwall. How could any sensible Planning Department give permission for all of this – plus deem the beach private to the Park. It’s an absolute disgrace. Cornwall really could be the place of your dreams or The Land Of My Content. But it isn’t. It’s despoiled and ravaged by caravan parks, mobile homes, wind farms, scruffy towns, no seeming overall plan, and the fact that it is is the end outcome of profit and cost control versus the environment.
As I move down the last hill (thank God) into 
In fact the more I see of Pentewan the more charming it becomes. And, meeting Frances, we wander off to the local pub the Ship which is very presentable indeed…….
…. and as well as bars and beer garden has a library. Who would have thought it? 
And a sense of humour of sorts…
We sit on benches outside enjoying the afternoon warmth and in front of us is a ‘Gin and Sorbet’ bar which would make London Metropolitans jealous. As it says with humour a bit like my own….’Let The Good Times BeGin’. Well, well.
Walking to the car we pass through the heart of the village….
….which even has a village green of the sort you might expect in Yorkshire or the Lake District……what a lovely place. How even more angry I am at the blot on earth that is the dominating mobile home park….and the concept of a ‘private’ beach….ugh.
Visits of friends, in this case Julia and Allan, always lead to excursions. Our first day out centred on a lunch at Jamie’s Fifteen restaurant in Watergate Bay. As we arrived nice and early we had a drive around Newquay (pretty scruffy). A walk along the sands was then called for to work up an appetite…
On our previous two visits to Fifteen we have had excellent food. Unfortunately on this occasion the food was not only expensive but also very disappointing. I think you can see that from the thoughtful expressions! We had a Groupon-subsidised chef’s choice of four courses and we seemed to have spicy beans for everything but the pud! Julia and Allan’s lamb for two at £52 I think was a bit of a rip-off It’s always a let-down to promise a great experience and then see it fall very short.
Our next objective (I do like to have objectives) was Bedruthan Rocks – pictured at the top on a good day weather-wise. If it had been calm we would perhaps have descended to the beach. It was far from calm, but therefore there were spectacular seas….
I did get down half the steps….
but any more would have led to certain accident (or death!) I am sure….
We were to spend the next three days based at a cottage near Penzance, but before going there we were booked to have lunch at
I imagine we will have lots more visits here, and we will be looking forward to every single one of them. Lunch completed, off we went to nearby Mousehole. We parked as usual on the Bay road and the weather for October was very pleasant indeed.
Parking here enables you to walk into Mousehole past the old lifeboat station for the Penlee lifeboat which is always thought-provoking. All crew lost and such a small village.
Mousehole still retains a lot of its original character and we discovered little roads that we hadn’t been down before
The flowers showed that Cornwall was living up to its reputation for its mild climate……
The Weslyan Methodist chapel still operates but I doubt it has as many members as the 1780’s when 200 out of a population of less than 1000 were members. Here’s the Evangelical Times…”The character of the whole town was transformed, as blasphemers and immoral people were saved from their wickedness and brought into the joys of salvation. The main work was done over a period of four months.” Reading the guide on its noticeboard, the musicians here were known as ‘The Teetotal Band”…very apt I am sure. the men sat on the hill side of the chapel and the ladies on the sea side.
Our cup of tea was in the Old Coastguard Hotel with its great views and lovely atmosphere.
There were some unusual views too on our walk back to the car….
Wednesday was our day trip to the Scilly Isles. An early start from the cottage…
and dawn breaking over the harbour….
Our first glimpse of the Scillonian ferry showed it busily loading freight (including cars)
and leaving harbour we were promised a pleasant day – which we had………..
We knew Julia and Allan would enjoy the views of the Cornish coast before we headed out into the deep ocean….
and we could see Mousehole, the Minack Theatre and Lamorna cove as well as Land’s End. During the voyage we saw gannets bombing the sea vertically at great speed, and we were very lucky to see several dolphins skimming in and out of the water….what a privilege………what wonderful creatures.
The journey is two hours forty minutes, not long enough to get seasick on relatively placid seas, and we soon had our first sighting of the islands…..
We hurried off the boat at Hugh Town as we were intent on catching the little boat to Tresco. However due to unusual tides there was no chance of us getting it there and back in time for the return trip to the mainland, a disappointment we quickly got over when we started to wander around the little capital….
And we were soon sitting in the sun admiring the first of many beaches…..
We were making for Juliet’s cafe where we knew we would get a reasonable lunch with a view and, on the way, called in a little gallery (there were many) where the local birdlife was as friendly as the locals!
We could see Tresco sparkling with its white beaches across the channel but never mind!
At Juliet’s it was still sitting-out weather….and more friendly wildlife was encountered.
Leaving, we walked a short way down a path which we discovered was the coastal path for St Mary’s. This would be a great thing to do if one was staying overnight, and I made a mental note.
Great views wherever you are in the Isles of Scilly and interesting to see the regular shuttle planes flying to and fro from the tiny airport….
We just had time to climb the hill out of Hugh Town towards Star Castle which is now an excellent hotel, and enjoy a more panoramic vista………..
as well as looking in some of the old buildings……..
I was surprised that on our return voyage we went around St Mary’s in the opposite direction to our arrival, and consequently down very narrow channels where we were very close to the shore……
Just about dark when we got back to Penzance after a fantastic day out…….
On our last full day it was blowing a gale – Storm Callum actually – and torrential rain, so we decided to go to Penlee House Museum and Gallery, a favourite. There was an exhibition on the mainly marine painter of the Newlyn School – Borlase Smart. Here’s the man himself en plain aire painting The Pilots’ Boathouse…..
After taking a couple of pics I was told off (no photos). That meant I could concentrate on the paintings!
The cafe was full so we took the car to St Just where we knew we could get a good pasty, and drove down the byroad to Cape Cornwall where we enjoyed it – in the warmth and sunshine. 
We saw a little notice whilst we were eating saying the National Coastwatch Institution lookout was open so we bobbed round the corner of the Cape and climbed up to it. The views were even better than those we had had so far, and our talk with the volunteers was very interesting indeed. Plus, absolutely amazing sightings though their very powerful telescope……..
On our way to Land’s End we stopped off at Sennen to look at the quaint little harbour and expanse of sands…….
The visitor site at Land’s End itself was a massive improvement on the last time we were there. Then it had been frankly tawdry with amusement arcades, burger bars etc etc but now everything was painted a fresh white and all the buildings were spick and span. Just shows what you can do. Impressive scenery was enjoyed, and although we couldn’t today see the Isles of Scilly 32 miles away, we admired the Longships lighthouse which seemed from some viewpoints touchable but is in fact a mile and a half away.
Almost our last stop on a very interesting tour of the Far West was the Minack Theatre. I wondered whether it would be worth visiting without a performance, but I need not have worried – it was magnificent. Our first view before entering the site was of next door Porthcurno Sands really one of the best beaches in the world, but here foreshortened because of high tide.
The Minack cafe is pretty spectacular too.
What a unique place this is. Obviously you get many Greek and Roman theatres built into hillsides throughout the Med but this was largely and almost unbelievably built by one very strong-minded woman and her gardener…..Rowena Cade. Not by a whole army of soldiers and slaves. After excavating and pouring concrete during the day, and gouging designs with an old screwdriver, she would go down to Porthcurno beach and lug up bags of sand on her back ready for next day’s concrete mixing.
It seems a bit glib to say they don’t make people like that any more, but really, do you know of anyone who would undertake a project like this (in all weathers of course) into their eighties? A redoubtable woman indeed….
We all enjoyed clambering around the various levels of the site and experiencing the views the audience and actors would have….
I had one more location in mind to give Julia and Allan a full flavour of West Cornwall – the Tinner’s Arms at Zennor. On the way there we couldn’t help but stop at an old engine house too. This particular one was Carn Galver tin mine – looking very benign in the evening sunshine. It’s impossible for us these days to imagine all of Cornwall as one huge industrial site in Victorian times….dirty, noisy, dangerous and pulsating with work.
After parking we had a quick look in at Zennor church to see the famous ‘Mermaid of Zennor’ and the ravishingly beautiful barrel roof.
You don’t often see the bell ropes hanging freely…..
Duty beckoned (Excise Duty!) and we had our well-deserved pint in The Tinner’s……..
and I did like the ‘Fish Only’ entrance…..
What a good way to end a day – a pint at The Tinner’s. On our way home to St Keyne the following day, if it had been nice, we would have called in at the incomparable St Michael’s Mount. As it was atrocious weather we had a drive round instead one of my favourite parts of Cornwall – the area around Helford. Pity the Shipwright’s wasn’t open. We had lunch at the Black Swan in Gweek….good pub fare. 
On another glorious September day off we went and parked up by the excellent 
and then set off passing some very nice new flats (starting at half a million), and being dazzled by the reflections on the sea……..
We then came across a watch tower which was evidently manned. On closer inspection there was a notice saying ‘Visitors Welcome’ which I was very surprised to see, and so up the steps we went to a very warm welcome.
The watchtower – Charlestown Station – is indeed an old coastguard station. Many will know of the concerns when in an economy drive they were nearly all shut. In fact in 1974 there were still 127 stations (permanently manned) and 245 auxiliary stations. Now there are just 10 Coastguard Operations Centers (CGOCs) and one National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC). Local concern all around the country about the loss of local visual watch and local knowledge led to the setting up of volunteer-run watch stations and the establishing of the 
Regarding its purpose, as our hosts noted…….”Whilst high technology and sophisticated systems are aids to improved safety, a computer can’t spot a distress flare, an overturned boat or a yachtsman or fisherman in trouble. Other vulnerable activities like diving, wind surfing and canoeing are made safer with visual surveillance.” It operates 365 days a year and provides visual watch over all users of St Austell Bay. The leaflet we got informs us that ‘NCI watchkeepers provide the eyes and ears along the coast, monitoring radio channels and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. They are trained to deal with emergencies, offering a variety of skills and experience and full training by the NCI ensures that high standards are met. Over 246,000 hours of organised coastal surveillance were completed in 2016 alone, all at no cost to the public. Funding is managed by a Board of Trustees.’ The Charlestown Station itself is sponsored by the Carlyon Bay Hotel amongst others, and relies like all the others totally on contributions. We donated £5, a small amount indeed but very gratefully received. The UK has a world-wide reputation for its charity work and volunteer giving. A total amount of £9.7 billion was donated by generous Brits in 2016. However it is salutary to note that whilst the UK is Europe’s most generous country it still lags behind the developing world, especially Africa. Indeed only six of the G20 largest economies in the world feature in this year’s top 20. Interesting. Just after this worthwhile diversion we saw these two seats placed so that you could look forwards or back! They perhaps represent what walking on the SW Coast Path is all about, and I never fail to look where I have been as well as where I am going……
Proceeding, we soon had our first glimpse of 
and we dropped down towards it…..
passing some beautiful cottages (a lot let out to rent, of course, as everywhere in Cornwall)….
and we then hit the first objective (you’ve always got to have objectives)…the Pier House Hotel and Pub….
Thirst slaked, we parted…..F. to return the way we had come and me to push on to be met by her later. There was a steep climb out of the village…..
and the views – both ways of course – were worth it….
and I loved this little antique jug which was tied to a post…perhaps water for dogs left by some kind soul, who knows? If it had been Rose wine…….
Porthpean seems a good sort of place with a tiny village on the hill and an energetic boat club…
The hedge adjacent to the clubhouse was all wild fuschias…of which I see many on my walks on the Path…..
After admiring the scene before me for a while longer…..
….I met up with F. but decided to push on a little further…..
loving the colours on the sea….
I then came across what I call a see-saw stile. …..never seen anything like it…I’m sure it’s not meant to be like this – but it was quite good fun. I don’t know whether I have mentioned before but I am fascinated by all the varieties of stile and kissing gate and fencing and walling and so on there are around the country, some regional types, some NT Head Office inspired, some quirky builds of seemingly quirky minds. I am astonished that there is not a book in the amazing 
Ascending the next hill past a few animal friends…..
I passed, in a little clearing, the remains possibly of an old Celtic cross…..
and looked down on the most beautiful little beach – to which there didn’t seem any access.
My SW Coast Path guide refers next to ‘steps’. Well what can I say? I have never ever experienced such a steep descent followed by an almost vertical ascent, both long. Not on the SW Path nor climbing Bowfell or Scafell Pike or anywhere else. This pic gives a little idea…..but only a little.
I was very glad to meet up with F. again at the remote little hamlet of 
Dartmouth was our destination for lunch on Sunday at the first floor of the Dartmouth Yacht Club…good food, very reasonable and great service, much enjoyed all round. The first floor restaurant is actually run by 
Next stop was 
Non-stop good times as the very next day we had even more adventures…first stop today was 
but we were fascinated by the experience of seeing two glass-blowers in action at the next door
Even Aiisha was entranced by the way in which molten glass was quickly transformed into a cat or an elephant under the expert hands of the blowers…
and although I don’t usually like glass products, I did enjoy looking round the shop and found some things amazing…I particularly fell in love with the idea of 4 glass lampshades strung over a kitchen table…too dear for now, but….
But this was also a mini Industrial site, and had a lovely feel all round…
We proceeded then through some beautiful countryside (I had forgotten how pretty Dartmoor is) to 
We still had time for the nearby 
and the ability to get up good and close to some of the residents…. 
not all of whom were miniature!
Our daughter and granddaughter were here for a long weekend, all the way from Scotland. We met them at our local station which, as I have said before, has trains running to almost everywhere in the country – amazing for such a remote spot. Aiisha was quick to show us the fruits of her labours on the last part of their journey.
After a nice cup of tea (you very rarely say a nice cup of coffee), it was a quick game of football in the garden and hide and seek in the acer.
….before a drive to Black Rock, which turned into a drive to somewhere else entirely -Seaton due to the satnav! Katherine had been left behind for a recovery sleep, so we had a lovely time building sandcastles, paddling and having ice cream….well what else are you supposed to do at the seaside?
After a lazy lunch off we went on the bus to Looe where the sun came out and a good time was had by all, especially on the slot machines in the Amusement Arcade where we won a Unicorn.
Next day we took the train to Hayle on the North Coast where we visited 
and you can get very close to some of your favourites including flamingoes…
and the very first Chough we had ever seen (we have looked out for them on the Lizard but to no avail)……
We really enjoyed the flying display with an extremely knowledgeable and personable guide….
and the opportunity to get up really close was terrific…
Having said all that, it has to be said that the younger element did prefer the other side to Paradise Park! And why not?
there was time for a late lunch, but first we had to get to St Ives on the lovely little railway round the bay….where the views from the train window were as breathtaking as usual….what beaches, what skies.
For a change and to avoid walking all through town we decided to lunch at the 
Good choice..
and straight out onto the beach afterwards…
Enjoying Cornwall... 