Visitors gives us the chance to do something different. When you have been in a place three years, you tend to the obvious. The always welcome appearance of David and Jennifer took us first ten-pin bowling. None of us the best but enjoyed by all.
On another day we went to Falmouth. First a splendid birthday lunch at The Royal Duchy Hotel where we were then able to leave our car for the afternoon’s trip. Then into town.
Always a great place to visit, apart from its seaside connotations Falmouth has some nice streets…
and some brilliant houses and buildings – often the historic homes of sea captains.
Being a Bank Holiday, the shopping streets and harbour were full of people and atmosphere.
We however had decided to take the ferry across to St Mawes which is always a really enjoyable trip with plenty to see…..
at both ends…..
After a little paddle…….
……….it was good to see David and Jennifer were still enjoying themselves. We then walked along the ‘promenade’ through town to the castle.
On the way this time I noticed a very quirky little gunnel or alleyway (don’t know what they call them in these parts……where we used to live in York it was ‘snickleways’}. Anyhow very picturesque.
Not a single house in St Mawes I wouldn’t give my right arm for……
The castle, looking across to its sister in Falmouth, was impressive as always….
But we decided it was all thirsty work and called to Olga Polizzi’s Hotel Tresanton for an ice cream and cup of Earl Grey….very nice.
But 
All in all a lovely two or three days. And when they had disappeared back to London it was still Bank Holiday and one of those days when, in going to Looe to collect our daily paper, we found the sea busy as well as the beach…there are’nt many days like that!
We also enjoyed the Lambretta parade through town…….maybe 50 or 60 of them.
Katherine and Aiisha came hot-foot from Spain to share a birthday weekend. My 70th. On our way to our first ‘adventure’ – ice skating at the Pavilions in Plymouth, we passed Charles Church, bombed out during the war but given almost a sculptural quality with the background of the Drake Shopping Centre. It almost seems planned to set the old church off….perhaps it was. Skating was good. The next day we chose to have lunch at the Duchy Garden Centre so that Katherine could look at some plants for her new garden in Edinburgh. Aiisha and I decamped for a short while to the new children area which was very nice indeed…….
and we loved the wheeled gypsy hut, where Aiisha showed off her versatility with her Dad’s instrument of choice…
Lunch over we set off for Carlyon Bay where Katherine had bought tickets for a show by the Knee-High Theatre Company called The Dancing Frog. After a lacklustre start it developed into a really really fun show. I haven’t enjoyed myself as much for a long time, and I really must write them a review. Pleasure and laughs were had by all and I did think the puppetry was amazing. Ten out of ten. The audience of all ages were captivated.
We then couldn’t’t resist the beach where the tail end of a storm was apparent. Luckily the weather held off for us.
The biggest ‘adventure’ perhaps came the next day when we visited the nearby and well-named Adrenalin Quarry. Neither F. nor I were participants, but we certainly enjoyed watching. Katherine and Aiisha proved fearless in attempting first The Giant Swing…… 
Apparently the first drop from what seemed an enormous height was ‘scary’ but thereafter things got a little better. Aiisha was heard to say in the gentler parts ‘I want to do it again’ at which those watching burst into laughter…they were absolutely stupefied that one so young had attempted this in the first place!
Next was the zip wire which went from the heights at one end of the quarry to the other. Not quite the longest or most terrifying in the world, but certainly up there. Rather them than me. Who knew such things were within 15 minutes drive of us?
We then celebrated all that bravery with snacks in the nearby American Diner which was actually enjoyed by all of us.
Whilst Katherine did some work the next day, Frances, Aiisha and I drove to Looe to play the arcades as it was a bit inclement. We all had a great time playing the twopenny dip where you roll coins to displace other coins (and prizes). 
Aiisha’s top said it all. Lucky. We won an enormous haul of sweets, of which you can see a part……
We crossed the river on the little ferry for a change, and thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the seaside.
Adventures were now coming thick and fast. A riding lesson got us up early the next day. After kitting out…….
……..Aiisha showed much aplomb in dealing with her horse – and with the lady instructor who was to say the least formidable. All the adults looking on were quaking in their shoes. However the lesson was indoor and out, and went down very well with our intrepid rider.
A fine day was then promised so we went on one of our favourite walks the circular route from Lerryn (our favourite Cornish village) to St Winnow. After stocking up at the terrific local stores we set off along the for now dryish river…
crossing the medieval bridge…..
and crossing and re-crossing the stepping stones.
All the cottages are without exception lovely and, unusually it seems to us, nearly all lived in as opposed to used or owned by holidaymakers. That accounts for the hugely lively village life.
Our first objective was a particular bench with a view, and this is where we had our pasties and cakes from the shop. One of the best lunches ever!
We then aimed for St Winnow’s and along the way Aiisha picked up and fashioned her own walking stick which not only proved useful but also was a great prop for her impressions of “an old lady walking”. Very good.
The church was bedecked for a wedding and whilst this was all very pretty, it had meant the closure of the ice cream stall. Not as disappointing as it might have been as we were all ftb. 
Pulling up from the hamlet (just a farm and a cottage and a church (plus usually an ice cream stall!), we soon had good views.
There were several kinds of trees with plenteous nuts (perhaps betokening a hard winter?).
And pretty garden fronts as we descended once more to Lerryn.
The tide was now in. All in all a special day and a very long seven and a half miles for young feet…all done without a grumble!
Our last full day together was my birthday and we had lunch at the Godolphin Arms now turned into a somewhat boutique hotel. Sensational views from the car park…
and the restaurant where we eat well.
We planned to look at the beautiful gardens on St Michael’s Mount but on the way to the ferry (the tide was in) we were waylaid. 
Marazion itself is quite captivating…….
Six ferries were in continuous use (it was Bank Holiday after all), so we didn’t wait too long.
On reaching the island we found the gardens were closed, but this enabled us to climb up to the castle itself, looking for the Giant’s Heart on the way up……
and making use of the odd canon for a resting point…..
Inside we did a rapid tour and completed a successful quiz, and enjoyed the special atmosphere of this amazing place. We also were able to see some of the gardens!
The queues for the ferries to get back to the mainland were long to say the least, but we made our own amusements. 
A last-minute decision to take advantage of the Locals offer (£25 each return) to visit the Scillies again on a day trip meant an early start. The alarm was set for 5.45am and that proved just right. In arriving at Penzance we joined the small queue to pick up our tickets – the staff were incredibly helpful and efficient………
and in no time at all we were wandering along the harbour to board the Scillonian. 
These are the mini containers which hold passengers’ luggage, but also anything and everything that the Scillies need that they don’t have or grow themselves.
Seeing Penzance like this early in the morning makes you wonder why you don’t get up early more often.
Anyhow we were soon settled in for the 2 hours 45 minutes journey with a coffee and lovely fresh warm pastry each and the Times crossword, sudoku, word wheel etc which are our daily attempt to activate our brains for the strenuous days of retirement.
The sea was placid, the day hot and sunny as we exited the harbour.
Everything secured nice and firmly….
It’s always interesting to see places from a different angle…here Mousehole.
And it’s a joy to arrive in the scattered isles of the Scillies……
before berthing in St Mary’s……where we hopped off rather sharpish to ensure we made the inter-island ferry to Tresco our destination for the day.
You see all kinds of craft, and nearing Tresco……
……….the incredible white-sanded beaches gleamed in the sun, and all of them were, as they often are apparently, practically deserted. Paradise!
On our walk to 
and everything was super-sized…
All this before we got to the Gardens….
Before visiting the Gardens themselves we had a light lunch in their cafe sitting in the beflowered courtyard soaking up the sun. After that we were ready. Now if you don’t like pictures of flowers, plants, settings like the Garden of Eden look away now…….
and there was wildlife too…here a magnificent 
The shapes against the blue sky were pretty special and the feeling you were in some tropical paradise, rather like the Eden project but all outside in real-life as it were, never left you.
And it wasn’t just plants and flowers that were special, there was a huge range of modern sculpture something I would normally take with a pinch of salt but here somehow all very appropriate…..
This particular sculpture of a balancing box lies below the Abbey house itself where 
even the well was turned into a piece of sculpture…..
The Shell House (1994), a pretty shell grotto designed and made by Lucy Dorrien-Smith, has a shell-themed tile floor, and individual initialled tiles commemorating members of the family can be seen amongst the shells on its internal walls. But the craftsmanship was incredible. The finest shell house I have seen, and I have seen a few.
Towards the end of our stroll around the gardens we happened upon a fruit and vegetable area which was patently not part of the main run of things. Our assumption was that this was maintained (in tip-top condition) for the Abbey owners themselves.
It also contained cutting beds, again probably for the owners vases.
We had the ferry to catch at 3.30pm to link up with the Scillonian, so we reluctantly left the gardens. On our way to 
the outside of the house itself….
and finally had beautiful vistas opening up of the sea……
I noted in the outskirts of the hamlet that they had even named a square after me (very nice of them)
and passing the beautiful cottages in their verdant setting we made our way….
……to the 
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. 
Enjoying Cornwall... 