Catching up with Christmas

Son No. 2, who previously worked in Afghanistan, now works in Syria and came home to Cornwall for 3 weeks R & R; he and his wife booked a house in Crantock for the first week where we  (myself, son, daughter-in-law and teenage grandson) all spent a wonderfully relaxing holiday in the week leading up to Christmas.  

The house was very spacious and comfortable and had a lovely decorated Christmas tree in the lounge at the side of that most essential of holiday comforts - the log-burner. 

Best of all it had the most wonderful view from the front windows; it was mesmerising to sit looking out over Crantock Bay to watch the ever-changing sea.

In the evenings, we took Benji down to Crantock beach to enjoy a chase around before settling down for the evening.  We wrapped up well because it was quite nippy, only to be expected in the week before Christmas, but very enjoyable.

The biggest surprise was how steep the sand dunes were, compared to last summer, when it was a relatively easy climb from the car park with all the beach paraphernalia and a scramble down the other side.  Not any more - grappling hooks are needed!!! 

I was most relieved to find, a few hundred yards along the beach, another exit, completely flat, which leads directly into the car park.  My choice of access on future visits, methinks.

Across the River Gannel, the lights of the houses built on the hillside of Pentire Point East.  Lovely houses with lots of glass, but we agreed that we would prefer to be facing out to sea rather than overlooking the beach! 

 We couldn't resist a wander around Crantock village as it seemed that every building had Christmas decorations; not just businesses but private houses as well - and trees, fences, everything!  Those lights put many a town centre to shame.

One memorable evening we trundled down to one of the village pubs where it seemed that all the locals (and their dogs) congregated in one small room. We bought our drinks and found ourselves sitting in the adjoining room, a bit like spare things at a wedding. My grandson was glancing at a pool table; nobody near it, so he asked his Dad if he fancied a game.  He did -  so we moved across to watch the fun.  Somehow, I was coaxed into playing the winner - HA!!!!  Never been on a pool table in my life, but Hey Ho . . . 

Well, it was warm work, and I think I partook of the white wine rather a lot - but the more I drank, the more my game improved - or so it seemed to me.  I was thoroughly enjoying myself and the wine kept flowing.  Oh what fun! I'm pretty sure I invented some rare but excellent ways of supporting the cue but my son, daughter-in-law and grandson were trying to teach me the 'proper' methods.  There's no fun in 'proper', is there?

Anyway, my memory fades a bit after the pool games and I don't remember much about heading back to our holiday home - or even going to bed.  But I do remember it was a Good Evening! 

Cotehele in late October

Remember the teaser photo after a couple of posts back? I was referring to a little outing one sunny, mild afternoon in October to a place not far away from home - Cotehele (pronounced coat -eel).

So here's a snapshot of the rest of that afternoon (at last!)

Expecting a quiet amble along the woodland path, I was somewhat surprised to find that lots of people had had the same idea and the car parks were almost full.

But there are many paths that crisscross this huge estate so it was possible to get away from the madding crowd and listen to the birdsong.

While I rested on a handy seat, Benji did his usual trick of 'guarding' the path from all-comers; he sits there, watching them approach, then refuses to budge so that they have to take avoiding action and go around him.  Once they have passed, he gets up and wanders around again.  Little monkey!

Now Zac always took the opportunity to get a drink from this underground stream which surfaces at the side of the path, but Benji refuses to get his feet wet so he misses out.

My eye was caught by the sight of a mast floating along above the reeds . . . 

. . . . so we made our way to Cotehele Quay for a clearer view.

Considering the time of year, river traffic was busier than I've seen in a long time, with craft coming along in both directions.

However, 'Shamrock', the Tamar sailing barge, owned by The National Trust, was sheltered by a huge tarpaulin cover, undergoing maintenance and restoration.  I found a handy spyhole and poked my camera inside.  There's a website devoted to the 'Shamrock' - http://shamrock-cotehele.blogspot.com/p/all-about-shamrock.html

And so another visit to Cotehele ended; we made our way back to the car, hoping to get away before everyone else had the same idea.  We did!!!

Godrevy and the seals

Don't faint!  Two posts within an hour - but actually this was part of the same holiday.

Godrevy wasn't far away and that lighthouse was in my sights and calling my name, so off we went for another sunny, hot afternoon.  Lovely walks along the cliff path, an ice cream to share and other dogs to meet and greet. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

This was the image that encouraged me to buy a cornet, which we both enjoyed. Mmmmm . . 

Here's One I Made Earlier.

I've no idea why I didn't post about my little 'getaway' trip at the time, but I'm thinking it might be good to remind ourselves that we had actual SUNSHINE not so long ago.  Well . . in October . . .

I live in a perfectly nice bungalow in a moorland village in rural Cornwall but every so often I have the urge to get away from it all, an urge that won't go away.  I have always loved camping (and caravanning) but last time out with my tent I found myself struggling against a stiff breeze on my campsite on a Cornish cliff top; indeed I was ready to bundle the darn thing back into the car and come home until someone took pity on me, came across from his caravan and helped me to put the tent up.  But that experience was enough to make me realise I could no longer manage hauling all the camping equipment out and then packing the car, driving to a campsite, setting up the tent, filling it with a carload of 'stuff' before being able to sit down and relax with a cup of tea.  Oh - and the dog needed walking and feeding!

Decision made, the tent was put up for sale and I parted with some of my camping gear.  (The tent still hasn't sold so I'll try again in the Spring.) In the interim, I perused t'internet to find a bargain holiday which doesn't require all that effort.

Result - in October, Benji and I had a lovely, relaxing holiday in a static caravan near Hayle and the weather was fabulous.  We were close to a golden beach where dogs were allowed (the seasonal dog ban having ended 3 days before we arrived; that's why I booked those dates! ;)) The caravan had an enclosed balcony facing the sea, so it was great to have the sliding doors open without Benji being able to escape.  He shifted from his bed to the balcony depending on how hot he felt!

The view from the balcony.

Pub terrace overlooking the bay (Bluff Bay).

Hot, golden sand, blue sky and Godrevy Lighthouse in the distance.

This footpath led from the caravan site, down past the pub and straight on to the sands. I couldn't have wished for better.

St.Ives, across the estuary

My camera had a hissy fit, so I visited Penzance to find a camera shop - Penzance centre is extremely busy and parking spots are hard to find: I spotted one but was unable to stop and reverse into it because of following traffic, so I carried on . . and on . . and on . .  There's a huge gyratory system which takes traffic out of the the centre, out of the town and I found myself heading for St Ives! I must have missed a sign and taken a wrong turn somewhere. St Ives is very photogenic, but of course, my camera was on strike, so you'll have to take my word for it. I did eventually manage to reach the camera shop, problem solved and drove back to Hayle.  

We headed for the Cinnamon Trust headquarters and were warmly welcomed by the staff there, who were very pleased to see Benji and remarked how good he looked.  He ought to after losing half his body weight since coming to me. I was quite surprised at his shyness when he was fussed over - he's far from shy normally, but he clung close to me and was keen to leave.  I wonder if he thought it was the vets?  

And that turned out to be our final day as overnight, the weather changed completely.  We woke to torrential rain, a partly flooded site and as my car was parked alongside the caravan on the grass, I was concerned about getting stuck, so decided to pack up, put the rubbish out, clean the caravan and head home a day early. Horrendous journey and I was very glad to reach home.  But we had both thoroughly enjoyed the break and change of scenery - and how nice not to lug all the camping equipment around. Here's to our next trip!  

But first -  just a few miles from home we visited . . . well, here's a clue -