Cornwall in the autumn 2017

Thursday 5 th October 2017 Quite a good night’s sleep on a big squashy bed in a room with wonky floors and low ceilings and doorways.   Down for another excellent meal – Ian had the full English and I had Eggs Royale. It had rained in the night, but the weather was better this morning. We drove the few miles to Westonbirt Arboretum, through hilly but fertile farmland. We were there quite soon after it opened, but there were already quite a lot of people there. By now, the sun was out and it stayed out all day, which was great for the autumn colour of the trees, which was why we were there.    At the beginning of the suggested route is the stunning treetop walk with lots of educational l boards. The scenery was just wonderful – with the maples doing the best for colour. Among the most vivid were Hickory one from China and a couple from America. There were lots of trees I’d never heard of, but many were familiar. At the end of the Silk Wood walk, we had a rather...

Wednesday 4 th October 2017 Early morning start with packing of the car. We got away from St Ives soon after 9 and made our way up to Paignton with the weather improving during the morning. We made good time and hung about a bit waiting for Martin to come home from work. It was lovely to see the flat where they have been for 2 and a half years – in a bit of a state of turmoil as they were waiting to have carpets laid in the bedrooms. With dog, we were driven by Martin to Berry Head, which is the point at the south end of Torbay, above Brixham, and where there is an excellent café. We had a bit of a mooch round the point after lunch, and the scenery was spectacular – blue seas and skies and masses of them. We could see the cliffs of Sidmouth and beyond, towards where Andrew lives. Looking south, the sun was sparkling on the sea and we watched several boats and ships out on the water. Back at the flat, we had to leave so that both of them could get off to do a couple of jobs. W...

Tuesday 3 rd October In line with the weather during the rest of this holiday, today was beautiful and sunny and stayed so all day. Out down to the harbour, picking up bagels on the way. On to the end of the harbour, where the tide was as far out as we had seen it. Lots of people about in the sunshine. Round the end and up to the coastguard lookout from where the views were tremendous – the best so far since we’ve been in St Ives – right up beyond Godrevy Point towards Newquay. The path then goes down onto Porthmeor beach, which was lovely – crashing blue seas with some people starting to surf. Up the cliff onto the path again and started round towards the south. The path is easy walking for quite a way, then the tarmac runs out and it becomes stonier. Eventually, as we got further away from the town, it got very muddy in places. Stopped for a drink at Clodgy Point and thought we might continue for another couple of miles, but it did get harder work so we stopped before that fo...

Monday 2 nd October 2017 Today started bright and sunny and we packed our bags to head off by train to Penzance and then a walk to Marazion, to visit St Michael’s Mount. The little train to St Erth was on-time and quick, as was the second one on to Penzance. Getting off the train, we struggled a bit to find the point where we could join the coastal path because we ignored the sign and decided to walk outside the sea wall, it being less grim that walking between two concrete walls. Mistake – the path was closed about 400 yards along and we had to retrace our steps. The path to Marazion is not very interesting, apart from the hazy views across to St Michael’s Mount – it was too hazy to see much beyond Penzance, so could only just make out the shapes of the Lizard and Land’s End. It was a bit of a trudge, at the end of which, we bought warm, quite good pasties. On to the village to catch a little ferry across to the island – the causeway being closed. All the ferries seem to be ma...

Sunday 1 st October 2017 Woke to rain, as forecast. Attempted to have Facetime call with Robin and girls but the internet connection is not reliable enough. Walked down into the town to explore the harbour where we found excellent coffee overlooking the incoming tide and boats. The sand is very yellow and pretty. Up the hill to the Barbara Hepworth museum, which was beautiful. We’d looked on-line to see what to expect. The entrance room is quite small and gives a biography and description of her major works. Out into the quite small garden, where many works can be seen and they are stunning. I decided that a limestone, upright piece was the one I would take home. Back up to the house to collect the car – with a fight to get out of the garage. Our neighbour appeared as we were coming out – she lives in Banbury but owns the flat here and she is here to clean it after a long let. She was a bit inclined to natter. It was still raining as we drove up the coast through Gwithian, ...

Saturday 30 th September 2017 Awake ridiculously early again, we pottered about having breakfast, doing the final packing and looking round for the last time. The weather this morning was a bit colder but dry so far. It’s due to rain this afternoon. We didn’t see any sign all week of our hosts. Drove to the Coop for some supplies at St Blazey, then on to Wheal Martyn, near St Austell for some culture – learning about the china clay industry history.   The first call was at the café for a reviving coffee. The tour starts with some history of how china clay was discovered as a potential material for porcelain, by a local apothecary, although it had had earlier uses in the area. The extraction turned into a massive industry, the resulting waste from which has completely altered the landscape. The pointed tips are all old – nowadays, they make more of an effort to create natural shapes. The tour carries on up to the Victorian workings, which are quite derelict – the choice was ma...

Friday 29 th September 2017 Today we stayed local with the weather clear and low tide in the early morning. After a slow start, we walked up the steep hill to the village church, dedicated to St Sampson, and on the Saints Way as a notable church. It’s very old, quite plain and simple and beautifully light. There is a lovely picture hanging, which is part painted and part embroidery, done in 2015 by local people and celebrating the apple-growing year. This area had a number of orchards in the past and was a great centre of cider-making. There are several apple trees below the studio, which are covered in fruit. On up the hill to the junction with the “main” road into the village, and down to the riverside, where we sat for a while watching a few people coming and going on the water. We haven’t seen a lot of wildlife, although the owls were at it again later. Swans in the entrance to the inlet opposite Golant. Into the Fishermans Inn for a cider – very expensive, strong and quite...

Thursday 28 th September This morning there were three owls shouting at each other when we woke up. The rain had passed over, leaving us with a sunny day all day.   We made our way across country to St Austell and then down to Mevagissy. It’s a bigger village than Polperro, not quite as picturesque but more obviously a working place – many of the boats in the harbour were fishing boats. We found excellent coffee and some polenta cake at a large café overlooking the harbour, prowled about a bit, found a sandwich for lunch, from a shop that was due to close this afternoon and where the woman behind the counter was a bit excited at the imminent freedom. On to Heligan, choosing to walk down and round the outside, and finding a bench to sit on while we ate lunch, at the bottom of the hill. Round to the bottom of the jungle, up the side, across the new (to us) rope bridge, which was an interesting experience, up to the top and down again. Further on round the outside of the estat...

Wednesday 27 th September Today promised rain and plenty of it. It had started to drizzle before we left the house, but we had to make the most of the day. We started by driving down to Fowey and taking the car across the river on the ferry, which was waiting for us. The road takes a very steep left bend immediately and then carries on away from the village. We could have made our way down miles of narrow lanes, but followed the signs to Polperro along the B roads, which made more sense, although it was a lot longer. By the time we got to Polperro, it was starting to rain. There is only one car park, where we had to buy three hours, which was a bit annoying, as all we wanted to do was have a look at the place, then go on to Looe. However, we ended up spending a coupe of hours there, walking down the main street to the harbour, then round it, taking photos. A lot had been done to attract tourists that was rather twee, but fundamentally, it’s still possible to see how the village...

Tuesday 26 th September The fog this morning was quite considerable, with hardly any boats visible on the water. We were awake early and listened to a pair of owls hooting to each other in the murk.   The clay train that we saw yesterday could only just be made out. From about 8 o’clock, the fog started to clear, and eventually, it was a bright and sunny day, which was how it stayed until later in the afternoon. With lunch in our bags, we drove down to Fowey and parked the car, walked in to buy pasties for tea and some bread for tomorrow. We dropped these off at the car and took the car ferry across to Bodinnick. The road goes straight up a very steep hill immediately and the Hall Walk goes off to the right, a few hundred yards from the quay. To start with, it is pretty level, with frequent view points across the river to Fowey. At one of them, there was a memorial, where it looked as if someone had scattered some ashes. It was a lovely walk, easy underfoot, wooded, with be...

Monday 25 th September We are beginning to appreciate more and more, how romantic this cottage is, and what a lovely thing is the balcony. Today started bright, warm and sunny and we had our breakfast outside, staying out to enjoy warmth, views and peacefulness. The first of the china clay trains snaked its way past. With the sun continuing, we set off for Falmouth, via the community shop a couple of miles away in Tywardreath. With food in the cool bag, we continued past St Austell, Truro and on to Falmouth, where we took up the offer of park and ride – the park and float seeming an expensive option. The bus took us down to the main wharf and we walked back up the hill to a bakery that I had spotted, for excellent coffee and pastries. It seems as if artisan bread is catching on down here – several bakeries were offering sourdough bread.    We bought sausage and spicy chickpea rolls for lunch. The town centre didn’t seem very familiar to either of us – I keep muddling...

Sunday 24 th September There was quite dense fog this morning, obscuring the views across the river. Although awake early, we took a while to get going, and the rain started. It’s difficult to tell when it is raining, because of the constant sound of running water from the little stream that comes down the higher garden and under the drive, right beside the studio. However, when water is dripping off the verandah roof it’s a good sign. We deal Ok with rain that starts while we are out, but really didn’t want to begin a walk in a downpour, so we stayed at the studio and read for the rest of the morning. I’d made some soup at home, so we had that as an early lunch. By the time that was eaten, the rain had stopped and the sun was tentatively breaking through. The first intention had been to walk to Fowey, take the car ferry to Bodinnick, walk round the inlet called Pont Pill, catch the passenger ferry back, and walk back to Golant. However, we needed to see how diffi...

Saturday 23rd September At this time of year, the mornings are getting darker, so it was not fully light when we left home soon after 6:30am. It is quite unusual for us to get going so early, but we had nearly 300 miles to drive and the M6 and M5 are particularly slow at the moment. The drive was remarkably uneventful, taking pretty much the time estimated by the AA and the satnav. Down through Cheshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, the weather was grey, with a bit of drizzle. We arrived at Gloucester services soon after 9, where we had a good break and a fairly good breakfast. At least the surroundings are civilized, the services station belonging to the family that owns and runs Tebay services. Ian carried on down to Exeter services, by which time the sun had come out and it was quite warm – too warm for the boots I was wearing. We decided not to stop again for lunch, as we had had the breakfast earlier. So we drove straight on down to Fowey, and went into the town beca...