W4925

2nd June 2012 I usually write a holiday diary whenever I go away so as this weekend for the jubilee we are in Cornwall it can double up as my observation as well! Anyway we are spending the week in Cornwall at a cottage in Fowey. My youngest daughter and her boyfriend are also joining us for the weekend. I started the day in a vaguely patriotic mood as there was a lot on news about the Queen etc and even though I'm not a royalist in any way I was getting into the party mood. However, the traffic today was a nightmare and it took us 7 hours to drive here and I'm now feeling knackered. The cottage is great and just what we expected, so arriving and finding it so was relaxing. We walked into the village tonight and down to the riverside for a drink, the place is absolutely beautiful so looking forward to the rest of the time down here. There is also a lot of events planned in the town over the weekend so we will probably just chill out and take part. That should be good fun to see everyone partying and having good fun to lift the country's mood. In my journals I normally note a "crazy" event that happened during the day, as something normally does! Today I guess it must have been the couple in their late fifties in the pub this evening, they obviously had had a lot to drink and although there were not many people there were kissing and touching each other passionately. 3rd June 2012 Today has been a good day, despite not sleeping well because of wind and rain in the middle of the night. Today we explored Fowey which is a beautiful little town. We walked from the cottage down to the nearest beach , Readymoney Cove, which is only 15 mins away , down a lovely wooded path. The tide was out so we had a go at rock pooling which was good fun, seeing the odd crab and plenty of winkles. From there we wandered into town having a cup of tea in a delightful cafe full of old childhood things. The town was full of people all in a good mood for the jubilee and the local townspeople had put on many events. On the quay side there was live music and a hog roast which were hoping to try. Unfortunately we got there too late and they had sold out! So we made do with a pasty, not sure if I was taxed on that one? We then took a boat trip up and down the river estuary which was great fun, seeing the attractive wooded river banks and the town from the river was lovely, and the guide was informative. Then after a drink in a quayside bar we wandered back to the cottage. There we watched the last part of the Queen’s water pageant in the Thames. Good to see that much effort being put into the celebration but I personally find it hard to be enthusiastic about it all. I must say though the Queen looked very good and amazingly stood for many hours on her barge. It was a shame the heavens opened and soaked everyone towards the end. The crazy moment of the days was when we were rock pooling. Anna squealed as she had found a fish trapped in a crack in the rocks. Quite a big fish, 6 ins long, but all we could see was its head and a single beady orange eye looking out at us from the hole. I wondered whether it survived! 4th June 2012 Today has been a wonderful day. Belinda and I walked on the south west cast path from Fowey round to Polkerris. This was a beautiful walk full of alternating lovely coves and wooded dells full of wildflowers. The weather stood up and the still sea was full of sailing boats. On one of the coves we stopped and paddled in the beautifully clear sea. We were the only ones their and it was idyllic. In Polkerris we had a welcome refreshing pint in the pub overlooking the beach and then ate our lunch on the harbour wall watching everyone enjoying themselves in the sun on the beach. The last leg of the walk back was across country and mercifully only about an hour. We were out for 5 hours but it was worth it! This evening we went down to the quayside for a meal and had one of the best meals we have ever had at a restaurant on the quay. Superb fish and seafood and a beautiful view watching the boats come in and out the harbour. Belinda had river oysters, fresh from the river which were brilliant. The evening was topped off by dancing to a jazz band on the quayside, seeing an enormous beacon being lit in the hills over the river and then a massive fireworks display all of which reflected in the river estuary. Not sure we had any crazy moments today, really all great moments. Only thing really was listening to the drunken, and hence loud, ridiculous conversations of people watching the beacon being lit!!! 5th June 2012 Today has been a miserable day as it has rained most of the day. Anna and Dave got up early to go crabbing but the tide was up so no luck! Then they went back to bed for the morning. We just spent the morning reading and watching the Queen’s service on the television. Sad that Prince Philip is ill so can't attend. After lunch Anna and Dave left for home and after a while the rain eventually stopped so we went to visit Mevagissy. It is a typical working fishing village quite pretty but also quite grockley, not quite as nice as I remember. We walked round a bit but then headed home via St Austell, which was a bit of a pit. This evening we wondered down to the town and had a drink before cooking our dinner and a quiet night watching a film. It looks as if my eldest daughters miscarrying for a second time which is very sad. I'm not sure anything crazy happened today. The aquarium in Mevagissy was the smallest I've ever seen, about the size of a garden shed 6th June 2012 Today has been a wonderful day, we have done a tour of south west Cornwall. The day started off at St Michael’s mount. We parked by the beach and then walked along it and over the causeway to St Michael’s mount. The beach was gorgeous and the views over the bay to Penzance lovely. St Michael’s mount was beautiful, truly a mini Mont St Michel. Shame we didn't have a chance to visit the house. From there we went onto Lands End. It has begun to be turned into a small "pleasure park" but the scenery cannot still be faulted, spectacular and it was good to be able to walk around the area too enjoying the views. At the end of the day we headed to St Ives. Again a beautiful place and like the rest of the day the weather was good so we sat on the beach for a while just soaking up the sun and watching children building castles. The hot sun and all the driving had made us tired so a welcome cup of tea lifted us for the journey home. Dinner tonight was freshly cooked local mussels and crusty bread that we had bought. Lovely with a bottle of fizz. Not much crazy today, more spectacular, anyway probably the brave old lady, in her seventies, in a bikini on the beach in St Ives! 7th June 2012 Weather has taken a turn for the worst today so we headed for the Eden project. Just up the road near St Austell so an easy journey today. The place was very full but really enjoyable. Most of the area is under cover so the rain didn't matter. The two biomes, Mediterranean and Rain Forest were wonderful. I preferred the jungle one, despite being boiling and sweaty it was really interesting seeing all the topical plants and crops. Seeing all the spices and what the plants look like was fascinating. The outside parts were good two, vegetable gardens, small forests, plants for making materials etc. lunch was amazing, a huge canteen with lots of lovely fresh food, their salads and vegetables making all the dishes, and all for £5. Tom I expect would have loved it Crazy moment for today was an enormous 7 foot high and extremely smelly flower in the rain forest at Eden project. It only flowers for 48 hours so we were lucky to see it. Also an old lady wearing a woollen hat and cardigan in the rainforest whilst everyone else was sweating in t shirts! 8th June 2012 After the winds of last night today is decidedly breezy. However we set off for a walk along the wooded banks of the river Fowey. Used the ferry to cross over to Polruan which was quite exciting in the small boat. The walk was picturesque and relaxing, ending with a beer at the Old Ferry Inn before another ferry back to Fowey. This time we entered the town from another end and saw even more pretty streets and had coffee in the oldest house, dating from 1460. Dinner tonight our usual Friday meal of fish and chips before we head off home via Bethan and Chris tomorrow. This has been a good holiday despite the weather.