Day 3 - Cornwall

Our day started with a hearty English breakfast (James decided on criossant). Bobsy - the resident dog - joined us but was soon ushered out by Caroline.

It was an overcast day with forecast for steady rain throughout the day. The plan was to visit Cornwall and, if wet, to spend a little more time in the car to see some further afield places. We set of at 10am heading for Looe due west on the A38.

We had a good run and arrived in about 45 minutes. Rather than staying we decided to pass through and on to Polperro perhaps 15 minutes down the road. We're glad we did. Polperro is a village perched the steep slopes of a small harbour guarded by jagged headlands. Its got a history as a smugglers cove. The village streets are very narrow and there is no real vehicle access. So we parked about a 10 minute walk from the centre.

Polperro is an active fishing village and also seems a popular place for holiday retreat. As we walked out of the lee created by the protective sea wall I was hit by a refreshing blast of salty air. Its exactly what I was looking for. Being in Berkshire for the past three months its nice to be on the coast. We spent some time walking up the steep cliff paths to the headland where there is a great vantage to take in the view of the harbour and the village in the backdrop.

From Polperro we drove on to St Mawes - another seaside town in south Cornwall. We grabbed some lunch - which included a Cornish Pastie for me - and set ourselves up on a bench perched on the sea wall. It was starting to drizzle and the wind had freshened up. We debated whether to visit the castle, visit the fort at Falmouth or try for St Michaels Mount near Penzance. Merrilyn was keen to see St Michaels so after lunch we bundled back into the car and headed off.

We got stuck in some traffic and the rain well and truly set in. So after about an hour and a half we turned off to Marazion - the location of St Michael's Mount. As we approach we heard from the back seat - "Look a castle". James - this little bugger - had spotted it first. Mind you it was difficult to see. The rain and mist had descended and all that was visible was a shady silhouette.

Driving past the shore we found a car park and put a jumper (first for a while) and hat. It was a light drizzle but with a gusty wind the umbrellas we bought were not much use.

The castle is perched on a 350m high rock island rising from Mount's Bay. It accessible in low tide via a cobbled causeway. We were fortunate that it was low tide but it turned out that the castle is closed on a Saturday. Nonetheless we walked over (a weird experience walking on the sandy Bay floor with seaweed either side) and explored the small harbour and buildings at the base of the Mount. Merrilyn particularly enjoyed the experience. Its a place she always wanted to visit.

It was about 5pm so we headed for home looping back back via the A30 to Travistock and then back to the A38. We passed Travistock at 7:30pm and searched for a restaurant/cafe for dinner. Would you believe we couldn't find a thing open other than an Indian restaurant! And it turns out that there was a food festival on! We opted for the supermarket and grabbed some provisions eating dinner in the car by a park in the rain. A bit ordinary!

We arrived back home about 8:30 and James was soon in bed. He's holding up pretty well considering the long days and distance we're traveling. No paper for me tonight. Just a shower and bed!