St. Ives

Friday 20 July

What a brilliant day we had today, St Ives stole our hearts. We set off from our site at about 9am to catch the bus to take us to Redruth railway Station. The walk was about half an hour and when we finally got to the bus stop it cost us £7.60 return to Redruth. We thought this a lot as it didn’t seem very far from the town but of course it took in all the local estates on route. We were even more certain of the exorbitant bus fare when we got two return tickets to St.Ives on the train for just £10. 

The railway journey to  St.Ives is amazing, so beautiful and picturesque. We were glued to the window and the first sight of St.Ives near took your breath away. We were soon at the station and took a slow walk into the town. When we left the camp site in the morning  we were dressed for the occasion namely, walking boots, thick socks, waterproofs etc. As soon as we got to St.Ives the sun came out and the sky cleared and throughout the day the it got hotter and hotter. No doubt if we had gone in shorts and flipflops it would have poured with rain and been freezing cold.

It had been out intention to do all of St Ives in one day including the Tate and the Barbara Hepworth museum. But we were so taken by the town, the beaches and the lovely weather that we couldn’t bring ourselves to go indoors. So instead we walked all around the town going down all the back streets and exploring. The high street was surprisingly modern for such a small town and had many well known shops. It was heaving with people and vehicles. The latter being mainly white delivery vans. As there are no pavements this made it quite difficult to make progress down the streets. Happily it all cleared up by the afternoon.

For lunch we went on the island walk and found a bench overlooking Porthmeor beach and Tate St Ives. The weather by now was glorious and the sea was the most amazing blues and turquoise. We were surprised by the amount of birds on the island and also many artists all around us painting. After lunch we carried on round the island and back into town. 

We explored many artists’ galleries in the back streets, no mean feat as these streets are incredibly steep. We couldn’t help feel that we weren’t in England at all as the light and feel of the place is very mediterranean. It’s easy to see why artists love it and gain inspiration from it. We will return next week to see the galleries. 

For Carolines Dad Derek and Barbara St. Ives Weatherspoons 

Nice tattoo!

This house belonged to Alfred Wallis, mariner, painter/artist.

Such a beautiful day, so continental.....lovely!

Sad to leave...

Buckland Abbey

Wed 18 July

We decided as it was yet another wet and dismal day to take advantage of our National Trust card and headed off to the 700 year old Elizabethan home of Francis Drake 'Buckland Abbey'. It turns out it was a really good move and we thoroughly enjoyed our day out (despite the rain). Henry IIIV had done his best to knock the place down but it was converted into a lovely house. It was subject to a serious fire in the west wing of the house in 1938 and was rebuilt. The Gardens were very nice and complemented by the granduer of the architecture. As usual here are the pictures.

The Great Barn Built by the Cistercian Monks in the13th Century

The Ceiling is original but the floor was put in during War II as the barn was used as an ammunition dump.

Drake's Drum, Sir Francis Drake took this big snare drum on all his adventures on the high seas. Safely back in Buckland Abbey it is said the drum beats if England is in danger. The last time the drum was reported to have sounded was just prior to the evacuation of Dunkirk. Typically, It was silent for us....

Thursday 19 July

Today we had an early start and set off for Redruth. The rest of the day was spent doing a mountain of clothes washing at the Launderette. That was a first and quite an experience. £17 later we had nice clean clothes. The Campsite for the next 7 nights was only 5 minutes away and on a Golf Course. Best toilet's so far.....by far!

St. Ives tomorrow, bring it on....

Down Thomas

Tuesday 17 July

We woke up today at 8am after another brilliant sleep. The first noteworthy thing to comment on was that it was not raining. Instead we were engulfed in a low level sea fog and could hardly see across the field. Still, it’s and improvement on the last couple of days and we should be grateful for small mercies. It took us ages to get sorted in the van but by 10am we were spick 'n' span in the van and ready for a walk down to the sea at Bovisand. 

As you can see there is not much to see in the distance as the views were still obscured by the fog. Instead our attention was drawn to the hedgerows that were bursting with wild flowers and insects. We loved this walk as it was all downhill and we took our time.

By 12am we were walking on the beach, climbing over the rocks and just loving it. We could just make out Standon point lighthouse through the fog and every now and then a ship in the fog blowing its horn which sound tapered off into the distance as it went on its way. Every now and then we could here five blasts in a row which means ‘you are in imminent danger of collision so get out of the way’. One blast ‘I’m turning to port’ and two blasts ‘I’m turning to starboard’. We sat on a bench having lunch waiting in eager anticipation of the expected crunch. It never came!

The walk back up the hill was not quite the quiet gentle stroll we had coming down and we huffed, puffed and panted our way all the way to the local pub ‘The Mussels’ for a post lunch pint of best and half a larger for the boss. 

It turns out the pub has free WiFi, and as for some reason the connection to the dongle is poor around here so this post is being sent courtesy of ‘The Mussels’ The rest of the afternoon was spent back at ‘Campy’ relaxing, reading and basically doing nothing.

Plymouth

Monday 16th July

Since we have been our travels in ‘Campy’, we have been sleeping very well indeed. Not sure if it’s the release from the responsibilities of work for Petra or the relief from getting all our possessions safely packed away into storage for Kev but, we now sleep almost through the night and don’t wake till near 8am. This really is unheard of for us and a welcome change indeed.

Anyway, following the hard work of cleaning the van yesterday, we were both on our knees had an early night and when we woke in the morning .......yes you guessed it RAIN! We are so glad we decided to pack up the awning yesterday, can't think of anything worse than wrestling with a wet awning and muddy tent pegs. It was still raining when we set off from the site at about 10.00am. We were seriously worried if we would be able to drive off the site as the ground was sodden and on a slope leading out of the Campsite. We needn’t have worried as ‘Campy’ took it in her stride and we drifted out of the site onto the narrow road that lead on to the main road and our next stop Plymouth.

On route we stopped off at Sainsbury’s for urgent supplies The wine box is nearly empty and there is no way we are going without a drop (or two) of wine with our dinner, so needs must. We also got some non-essentials you know bread, butter, fruit etc.  After that we went to the Camper’s Nevana, ‘Go Outdoors’ it’s a camping ‘SUPERSTORE’ bursting at the seams with all manner of essentials for virgin campers ‘such as what we are’! We obviously went a bit mad and bought all manner of things, all absolutely essential of course and returned to the van wondering where on earth we were doing to put it all? ‘Campy’ of course rises to the challenge  and gobbles it all up. In reality it’s actually Petra’s miracle packing that does it, something to do with the ward linen cupboard we believe.

After lunch in the Go Outdoors car park (coronation chicken sarnie) we drove the 10 mins or so to Saltram House - a National Trust property. We went around the house which was very interesting and would have loved to have walked around the garden but the weather........well you get the message. Here a few pics of the house. Unfortunately, the exterior of the house is having a bit of  a makeover so Kev couldn’t get a decent picture of the front of the house.

This is what Saltram looks like on a a perfect summer day without the scaffolding. Not bad really! The Ground floor was very dark and it was difficult to see any of the plentiful masterpieces on show. A shame really as it was so dull outside they could have opened the blinds without causing damage. The Kitchens were magnificent and we spent ages admiring a lll the things on show.

This is the side view that Kev took on the day-

For the benefit of Peter and a previous discussion, here is a hay box and instructions on its use. Dib, dib dib.

A rare writing desk once belonging to French King Louis XIV which required 14 months of painstaking conservation work.

Made in about 1700, the Boulle desk at the National Trust's Georgian property Saltram House in Plympton, Plymouth, is thought to be from the workshop of renowned French cabinetmaker Andre-Charles Boulle.

Absolutely stunning and the key exhibit in the house for us.

5pm we arrived at our next campsite, a very pretty site and exactly what we expected for a CL site. Only drawback no site loo’s so it’s the ‘Portapoti’ at the ready.