It's been a year since I was last in Cornwall; for part of my long ride week. This time I drove down with Marcia. We stayed in the same place as our last visit.
It's a quiet place with the same setup that we have at home so it works well for Marcia.
Along the lanes to the nearest village was a nice walk.
With impressive views.
Just managed to catch sight of a deer.
Regular readers may remember that I sold much of my camera gear to fund my new bike. These pictures were taken by the only camera I have left; the Kodak CX7430. Bought for me by Marcia it was responsible for my return to photography. Boasting a massive 4 mega pixel sensor and 3 times zoom, I'd forgetten how good it was. Very basic controls and customisation, but these pictures prove it's still got a lot to offer.
Taking advantage of the great weather we met my sister Sheila for a walk along the Camel Trail. I hired a bike and rode to Padstow. In a departure from my last experience it was mostly flat. Marcia and Sheila completed a shorter route and joined me at a cafe. My phone took the following images.
The trail was fairly busy, Padstow more so. I rode and then walked up a hill to overlook the bay.
Then continued a bit further through Harlyn bay. This was not so flat; each inlet on the route required a climb out.
Back through Padstow and then I got a move on to meet at the cafe for food.
Looking up at the trail.
Whilst I was away Sheila took some pictures using the Kodak.
When I only needed a few bits I walked to the nearest village; Probus.
A lot of the buildings date back to before the 1700's; a monastery, maybe the first habitation pre-dates the Norman conquest.
It's around 1.5 miles from where we were staying and took me about an hour to walk there and back. I like to walk every day, even if I don't need to visit the shop.
Since we honeymooned over two decades ago we've been to Cornwall numerous times. Deciding on places to see is becoming harder. On Thursday we headed to Penrose water garden near Truro. It appeared on the website to be much bigger than it actually was.
In reality there were ten or so tightly packed ponds. The narrow paths that separated them were uneven and very slippery. Not good for Marcia in her wheelchair. Again the website suggested food would be available.
The restaurant wasn't open, closing at 13:30, and we would have needed to book a table. All-in-all a disapppointment.
We moved on to Mevagissey; a village near St Austall; sitting on the harbour wall to eat Cornish pasties.
The end of the week arrived, and it was nearly time to go home.
One last walk looking for a new view. Controversial opinion: the windmills don't destroy it as much as some would argue. Especially when you consider power and phone lines criss-cross many vistas.
