Week 5: Lizards & Seals
- Oct 4, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 5, 2021
After a week of adrenaline and alpaca filled activities (thanks again to all at 'TIA'!) we ventured further along to a campsite on the Roseland coast.
Our stops this week were:
3 nights at Merrose Farm (near St Maws)
3 nights at Higher Bochym Farm (near Lizard point)
1 night at Castle View (near Penzance)
We arrived at Merrose Farm in torrential rain and took Bear out for a walk (which finished up more like a swim) to explore the area... we didn't get very far but we all needed a set of dry clothes when we got back (and a good shake and towel down for Bear)... luckily it was laundry day anyway!
Drying off on his doggy bag!
The weather was pretty mixed for a few days so we tried to make the most of the dry spells with a couple of walks along the coast path. When wet it was van-chores and laundry, as well as a few late mornings and downtime reading and watching films, thankfully we had good phone signal and plenty of data left.
We managed to find a dry afternoon for a bike ride down to St Anthony's head, before catching a ferry across to St Mawes and cycling back to the campsite.... the ferry was the smallest one I've ever caught (we we're the only people on it!) but it was a great way to cross the river and take in the views... plus it saved a few miles of cycling up hill!
Next stop was Falmouth... a really lovely town and one of the biggest places we've been for a while. Bear did really well walking through a busy town and Yvette managed to look in a few shops... but came out empty handed (aside from some more treats for Bear). A quick pasty for lunch (us not Bear) and then we hit the road for a stop that I'd been looking forwards to since I first heard about it...
...the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.
The Seal Sanctuary is a really beautiful setting, spread out over 40 acres with views down over the Helford River and it's a very dog friendly place (aside from the Seal Hospital dogs are allowed everywhere). When we bought the tickets the guy gave Bear 'a treat' which was a massive handful of biscuits... about the same size as his daily food allowance! Bear wasn't really sure what to make of the Seals but he seemed to still enjoy the visit, I definitely did.
The next campsite was on the Lizard Peninsular and not far from the village of Mullion... it was a great campsite and we were greeted by the friendly owner who gave us some eggs and homemade marmalade as a welcome present. Whilst the campsite itself was great, we couldn't really walk out from the campsite as the nearest footpath was a mile down a busy (and narrow) road... so any trips out were either on the bikes or in the van.
The weather forecast was still very mixed so we made the most of the dry and sunny spells... starting with an evening bike ride down to Lizard Point, which is the most southerly point in the country. The only slight disappointment was the icecream shops all closed at 4pm on a Saturday... it felt like the whole place is waiting for the last few tourists to leave so they can shut down for the winter and enjoy some peace.
Not one to miss an icecream we went back the next day for a walk along the coast path to Kynance Cove... not only did we get back in time for an icecream (although the lady seemed a bit miffed that some daft tourists wanted an icecream on a cold and wet day in October) but we spotted a couple of seals swimming around the rocks... I guess they were also looking for something to eat. The small pointy rock like thing in the picture below really is a seal.
The picture below is a slideshow... click/tap the arrows on the side to scroll through...
Moving on from the Lizard coast, took us up towards Helston where I persuaded Yvette to stop for a bit at the Royal Navy flying school at RNAS Culdrose... they have a car park near the end of the run-way so members of the public (and aviation geeks like me) can stop and watch the aircraft. After about 10 minutes we saw a fighter jet take off... I think it was a Hawk trainer jet but I'm sure one of my geekier friends will correct me if I'm wrong (picture below). Not sure where it went but a couple of Hawks then started flying laps doing a quick touchdown and take off without stopping... the noise was great and even Yvette was impressed (Bear definitely enjoyed it).
After the excitement of the jets we moved along the coast to Porthleven, where we had a little walk around the harbour and explored some of the side streets with houses running up the steep hillside... they all had great views down on over the harbour.
Our final stop for the day was Marizion, where we walked along past St Michael's Mount and enjoyed the fresh and blustery sea air, the sun made a few appearances so we stopped to watch some kite surfers on very cool hydrofoil boards... it looks so smooth and graceful but the've clearly had done it before!
We've been on the road for just over a month now and the time has really flown by! We've been incredibly lucky with the weather, with just a few rainy days and even then we've been able to find a few dry(ish) hours to get out and explore.
I've set-up a new page in the menu with a google map... we'll keep adding our stops so you can see where we've been... it works better on a bigger screen and isn't in the app (if you're using it).
Great to see you all having such a good time and I believe we are due a mini heatwave this week so you are lucky with the weather.
Beautiful photos! I’m just an incey wincey bit jealous!!!!! You look so well and happy and Bear clearly enjoyed his kiss with the Shetland pony!