Week 6: The captivating Cornish coastline
- Oct 11, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 17, 2021
Our stops this week were:
2 nights at Castle View (near Penzance. CL. (This campsite was mentioned for 1 night on Steve’s last blog, but we stayed for 3 nights in total.)
3 nights at Sennen Cove-Camping and Caravan Club site. (Near Land’s End)
2 nights at Godrevy-Caravan and Motorhome Club site. (Near Hayle)
In the last blog, Steve mentioned we had arrived at Castle View CL, but not mentioned much about the site. This was a beautiful CL and probably the best one we have stayed at so far. The owner said he had only opened this Summer…I think it will become very popular! From the site we had amazing views of the coastline and St Michael’s Mount. The CL was very spacious with hard standing, a fresh water tap and an electric hook up at each pitch. These things are not essentials but just make it easier, as you can fill up with fresh water without having to move the van etc. The site was spotless, and I really think he raked the gravel each day, so it was even and smooth. This, I find, is one of the benefits of ‘Mo Ho-ing’, an amazing view for £25 a night! This is pricey for a CL but imagine what a hotel or rental would cost with a view like this!
The weather did turn that night, with weather warnings of heavy winds and rain. The pitch was quite exposed and the wind whistling around, the van being whipped by the wind and the thudding of the rain can be a negative of ‘Mo Ho-ing’. However, we were lucky that this took place during the evening and overnight and we had great weather the following day. When working and being in an office or busy all day, the weather tends to be something that happens, that you’re fairly oblivious to. In the Motorhome, you seem to be far more aware of the weather and patterns of weather, both appreciating and observing its nuisances and where necessary planning the day around it.
It feels a bit like we are ‘showing off’ this week, with a lot of pictures of beautiful views but I hope it is clear, that it is not us ‘showing off’ but Cornwall itself…and so it should! You can’t help but take great pictures with amazing views and coastlines, as they are everywhere you go. I have only ever been to Cornwall once before (for a week) and having been in education for 15 years, would not attempt to visit Cornwall during the school holidays, as it gets so busy. However, I can now see why it gets so busy and is so popular. I think we have seen the best coastline, cove and view…then we go to another location, and it is even better! It may seem like we haven’t done much this week, but we have been walking a lot, making the most of the coastal paths and views. We have walked at least 2-3 hours each day…Bear is shattered! In the afternoons, we have then tended to leave him in the van and go out for a bike ride.
On Tuesday, we did go on a slightly different adventure. The bus stop was at the end of the campsite’s road, and we decided to get the bus to St Ives. St Ives is difficult to get the Mo Ho to and parking is also tricky. This was Bear’s first ever bus ride. Bear was more than happy sat on my lap; he is incredible nosey and spent the whole time looking out of the window. With some of the roads being particularly… ‘Cornish’, it was worth every penny of the bus fare, to be a passenger and let the driver drive a full size bus along the roads. There was the usual; pulling wind mirrors in, reversing and shuffling, pulling as close as possible to hedges, using people’s driveways and stopping and chatting to your mate through the window on route! The bus driver commented on what a good dog Bear was, as the end of the journey!
Surprise surprise…the beaches and coastal paths by St Ives were stunning! (I may run out of superlatives this week.) As you know, Bear struggles with busy places and gets over excited, standing and hopping on two legs (particularly difficult after having had knee surgery earlier in the year and we were told he shouldn’t really jump??) and taking it upon himself to formally greet EVERYONE to the location we are at, twirling on the lead and pulling to get to the next location- as fast as he can. So, to save the people of St Ives, we planned to walk for an hour on the coastal paths and beaches first, to try and tire him out.
When we came back into the town, Steve sat by one of the beaches, as somewhere a little quieter with Bear, so I could look around some shops. Since having a dog, we have never spoken to so many people. Steve spent the time sat on the bench, chatting to a couple who wanted to know about Bear and then in turn shared lots of local information, with Steve, about walking routes etc.
After, we decided to treat ourselves and eat out. Having a great burger at Hub. We sat on the balcony overlooking the beach and it was glorious. I just happened to look at my watch and it was 12:15pm. A wry smile emerged. This time has punctuated my working day for many many years, as this is the start of lunch time at school. This was a very different lunchtime! The best thing, well a miracle in fact…Bear was excellent! After 3 years of training, we never fully believed we would get to the point where we could sit in a busy ‘ish’ place and eat, without Bear...being Bear!
The following day, we booked to visit St Michael’s Mount. We have been to Mont Saint-Michel, so it felt of particular interest to visit. Plus, it is linked to the National Trust and we have membership (making it free to enter) which Steve had insisted we pay during all the lockdowns, it’s good to be able to use the passes again! It was interesting to find out about the history of the place and the people that still live and work on the island. The wife from one of the families, that lives on the island is a teacher. She works on the mainland. However, when the weather is really bad, they have what is called a ‘black flag day’, which means nobody can leave the island…can you imagine sorting out cover in the school or ringing in to say it’s a ‘black flag day’!!!
In the afternoon we cycled to Penzance. As I have said, the coastline is beautiful and we keep seeing amazing beaches, gorgeous fishing villages and lovely scenery. Well…I suppose not everywhere in Cornwall can be spectacular.
The following day, we moved on to Land’s End and tired Bear out on another coastal walk. We stayed at Sennen Cove campsite for 3 nights and made the most of daily walks, visiting Sennen Cove and cycling to Porthcurno beach. There is an amazing amphitheatre that overlooks the beach but unfortunately there were no productions on whilst we there. I’ll let the pictures outline the adventures and views from this area.
Land's End-press on the arrow to get each small picture large (Sorry...info. for my parents really!)
Bear is loving the beaches...
On Sunday we headed to Hayle to have a look around, do a food shop and walk his Highness along the harbour. We also decided to get a Philps pasty for lunch…wow! Philps is a Cornish pasty company and the pasty was amazing. When there is a 20-minute queue for the shop on a Sunday, you know it’s going to be tasty.
The next campsite was not far from Hayle and a short walk to 3 miles of sandy beach, which Hayle is famous for. Bear is loving all the beach walking…and again the beaches and views are stunning. We have also seen some more seals!
Katie had asked before about Bear being all sandy and this being a nightmare in the van. What I forgot to say is that he has a ‘Doggy Bag’ which is great. There has been a picture of him in it before on the blog, but I didn’t say what it is. I am not sure he likes it; he sulks and acts as though his civil liberties are being infringed…but he dries quickly in it and as you rub him dry, it really does take all the grub and muck off of him. It can then be turned inside out, to be shaken out, and left to air dry on the wing mirror/airer etc.
Food
I know lots of you are intrigued about van life and how it works. I said previously that I would say something about food on this blog. So here we go…
We have got into a pattern of shopping for 3 lunches and dinners at a time. This works well with the available storage space we have and means that we don’t waste food, with food going past its sell by date. With this, we always have some ‘back up food’ and could stretch this to 5 lunches and dinners if needed. This is more about being somewhere remote and not wanting to drive the van out to try and find a shop. We have a big fridge in the van, so often most food is stored in the fridge.
I am a veggie and I like my food. I like to eat a variety of food and to cook. My idea of hell would be eating sweaty cheese sandwiches each day, in dry white bread and to eat the same thing every day. Steve is less particular and would be happy eating pasta every day!
Cooking in the van is possible but with a small working area and only a hob and grill, meals need to be planned and thought about more than you probably would when at home. We used to get Gousto and tend to use a lot of their 10-minute recipes, they work well in the van. However, I like this as we think more about what we are going to eat, what we need and have far less waste. Cooking and eating is more enjoyable and a ‘feature’ of the day, rather than ‘shoving’ food down our throats before rushing off to the next thing.
We do sometimes eat out or buy some local delicacy, there are many in Cornwall, but also limit this to save on money… and calories! I could have literally eaten my way through Cornwall with pasties, fudge, clotted cream, cream teas, ice cream, chips and cakes…
Bear loves his scramble egg as a treat!
Playing catch up as I’m useless at reading regularl…🙄
We have camped at St Ives a few times and once met a combine harvester coming down one of those lanes…!!! We were virtually on two wheels half up the embankment still trying to reverse…The air got a bit blue. We have also queued at that same pasty shop… it is always worth the wait…👌.
It all sounds just amazing…..
Mmmm…I could lie??? No-I’m not missing all that stuff. In fact I now don’t know how it was humanly possible to fit it all in to a day!!
Yep, only a week and a bit until half term, nearly there! I hope you have some nice plans.
We’ll back home and the blog that week may not be so exciting…I’ll be making the most of having the washing machine and washing everything!!!!
Absolutely amazing, so happy that you all are having such a wonderful time!😎
Thanks for the updates, feeling well jealous😂 ! Yvette, I am sure you are missing TOPs parent evenings, Performance management reviews, all the bloody deadlines for pen portraits, data progression sheets etc..... 🙄
Still we have half term coming up!
Continue having a fantastic time, we miss you!!!!!!
Daphne x.