uk roadtrip

Plymouth and a quick hop to Cawsand….

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A damp start, but by the time we had dropped the van off at Batteries and Solar Ltd and caught the bus into Plymouth, the sun had come out and kindly spent most of the rest of the day with us. Not a great fan of busy, urban places, we quickly made our way down to the sea front and after an egg bap and cup of coffee walked along the front…

There isn’t a beach in Plymouth but a lovely outdoor lido and safe wild swimming area looked almost appealing in the sun, with a few brave swimmers resting on the swimming platforms…

In the background we could see Mount Edgcumbe Estate (where we walked a couple of days ago) and just in front Drake’s Island which has been protecting Plymouth since it was first fortified in 1549.

Continuing eastwards into the Plym Estuary the city becomes very trendy with waterside bars and restaurants around the inner and outer Marinas….

After a wander around and another cup of coffee at Captain Jasper’s – only £1.30!! it is still only 11.30 and we are not due to pick the van up until 5 – what to do? After discounting a boat trip around Drake’s Island we happened across the ferry to Cawsand – well why not? at least we know there is a beach there…

The ferry, like the bus, was a first for Tilly and all was going smoothly until as we left the sheltered harbour and a rather large wave crashed across the bow where we were sat, giving us a good splattering so the rest of the half hour trip was spent huddled up inside. But worth it when we landed at Cawsand…

We pretty much had the beach to ourselves and spent a while just enjoying the serenity and sun before taking the coastal path south towards Rame Head….

The initial incline was up through woodland and then out onto the cliff tops looking back towards Plymouth….

And simply beautiful vistas out to sea….

All too soon it was time to about turn to catch the 3.30 ferry from Cawsand back to Plymouth…

Once back on dry land we made our way back into the hubbub of the city to catch a bus out to pick our home on wheels up from the workshop. The work was not quite completed and we also needed to stay close so that the silicone and glue used would have time to mature so we returned to Riverside Caravan Park for another peaceful night.

We are both pretty exhausted from all our walking today so an early night was very much in order.

A very wet and miserable day out discovering Millendreath, Looe and Polperro….

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The forecast was not great but we were not expecting the wall to wall rain that we got…

Our first stop was Millendreath a small coastal village which appeared to largely be owned by Millendreath Holiday Resort with a few privately owned homes / second homes – clearly we were not seeing it in its best light but I found it a rather depressing place. The only car park was owned by the above company and was ridiculously priced so I opted to park on the roadside and as it was absolutely peeing down, I left Tilly in the van and ran down to the front to take a few photos of the beach….

Millendreath Beach

The two beachside bars were all closed up and probably great on a sunny day but looked pretty depressing and run down in this rain – I didn’t hang about and don’t feel particularly inclined to return!!

Next stop was Looe – the old part a rabbit warren of little cobbled streets and stone cottages….

Looe

The surrounding valley tiered with newer (and some quite fancy) properties. It was very busy with coach loads of very damp tourists (judging by the car park) but a bit bucket and spadey, if you get my drift, so we whizzed through the town and headed straight for the beach.

Looe Beach

A nice sandy smallish cove which is probably hell on a nice summers day but pretty on a mizzog day such as this…

We dodged the crowds and puddles and made our way back to the van and got away with just an hours parking.

Next stop…. Polperro – oh yes and it is really raining now. Now it may be that this damp weather is influencing my thoughts on todays little tour but, be warned when you arrive in Polperro you are directed straight into a huge car park (either that or back the way you came) and the minimum stay is 3 hours! £6 for a car or £12 for a Motorhome / Van – fortunately my van is small enough to fit in a car space otherwise I would have swerved right back out and given the whole place a miss. Now as any of you who read my blogs will be aware – I hate paying for parking but being forced to pay for a minimum stay of 3 hours is outrageous.

As it was we did a quick whiz through the admittedly pretty and well loved but mostly closed village, down to the small shingle beach…

One soggy hound on Polperro Beach

The stream that runs down though the village was surging out into the bay…

Bought a pasty (mainly so I could use their loo as the public ones were 50p and I didn’t have any cash – my car park pot being in the van up the hill) and then hurried back up the hill to seek refuge from the rain in the van – so £2 for an hour would have sufficed!!!

Not our best day but 3 more beaches to add to the list – some 850 odd – will work it out and let you know. After leaving Polperro we headed north, crossing the Tamar and into Plymouth as tomorrow the van is having some exciting upgrades.

A walk from Carn Galver Mine to Porthmeor Cove, oh and a little detour…..

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A damp start, but as forecast, it soon perked up and developed into a lovely sunny afternoon. The forecast for tomorrow and much of the week is horrible so we have decided to head home for a few days – yes I’m afraid we are becoming fair weather campers!! However we are not losing a day so we head just beyond Morvah and park up at Carn Galver Mine. Now I could quite happily have set up camp and stayed here for the afternoon but Poppydog has other ideas….

We follow the footpath which closely resembles a stream down towards the sea and join up with the coastal path just above Porthmoina Cove. Access to the cove looks to tricky for us and the tide is quite high, so we continue along the footpath heading eastwards (towards St Ives).

I found the going fairly tough, I think partly as it comes at the end of nearly a fortnight of clambering up and down the coastal path. It is one of those stretches were you need to watch your feet as the path scrambles over rocks and slithers into muddy patches. After about a mile we are looking down over Porthmeor Cove, with patches of turquoise water, hinting at lovely white sand beneath.

Unfortunately here again access was too tricky for us to contemplate alone, though we did enjoy a brief rest sat in the sunshine just above the cove – the tide is still too high for the sand to be exposed but the promise is certainly there.

Porthmeor Cove

Now it is time for us to hike back up the hill and over grazing land to the van with a little look through the window when we get there.

Room with a view…

As the afternoon is still lovely, on the way back home we pop down to Perranuthnoe as a treat for a proper beach walk and to enjoy the rest of the sunshine.

There are a few other like minded people around so Poppydog has to stay on her lead, but still she can run, play ball and have a splash about.

As for me, well I can just take it easy and take photos of the sun behind the clouds…

A great day and we’re home and unpacked in time for tea….

Home for tea

Penberth and Lamorna Cove….

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A very wild night and through most of the day but a bit of sun around and dry.

Note to self don’t try to put the pop top roof down in high winds with the side door open! You need two pairs of hands and as per, Poppydog is no help – as fast as I was pulling the sides in whilst holding the roof down (actually swinging off it at times) the wind was blowing the sides back out! I did eventually manage to do it and then about 5 minutes later realised what an idiot!! Still we live and learn.

Initially we drove and parked up in Treen, planning a fairly long walk along the coastal path to Lamorna Cove, but on looking again at the map with no real circular route back, I realised this was possibly a tad ambitious. Instead we wandered down across farmland to Penberth Cove.

A completely stony or should I say rocky, as not even suitable for Poppydog to run around on, cove at the bottom of a sleepy hollow valley. The footpath disappearing up the steep cliff to our left did not endear me to the idea of progressing any further along the coastal path.

Instead we wandered up the valley. Nicely sheltered from the wind with a vibrant stream running through and a few houses (for once they looked to be homes as opposed to holiday lets) nestling in rather exotic gardens, it was a very pleasant walk. We passed this rather impressively decorated tree adorned with a multitude of different shaped, size and colour of fisherman’s buoy.

So after barely a couple of miles we are back at the van, next stop the Merry Maidens….

Yup a pretty impressive standing circle. From here a string of footpaths across farmland eventually leads us down into Lamorna – another leafy valley. We had to deal with a couple of path closures which prevented us from going via Tater-du Lighthouse (another day maybe?) but eventually made our way down the steep incline into Lamorna.

The sea was pretty rough but a nice bit of sand was still exposed inside the harbour wall, though no longer in the weak sunshine.

We enjoyed the solitude with the crashing waves our only soundtrack, as there was hardly a soul about.

Soon enough, with a last look back, it was time for us to begin the gentler but quite long route back up to where we had left the van, under the watchful eye of the Merry Maidens.

I’m glad we did this in two hits as we still managed to cover 7 miles and we are ready for food and putting our feet up!

The fast road home …..

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Well it won’t be a true reflection of my journey if I don’t record my experience of being ‘grounded’.

Having realised that my days were numbered I had already concluded that the right thing to do was head back down to Cornwall (where I ‘live’ when not travelling around the UK and more importantly where I am registered under a GP) and planned to make the long journey home on Wednesday.

However Mr Johnson put us into lockdown at 8.30 on Monday evening and so after watching this extraordinary announcement, a moment of shocked reflection on the enormity of the worldwide situation and a little bit of packing, I tried to get an early night (though I can’t say that I slept well with all that was buzzing around my head!).

We got up early (for us) on Tuesday and started to prepare for the long journey ahead. By 9.30, I was enjoying my first and last cuppa of the day with Poppydog walked and fed and the van pretty much ready to hitch and go, as I idly watched the Site Wardens wandering from unit to unit advising us that the site would be closing with immediate effect and we needed to be on our way as soon as possible!

How surreal and eerily silent this all feels!

As any of you that follow my blog, will be aware, I rarely travel more than 50 or 60 miles, as we potter slowly around the UK coast, so the thought of the 420 miles ahead of us was rather daunting! I have to say that in my rather fanciful imagination I was expecting road blocks and all to confront me on my way! And at least a row of tanks to greet me on the Cornish border!

As it turned out of course, no such drama, a lovely calm sunny day and incredibly quiet roads – so much so that at one roundabout I actually forgot I was towing, my apologies to the car driver that I ever so slightly cut up! It took us 8.5 hours including just the one half hour stop around Bristol.

Poppydog was brilliant with not a murmur all the way. We snuck into our little holiday home site where we have a small chalet just as the sun dropped below the horizon and were tucked up in bed asleep within the hour!