Well it has been a while but with a fair wind and maybe a little bit of sunshine we shall soon be back on the road full time. For now we are just happy to be away in the van and ‘living the dream’. Easing ourselves in gently and making the most of a rare sunny day we revisited Porthluney Beach at Caerhays Castle for a bacon bap and mooch on the beach.
Tilly the Poo
Our next stop today was Portloe and a very pretty little fishing village perched high above a small cove…
On the way back to site we stopped at Carne beach to catch (just about) the last of the day’s sunshine….
Looking pretty stormy out to sea
Ending the day with a walk along the beach to Pendower….
Well the forecast did not disappoint – rain was forecast and rain we got…. After dropping the van back to the workshop we spent a very boring morning dodging the rain at a Retail Park just down the road from the workshop – it is days like this which make you realise how undogfriendly many shops and Costa Coffee are!! I did sneak Tilly into Costa’s just so that I could order a coffee and pastry but soon got told to wait outside!!
At midday we returned to the workshop and I was given a full run through of my upgrades and how to work everything. I must say they have done a first class job and I’m really impressed with their workmanship – Batteries and Solar Ltd, Plymouth. For those of you curious folk I have had a 200 watt solar panel fitted to the roof, a 1200w inverter linked into my current electrical system so that I can use my three pin plugs off the leisure battery and boil a kettle – whoop! The existing leisure battery has been replaced with a Lithium one and lastly a diesel heater fitted to replace the electric one I had which would only run when on electric hook up – so hey get me in my Wild Van – off grid here we come!!
It is still very miserable but we decided to visit Lantic Bay on our way to at least see one beach today. Parking in a good sized NT car park we take the footpath through some fields to join the coastal path….
We are soon rewarded with lovely, albeit misty views down to Lantic Bay….
Unfortunately it starts to rain in earnest so we do not take the steep path down for a closer look but instead head back to the warmth and shelter of the van and make our way south to our next site at Veryan.
Someone has nabbed the best seat in the van and is very determined to stay cozy on this somewhat wet and wild night…
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.
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.
Freedom Bird 