Portsmouth to Bodmin

Saturday May 31

We departed from The Pier with another full English breakfast in us and set the Sat Nav for our next stay in Bodmin. It said the journey was nearly 200 miles and should take about 3.6 hours. We always intended to stop somewhere for a coffee around lunchtime but it all depended where we were at that time.

The traffic getting out of Portsmouth wasn't so bad, but whenever we approached the off ramps into a big town (like Southampton) there were signs advising that queues could form for the next 4 miles! We got stuck in some of these queues along the way, and the Sat Nav gradually added the delay to our estimated time of arrival, which quickly blew out to over 4 hours thanks to the queues!

We were approaching Bridport (an old market town) near 1pm so decided to make our stop here, and it turned out to be a great choice. Getting a parking spot was the next problem, as they have a market every Wednesday and Saturday, but we eventually found one. After being in the car for a couple of hours we didn't mind the walk, and also the market stalls were set up on the footpath so we had lots to look at along the way. Our coffee stop was called The Electric Palace, which was an old picture theatre and they had silent movies running in the foyer where they served the coffee and cake. It was very quirky and over the years must have been used for concerts as there were lots of old posters signed by the performers on each wall.

Enjoying coffee and cake at The Electric Palace

 

The countryside we drove through was so green and very pretty, with rolling hills dotted with sheep and cattle. Some of the towns we passed through were so quaint, but we were surprised that the speed limit wasn't reduced from 60 mph as we sped through them. In others when the traffic wasn't flowing you got to have a good look at them, while in some the speed limit dropped to 30 mph. We finally got a long run of dual carriageway for the last 60 miles into Bodmin and arrived about 5pm.

When we booked our accommodation in Bodmin at Bedknobs B&B, we didn't know the town had such narrow roads, so as the Sat Nav directed us through them we thought it must have lost its way! However Bedknobs turned out to be a great choice, as the building dates back to the 1840s and our room is quite large. The whole house has a nice country cottage feel with beautiful gardens, and we can easily walk into town, though coming back is all uphill!

Bedknobs B&B

Our hosts Kim and Gill welcomed us and showed us around the house and explained everything about our room, the house, the services they offer and the attractions of the local area. It was the most comprehensive "debrief" we've ever had and much appreciated. As we're here for 6 nights we were very pleased with our selection based on our first impressions.

Our bedroom at Bedknobs

 

We wandered down to the nearby pub for dinner, which was one of your typical English pubs. The ceiling in the bar was covered with all sorts of bric a brac, as well as the walls, which added to the atmosphere. By now we'd recovered from our breakfast and were ready to eat again, so we enjoyed a local ale and a delicious dinner. At least we had an uphill walk to get home to burn a few of the calories we'd consumed!

Dinner at The Hole in the Wall pub

 

Posted with Blogsy