Bodmin, Cornwall to Appledore, Devon

Friday, June 6

Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day and it was also D-Day for us at Bedknobs in Bodmin. Sadly we had to leave this gorgeous place. After fond farewells (& a little gift for us from Gill and Kim), we headed off with the ultimate destination of Appledore but planning to stop along the way at Port Isaac, Tintagel and Clovelly.

One of the narrow lanes Sat Nav decided formed the fastest route to Port Isaac

After yesterday's experiences with the Sat Nav in our car, I really don't know why we trusted it again today! Obediently following it's instructions, we turned, against our better judgement, off the A road and onto a much smaller road. Before too long this road had turned into a narrow lane but there was just nowhere we could turn around. The next thing we knew we were facing a ford with a measuring pole beside it with a scale up to 6'. Thankfully, it was less than one foot deep today and, because the "lane" had widened at the edge of the stream, a car (obviously a local) was able to squeeze past us and crossed safely, so we gingerly proceeded.

The Ford (taken through the windscreen of a Peugot - ha ha)

Safely on the other side we continued on for a few more miles until we reached a sign pointing to Port Isaac but sadly the road didn't improve much. We finally reached Port Isaac (where Doc Martin was filmed), parked the car and set off on what was to be the first of three steep climbs for the day. Of course, it is downhill to the coastline but then you have to walk back and the lactic acid was really building in our legs then. It was easy to see why the show's producers had chosen Port Isaac for the series because everywhere you looked was just quaint and gorgeous. We could see the Doc's house on the other side of the small harbour with Bert's place just below it. We were interested to hear so many Aussie accents around too. Obviously the series has been very popular in Australia. After all the photo opps, we were tempted by another Cornish seaside favourite, the fresh crab sandwich which lived up to its reputation in every way. We stopped for a cup of tea and bought some Cornish clotted cream fudge before continuing to our next planned stop, Tintagel.

Port Isaac with Doc Martin's house & Bert's place

Noelle outside the Doc's house

We weren't taking any more chances with Sat Nav so, although we keyed in our next stop, we ignored some of its instructions and stuck to more major roads (by Cornwall standards, anyway). We had no trouble finding Tintagel and after a steep walk downhill to the entrance area, we watched a short movie about the origins of the King Arthur story, then spent a bit of time mooching about the area and taking photos. Again, the walk back was steep and it had also become quite hot. Al bravely headed off on foot but I whimped out and availed myself of the Land Rover return service. We reached the car park at much the same time. We then walked around the town area and went in to see the 14th century building previously used as a post office but now owned by the National Trust. It was very interesting and we were glad we had joined the National Trust in Australia before leaving home as we receive reciprocal rights here.

Al with the legendary King Arthur's Castle on the cliffs above

Noelle in the garden of the old Post Office, circa 14th Cent

From Tintagel we headed north to Clovelly. What a walk and what a time capsule Clovelly affords! The steep cobblestoned paths and steps were quite difficult to walk down and all the time the return journey was in our minds. Just like yesterday in St Ives, we found the tide out so the harbour was simply pebbles with boats leaning on their sides, and required some imagination as to how pretty it must look when the tide is in. Almost every house, shop or restaurant we passed was so gorgeous - whitewashed with black window and door trims and overflowing flower boxes and baskets outside them all. There were also a few cats lazing on sunny window ledges - almost as good a life as ours at present. The walk back was made by zig-zagging across the cobblestones to try to reduce the gradient, but this meant a lot more steps. Apart from needing to catch our breath, the views were fabulous so we didn't mind stopping often. We kidded ourselves that we were burning off the English breakfasts, fudge, cream teas, etc we have eaten this last week but our clothes tell us otherwise.

Al & Noelle with waterless Clovelly Harbour behind

The view from the harbour showing the steep climb back through the village

The short drive from Clovelly to Appledore was really pretty. We are staying in Appledore because Angie, our friend and business partner, comes from this area and her Aunty Betty lives in Appledore. We have heard so much about Aunty Betty so we are looking forward to catching up with her tomorrow. Also, a cousin of Angie's - Gail - who we met when she visited Oz a few years ago, lives in the next town, Bideford where Angie was born, so we are seeing her tomorrow too and she is going to show us some of Angie's old haunts and where Angie & Tony were married, etc. It's a bit like an Angie and Tony pilgrimage! Mobile phone reception was terrible in Cornwall and we had not been able to contact Betty or Gail to confirm details and felt like recalcitrant children when we arrived at our hotel in Appledore and were told "Aunty Betty has been ringing here - she is worried about you - please ring her". We duly did this and now feel as though we have known Aunty Betty for ever. We smiled when we went down to dinner in the hotel's restaurant and the waitress asked us whether we had got the message from Aunty Betty.

Today has been the warmest so far during our time in England with the temperature hitting 25C or about 82F, and a strong wind all day. We've been warned of a storm coming so we'll see what the next few days bring.

 

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Bodmin, Cornwall - Day 6

Thursday, June 5
Today we were heading south again to explore the other half of the "foot" of Cornwall. Before we left Bodmin we had to refuel the car for the first time, even though it still had a quarter of a tank left. Having a Diesel engine we knew it would be economical but got a big shock when 45 litres cost GBP60 or about A$120!
Our trip to Land's End took us past St.Michael's Mount and Penzance, which was about an hour away. We'd been told how commercial Land's End had become with movies and other attractions built near the famous signposts plus the addition of plenty of eating options and shops. No doubt these are needed to attract families when the weather is bad but we didn't need them as we had a lovely sunny day there.

Al at Land's End

The coastline is very rugged and beautiful and we know many ships have been wrecked along this coast over the years, but it was very calm today and looking great with all the wild flowers in bloom.

Land's End coastline

After another delicious pasty for lunch we headed off to St.Ives, a typical Cornish town on the west coast. It's a very popular tourist town but, like a lot of these towns, the streets are small and it's very hilly and consequently parking is limited. We found a car park and walked down to the old part of town which is mainly for pedestrians only. Unfortunately the tide was out so the harbour was devoid of water but it was still very pretty and at least they have sandy beaches.

A waterless harbour in St.Ives (& sunshine!)

There were hordes of people in town so in the smaller streets it was quite tight walking along and trying to look in the shops. A lot of artists have based themselves in St Ives so there are numerous galleries including the Tate Modern, but this was closed for renovations. Another major attraction is the Barbara Hepworth museum which contains a lot of her sculptures in a garden setting. We didn't get to go in as it was near closing time by the time we found it!
We managed to fit in another Cornish Cream tea before we left but still haven't tried the other famous Cornish delicacy - their fudge. There are so many varieties but we've been told to try their clotted cream fudge, which we'll have to do before we leave Cornwall.

Cornish fudge on display, but we resisted

We set the the Sat Nav for our B&B in Bodmin, which has been a very central location to base ourselves as most places have been only an hours drive away. Unfortunately the Sat Nav got lost and directed us onto a tiny lane which took us through the back blocks of St.Ives. There was no place to turn around so we had to keep going, very slowly, as in some places all the sensors on the car were beeping at the same time! You could see the stone walls peeping through the vegetation and flowers along the lane way, so you had to watch both sides of the car. We came across a man out walking and asked him where the lane way would take us and he said we would eventually come to a bigger road. After about 30 minutes of lane way driving we did turn onto a road wide enough for 2 cars where we could go more than 10 mph and it was a relief to finally get on to the A30 and head for home.

Examples of the lanes we negotiated

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Bodmin, Cornwall - Day 5

Wednesday, June 4
This morning looked promising weather-wise with more blue sky than we've seen for days! We still had a few touristy things to do in Bodmin so we set off on foot to catch the steam train to visit Lanhydrock House. As we walked through town a stream of school and kindergarten kids were assembling in the square in front of the Shire Hall so, being sticky beaks, we hung about to see what it was all about.

Performance by school kids in front of the Shire Hall in Bodmin

It turned out to be the anniversary of St. Petroc's death in 564 AD, so all the kids from St. Petroc's school came and performed then went back to have a party with Cornish pasties and cake. By staying to watch them sing along to a band accompaniment (I've only included a photo and not the video - it was that good!) we missed the train, so we changed order and visited the Town Museum first.
The museum focused on the local area and included exhibits on fossils, geology, mining, religion, railways, archaeological artefacts, agriculture, the wars, and a display of a local lad, James Finn, who won a VC and had a street named after him. It was very interesting and well presented so we got a good overview of Bodmin and the local area.

James Finn display in Bodmin Town Museum

Inside the Shire Hall the Tourist Information Centre is located in one of the old courtrooms of the County Assize Court, while the other courtroom is all original and set up to recreate a famous murder trial. After seeing the recreation of the court proceedings we tourists got to vote on whether the accused was guilty or not. The recreation used film, lighting, models and audio, with the courtroom set up as it would have been in 1844. It was very well done and most of us voted not guilty as there was no hard evidence to convict the accused, but in real life he was found guilty and hanged within 2 days of the verdict - poor guy.
We bought a pasty for lunch and headed for the Bodmin and Wenford Railway where we took a steam train to Bodmin Parkway (which connects to British Rail). The Great Western Railway station at Bodmin General has several locomotives that are operational, and the carriages were part of the "time travel" experience. It was a lot of fun, and you can't beat the sights, sounds and smells associated with a steam train journey.

Al enjoying his pasty on the train

Our locomotive for the day, #4612

From the Parkway we walked along an old carriageway through woods and parkland beside the Fowey River to Lanhydrock House. This was the family home of Thomas Charles, 2nd Lord Robartes, his wife Mary and their 10 children! It's a magnificent Victorian house set in 900 acres and gifted to the National Trust in 1966. Despite having 10 children, the family ran out of heirs and the house remains as it was when they lived in it for over 100 years. Now all can see how the other half lived in Victorian times as well as the downstairs world of the kitchen staff and other servants.

The beautiful walk to Lanhydrock

Looking back at the Gatehouse

Amazing "BBQ" in the kitchen of Lanhydrock

Unfortunately the weather had changed and it was raining quite heavily as we finished touring the house. We also had the time constraint of catching the last train back to Bodmin (also allowing for the 3km walk back to the station) so we had to give a tour of the gardens a miss! After all this walking we thought we'd eat in Bodmin before heading back to our B&B, as it involves a short steep walk to reach it, so we headed to our favourite pub and enjoyed another great meal before heading home after another great day.

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Bodmin, Cornwall - Day 4

Tuesday, June 3
We are really enjoying our breakfasts at Bedknobs and not just because of the lovely food. This is a very popular B&B so there are always other people staying here and breakfast is a great opportunity to meet and chat with them. This morning we ate with a Spanish doctor - a regular at Bedknobs - seconded by the NHS to work at Bodmin Hospital for a week every few months, a father and son who were avid railway enthusiasts and in Cornwall to ride three of the vintage steam trains throughout the area, and another regular, a lady from London who trains people who work in child protection throughout the Bodmin area and her aunt who had driven down from Wales to attend a play here as well as catch up with her niece. The conversation is always lively and interesting as the other guests are so varied in nationality, interests, travel experiences, etc. Kim, the owner always comes in and gives each of us the weather forecast for the area we plan to spend the day in along with other helpful tips on what to see in those areas.

Some of the beautiful farmland and wildflowers fleeting past

We had planned to head towards Falmouth and Kim told us about the excellent Maritime Museum and one of Rick Stein's restaurants there (both of which we had already decided to go to). Distances are never that far but the narrow roads add considerable time to the journey. Fortunately we were able to follow the A30 to Falmouth so it was only an hour's drive. We passed some of the most beautiful farmland edged with hedgerows but the hedgerows made photography quite difficult. The little villages consisted of storybook buildings and because it is Spring, the gardens were a picture and wild flowers edged the road and covered many of the fields too. It really was breathtaking.

Falmouth

Noelle outside the Maritime Museum

Once in Falmouth, we went straight to the Maritime Museum where we were met by an older lady volunteer who was a fountain of knowledge on the Museum. She told us about the main exhibits. One was a sailing boat for children to learn to sail in. Noelle was tickled because it was a Mirror - the boat the Gardiner family learned to sail in. Other exhibits covered boat-building in the area, boats used by British Olympic medal winners, Shackleton's ill-fated expedition, the rescue of the Robertson family back in the 70's, Tony Bullmore's rescue off the WA Coast more recently, local oyster farming techniques in Falmouth where no motorised boats can be used, and smuggling along the Cornish Coast during the 18th & 19th centuries. The exhibits were very well presented and because they were so varied we didn't get bored at all and before we knew it, it was time to head to Rick Stein's Fish Restaurant for lunch to ensure we would be back at the car before the 4 hour parking ticket expired. We had a fabulous lunch of fish cooked to perfection followed by the most glorious desserts and left the restaurant with no desire to have an evening meal.

Noelle in front of the Mirror training dinghy

Al outside Rick Stein's Fish Restaurant in Falmouth

From Falmouth we headed for Helston - the town known for its annual Morris Dance Festival. Al and his family attended the festival back in the 1970's and it was held two weeks ago this year. The town is a typical Cornish town when the festival is not in full swing but we were happy to have a look around and a welcome cup of coffee. As it was only 5pm and it doesn't get dark until 10pm in this part of the world, we decided to drive on further to Lizard Point, the most southerly point of mainland England. When we got there, the wind had dropped and it even felt warm - or is our blood beginning to thicken? We walked down to the southernmost point and then to the Lizard Lighthouse but we were too late and it had closed. Fortunately, the National Trust is now in charge of the area and has erected really informative sign boards so we were able to read about the lighthouse's history and about the 400 vessels that have been wrecked there in the last 500 years. As it is an important turning point for ships and the currents are very strong, the jagged rocky coastline has proved a hazard for thousands of years but now the lighthouse is fitted with the latest technology and has made the area a lot safer.

Lizard Point - the most southerly point of mainland England

After our walk, we headed for "home" and, before too long, ran into misty rain that got heavier when we arrived in Bodmin. We were pleased to see on TV tonight that the forecast for this area and also where we are heading later in the week, is for fine and warmer weather so hopefully the forecast is correct and this rain will blow through.

Al in front of the Lizard Lighthouse

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Bodmin, Cornwall - Day 3

Monday, June 2

We awoke this morning to steady rain, so decided today was a good day for a museum or two, and Bodmin had 6 local attractions for us to visit. The good thing is that we could walk to all 6, so this would give us some exercise and culture at the same time!

The closest to our B&B was St.Petroc's Church, which had its beginning in the late 1400s, so we started there. Some of the original church is still standing but most of it was built in Victorian times (late 1800s), and it is Cornwall's largest and grandest parish church. The most important display is St.Petroc's reliquary, a box that once held his bones (he died around 550 AD). This was stolen in 1176, found in 1177, then lost for centuries, and was finally returned in 1957 minus the Saint's bones! The other important item in one of the chapels was the Battle Honours and Standards of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, as Bodmin is home to this regiment.

St.Petroc's Church

The Battle Honours and Standards of the DCLI in St.Petroc's Church

 

Our next stop was the Military Museum, which displayed artefacts, uniforms, medals and weapons, and traced the history of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. It was located in the former Victorian barracks of this regiment in a very impressive building. Their history goes back to 1702 when they were raised as Fox's Regiment of Marines and gradually morphed into the DCLI in 1881. Over the centuries they have gained a reputation for endurance, fellowship and heroism, with 8 Victoria Crosses won by men from this Regiment on display, along with numerous other sets of medals donated to the museum, usually by widows of the recipients. It was quite moving reading some of the citations though.

The Military Museum in Bodmin

After all this history we were ready for afternoon tea, as another full English breakfast had sustained us for nearly 6 hours. We indulged in our first Cornish Cream tea, which consisted of a scone, strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream - it won't be our last either! As time was getting on we chose the Bodmin Jail for our next stop as it stayed open later than the other places on the list, and it had a restaurant where we could have dinner before heading home.

Bodmin Jail

The first jail in Bodmin was built in 1779, while the present jail was built in 1859. Over 55 prisoners were hanged, most in front of large crowds - the largest crowd was estimated between 20,000 - 25,000 people who came to watch a double hanging! In many of the old cells they had little scenes built showing what the prisoner had done with the full description on the wall outside the cell. The crimes ranged from being disorderly to murders, while the punishments varied from a short stay with hard labour, to transportation to Australia and ultimately hanging. Men, women and children were all imprisoned here, and the conditions were not pleasant - we had to keep our jackets on to stay warm as we toured the different levels looking at the exhibits! The last hanging took place in 1909 and the prison was formally closed in 1927.

The menu for prisoners

Fortunately the jail has a nice restaurant so we weren't restricted to bread and water. Instead a nice brew and some good pub food satisfied us in preparation for the walk back to our B&B. We had only covered half of the attractions so we'll endeavour to do the other half before we leave town.

Dinner at Bodmin Jail

 

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Bodmin, Cornwall - Day 2

Sunday, June 1

Full English Breakfasts appear to be as detrimental to our figures as cruise food so we decided to order a light version this morning. After meeting our fellow guests in the beautiful, olde world dining room, we tucked into a gourmet breakfast made with local produce. Our eggs were laid by hens next door and were those with the vibrant yolks and wonderful flavour. Ah, the country life!

The owners of Bedknobs, Gill & Kim, are terrific hosts and have a wealth of knowledge about Cornwall. Kim is an IT specialist and has prepared leaflets on the things to see in Cornwall and how to get there. He has also produced a booklet on "A 101 things to do in Bodmin on a Rainy Day". Thankfully, we didn't have to resort to this today. The sky was overcast and there was a chill in the air but it was dry with rain forecast for around 5 pm. The locals all think it is warm and are getting about in T-shirts and summer dresses while we are rugged up in our fleece tops! To produce the leaflets, Kim divided Cornwall into four quadrants and we chose the South East area covering Bodmin Moor.

One of the narrow Cornish roads with pull-off

We set off and very soon were on narrow little roads (almost lanes) that could only fit one car at a time. There are small pull-off areas all along and you are expected to back back into one of these if faced with a large oncoming vehicle - anything larger than a Mini! They are very deceptive as they are lined with ferns and flowering plants and look very soft and beautiful but underneath they are rock walls so you certainly don't want to pull over too far! We had a couple of "hairy" experiences, the worst being when we found ourselves face to face with a huge, wide farm machine and a driver that just kept coming. Our car is fitted with sensors for parking so all it's alarm bells and red lights were going mad as we squeezed past each other.

Golitha Falls

First stop was Golitha Falls - a bit of a misnomer as they are more of a fast flowing stream with a few rapids spots but so very pretty. The walk was not too difficult or steep but we did have to watch our footing and at one point, cross the stream via a log. The rocks and surrounding birch trees are covered in a bright green moss and with the light breaking through the canopy above, the effect was fabulous (lots of photos for future watercolours). The walk was really enjoyable out in the fresh air amongst such lovely scenery and with birds chirping, darting and swooping all around.

King Doniert's Sone

South East Cornwall has a long mining heritage going back as far as the Bronze Age and there is a UNESCO World Heritage site on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor. The brochure reads "Ancient woodlands still clothe the steep valley sides and remnants of heathland persist on the granite moor. Layers of history and human exploitation of the land and it's minerals have left unique habitats including ancient hedges, old market gardens and orchards and the legacy of mining and agriculture." Kim's map took us to this area via a detour to Siblyback Lake. This area is a holiday spot with lots of boating and water sports. We were amazed to see how many people were actually participating in the water activities, albeit in wetsuits. We stopped and had lunch at a little cafe there, again made with local produce, and a Kelly's Cornish ice cream - yummy!

We haven't encountered one of these Slow Down signs before

Continuing on towards the Moor and the ancient stone circles, we passed King Doniert's Stone - a monument to the Cornish king who drowned while hunting in the area back in 842 AD - things around here really have some age to them! The village of Minions on the edge of the Moor has been continually inhabited for 6000 years. Makes us realise how "new" everything is back home.

One of the Stone Circles (with an extra stone)

We walked out on the Moor, all rugged up in our fleeces and jackets, to have a look at the ancient stone circles that were used for either summer or winter solstice pagan rituals. The whole place had an eerie feel and your imagination could easily run wild. We had to watch our footing as there are pieces of granite all through, many hidden by the grasses, along with all sorts of animal manure. There were horses and sheep grazing on the Moor so we just walked past them, none were paddocked or tethered. It was really cold with a strong wind blowing and was also quite misty. We decided not to climb Stowe's Hill where the stone formation "Cheese Wring" is situated, despite being told the views are wonderful and on a clear day you can see Devon quite well. We were almost glad it wasn't a clear day when we saw the gradient of Stowe's Hill!

Al on Bodmin Moor with Stowe's Hill and the Cheese Wring in the background

Glad to be back in the warm car, we headed off to Looe - a coastal town on Looe Bay. Although the distance was not great, it still took twenty minutes to get there due to the narrow, winding roads. It was spitting with rain when we arrived and seaside towns never look as pretty under a grey sky but we thought it was very quaint with lovely old houses nestled into the steep hillside on either side of the Fowey River (pronounced Foy) and fishing boats of all shapes, sizes and colours moored on the river. We walked along the quay to where the river runs into the sea and again, were surprised to see people on the beach in summer clothing - they are a hardy lot around here. We continued on through the town and indulged with a Cornish Cherry Shortbread and a Cornish Hardcake - when in Rome (or Cornwall)!

Al on the Moor with a typical Cornish backdrop

We got back to Bodmin after 6 pm so headed to a local pub for a hearty meal and a Cornish beer - a relaxing end to a lovely day in Cornwall.

Looe, Cornwall

 

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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

 

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