We woke early, well to be fair, Adéle woke very early about 5.45am, I rolled over and went back to sleep. At 7.30 the bedroom light came on and I was told its time to get up, in fairness we had quite a bit to do before hitting the road. We put the last few things in the van, took Izzy out for a quick walk before setting off, first job was to get fuel, cheapest around was a t Tescos so that was the first £75.00 and it didn't get the gauge to 3/4 full, next was Aldi to get another bottle of their orange Irish liquer, Adéle wasn't away long but came back with a hazelnut and caramel version as well, next head towards the M5 to fill up with LPG at the BP station in Bromsgrove, we needed more than I expected almost 17 litres at 99.9p per litre.
Now for the motorway, we had only gone a matter of a couple of hundred metres and we were caught in roadworks, once through those and we came across a road closure so that's the first detour to even get to the motorway, after taking a few narrow country lanes we were back on track on soon on the motorway.
Welcome to Cornwall
The one thing that's always consistent in this country is traffic and lots of it especially when we go away on the last of the school holidays before Christmas, the motorway was mad hold ups, stop-start and roadworks, nether the less we made it down to the end of the M5 and onto the A30 out of Devon and into Cornwall, all we had to contend with was the weather. Appalling! heavy rain, low cloud and fog over the moors, terrible driving conditions, however, just as we were entering Newquay the sun came out.
We pulled into Porth Beach Holiday park in the sunshine and were met by the Derbyshire DA Marshalls, having checked our booking we were taken around the site to our pitch, the first was in the middle of lots of touring caravans and was not up to Adéles taste so on to the next, which was fine. We pitched up, plugged in the electric and put the kettle on, the THS Marshall popped around to make sure we were ok, we were.
We sat with a good cup of tea, reading and writing the diary with the sound of seagulls and sunshine streaming in through the sliding door.
I took Izzy for a walk down to the beach, it was only across the road from the site, the tide was coming in so not a long walk but it was great to hear the wave and smell the salt in the air, above all it was dry.
we returned to the van, pastis was waiting, for tea tonight we are having a campervan favourite, lamb koftas with mixed grains, after tidying up the backgammon came out with the start of a new holiday championship it was important to get a win, the game was good, Adéle was on form she started getting her stones home before I had got mine back in my home quarter, I did rally towards the end but still lost out with five stone left, well done Mrs.P, all to play for tomorrow.
It was 9.45pm, I took Izzy out around the site for her evening walk, we were both feeling tired from todays travel so retired for the night.
Sunday 23rd October
Day 2
We woke at 8.00am after a really good night, it had rained during the night but not too bad, we opened the blinds to find blue-ish skies and sunshine, we used the facilities block, not used to that on a THS, the showers were very good and clean, then breakfast which was full English as usual.
After breakfast we took a walk out onto Porth Island and Trevelogue Head, the sun was shining with blue skies overhead we sat for some time watching the waves and reminiscing about our surfing days,
it was well after lunch when we returned to the van neither of us were hungry, we topped up with water before settling in with a cup of tea and a read. We certainly made the most of the sunshine because as we read the clouds came in and it started to rain. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with the sound of rain on the roof of the van.
Tea tonight is paella, or our campervan version of it, plenty of seafood, chorizo and chicken in a slightly spicy rice with a bottle of rosé.
Round two of the Cornish backgammon championships followed, a tense game with plenty of stones taken by both of us, I started getting my stones home first, would it be two in a row for Adéle? No, with the dice rolling for me tonight I was victorious winning by 11 stones.
I took Izzy for her evening walk as Adéle made the bed.
Monday 24th October
Day 3
Woke after another good night, much greyer skies today, we showered, took Izzy for her walk and had breakfast, it was still grey with the hint of rain. We had planned to take the coast path into Newquay this morning but as we were tidying up the rain started again, we would wait, take a cup of tea and read.
It was mid-day by the time the rain had cleared but we were treated to blue skies and sunshine although a little windy, walking boots on, the coastal path takes you up out of Porth Beach along the headland to Lusty Glaze and Tolcarne Beach which lead us onto the main road into Newquay.
It was quite a surprise to see so many of the large hotels boarded up or completely knocked down and rebuilt with expensive holiday apartments. Newquay itself was as we remembered it but perhaps a little tattier, we were looking for somewhere to sit and have a cream tea but Newquay is more of a beer and burger town.
We wandered through the high st and found a local bakers selling take home cream tea packs, £4.95 bought us four scones, a pot of jam and Rhoddas clotted cream. Izzy was by now getting really tired so we had the bright idea to get the bus back to Porth however, having found which one we needed we would have to wait almost an hour for the next one, Plan two, a taxi office was opposite the bus stop, £7.00 for a taxi back BUT we would be waiting an hour and a half for it, there was no alternative we would take a slow walk back to Porth hoping Izzy would be ok.
We plodded back, just as we were insight of the site it started to rain, quite heavily but it only lasted five minutes or so, back at the van we all dried off, Izzy included, we put the kettle on, that cream tea was calling and it was good.
The sun is now shining again, we sat reading and writing this blog before getting tea, tonight we are having pork slices with Indian inspired grains, followed by bread & butter pudding.
After a tidy up the back gammon was back, another tight game but for tonight the crown was mine, 1-1, four more nights to go.
Tuesday 25th October
Day 4
Woke at 7.00am, a bit early for a holiday morning but was almost 8am before we were out of bed, showered I took Izzy for her morning walk around the site and returned for breakfast, we had bacon sarnies today as we wanted to travel down to the south Cornish coast to visit St. Mawes Castle, one of Henry VIII coastal defence forts, its only 29 miles away but took 3/4 hour to get there, the lanes to this English Heritage castle are narrow in places and the small car park only just had enough room for vera.
We had pre-booked our tickets online so was just a matter of letting the EH staff know we had arrived.
St.Mawes Castle is part of a chain of forts built between 1539 and 1545 to counter an invasion from France and Spain, there are some great views looking out over the Fal estuary, the weather was kind to us as we explored.
Izzy keeping guard over King Henry VIII gun powder barrels
It was gone 1pm by the time we returned to the campervan, Adéle had a really bad headache so whilst she had a snooze I added to our diary.
After her kip and feeling slightly better we had a cup of tea and scones, the Cornish way with jam first then the cream.
We had planned to visit an NT property, Trerice, on the way back to Porth but as Adéle was still not feeling at her best we gave it a miss and would call in another day.
We moved on back towards Newquay and parked up on Pentire carpark, free after 4pm and watched the surf down on Crantock beach, it was really starting to blow now and even at high tide the waves were quite big.
We fancied Fish & Chips for tea and read good reviews about Francines so called in on the way back to the site, now bearing in mind its Tuesday, customers were queuing outside, we parked up and Adéle joined the queue, over 20 minutes later Adéle returned she passed her time in the queue talking to an old regular who gave her life story and said that its the best hippie in Newquay, we had two medium fish, a medium chips and a pea fritter, back to the site for tea.
The old lady was not wrong, the portion sizes are huge, the cod was white, the chips, cooked in beef dripping were probably the best I've had in ages, we both thoroughly enjoyed them and were both full at the end.
I tidied up, Adéle was still not feeling good, very unusual for her to have a headache for so long, so after relaxing a bit we put the backgammon championship on hold for tonight and had an early night.
Wednesday 26th October
Day 5
Another early rise, it was a grey start, showered, we had breakfast, Adéle was feeling a lot better this morning, it started to brighten up too with blue skis breaking the grey clouds, by the time we had tidied up the sun was out.
We are going to take the coastal path out to Watergate Bay, the 2 miles across the cliff top gave us some spectacular sea views and although very windy was a great walk, as we walked down the path into Watergate bay it bought back so many wonderful memories of our time here over the past 40 or so years, we called into the 'Chequers' now called Wax for a pint or two and sat out on the terrace with views over the bay.
The inside of the bar was now quite swanky compare with 'the ol' days' but I could still see, in my minds eye, the gang sitting eating our chilli-con-carne at our usual table in the corner talking over the best waves of the day.
We walked down the ramp onto the beach as I did decades ago, this time without a surf board under my arm, the only thing changed was the prices in the shops and expensive restaurants that have been built, the surf school were in the middle of their pre surf chat sat on the sand, surfers chatted and the life guards were telling people to say between the flags, nothing changes that much really.
After getting an ice cream we made the return walk back to Porth, still blowing a gale but the sun was beating down,
the tide was now coming in, a good job we didn't take the beach walk back, we had a great day but now it was time for a cup of tea and a snooze before tea.
Adéle had a gin whilst I had a pastis, we talked over the day as tea cooked, tonight we are having chicken & chorizo with a tomato pasta all washed down with a glass or two of wine.
After tidying up the Cornish backgammon championships resumed after Adéle not feeling well.
The game started well for me, all my stones back in my home quarter before Adéle did, she rapidly caught up and I thought she was going to take the win, the dice started rolling well and I won the game, it was still early so round two of the night commenced this time Adéle played really well and took the game with just one stone left, the championships are neck and neck, 2-2 with two nights to go.
Thursday 27th October
Day 6
We woke after quite a poor night, Izzy was restless, probably from our walk to Watergate.
It was grey and damp.
We showered and had breakfast, it was gone 11am by the time we left the site. First job of the day is shopping, we called into the Morrisons on the other side of town, plenty of parking for Vera, only a few bits, milk, bread, meat and a few odds and sods, but the bill still came to almost £40.
Mrs.P at Trerice House
We travelled the few miles to the National Trusts Trerice, a small Elizabethan manor house, we enjoyed walking around the gardens and grounds where we found the orchard that had dozens of heritage apple trees, one called ‘Medlar’ which dates back to Roman times, it really looked odd like the centre of a flower head.
We returned to the van and had a Cornish cream tea followed by a snooze.
It was almost 4pm by the time we left, we went back up to Pentire Headland and walked out onto the point,
the sun was shinning but was blowing a gale, although it was remarkably warm, after an hour or so we returned to the van and made our way back to Porth Beach.
After topping up with water we settled into the van, wrote the diary and made tea, pork belly slices with sugar snap peas and little roast potatoes, tea was lovely and once more once cleared up the backgammon championship resumed, tonight we had a brilliant game, play skipped between us with both of us taking the lead at times but in the end I came out winner by two stones. Nige 3-2 Adéle.
Friday 28th October
Day 7
Woke 8am, after another poor night, Izzy was playing up again, the blink alarms kept going off and then just as I was dropping off we had a squally storm, really strong winds which forced the skylight shut, fortunately no damage and torrential rain.
It was a bright morning, we showered, took Izzy out then breakfast, we were off the site by 10.40 as we had plans to meet Nicola and Isla at Bedruthan Steps, we have not seen them since last year and its Islas’ birthday today.
We had a great catch up and walked the coastal path but were unable to get to the beach as ‘the steps’ had been storm damaged and were unsafe, still we had a great time and promised to see them again soon.
We moved on up the coast to another old surfing spot, Harlyn bay were we have spent many, many hours surfing, we had pasty for lunch before taking a walk along the beach watching the many holiday surfers in the water.
It was a little disappointing to find that the pub and shops by the old bridge have gone, being replaced by even more holiday apartments, a sign of the times maybe?
It was well after 4pm when we left Harlyn, we took the St. Morgan road back just to see if The Travellers Rest was still in business, it was, we had spent many years visiting that pub during our holidays and for a lot of years we were there for New Year celebrations.
Back at Porth for our last night, were sat with a cup of tea, reading and blogging before getting supper ready, another pasta, chicken and chorizo dish.
Tonight is the final night of the Cornish Backgammon Championships, we set up for another grilling session, it was a long game with us both making some really good moves but in the end Adéle had the upper hand and too the match.
The Cornish Backgammon Championships 2022
Adéle 3 - 3 Nige
It was getting late and as we have to be off the site by 10am tomorrow we agreed that a draw was the fair result.
Saturday 29th October
Day 8
Woke at 7.30, quick shower and breakfast, by the time we had cleared up, tidied the van and were ready to leave it was 10am, we left the site but not Porth. We parked the van on the beach carpark and put an hours parking on so we could take a last walk out onto Porth Island, although it was grey, very windy and spotting with rain we had a really pleasant stroll, we were both surprised that there were so few people about both on the beach and on the headland, everyone must be on their way back home.
We left Porth to top up with fuel, we set the sat-nav for home and joined the mass exit from Cornwall.
We have had a splendid week away, the weather was much better that we expected or forecast, we has some great walks, Adéle even enjoyed the cliff walks, we kindled lovely memories of Watergate and Newquay.
Thank You Cornwall.
benivanadventures - travels in our campervan
Trip Details:
Miles: 586
Ave MPG: 32.7mpg
Fuel Cost: £ 151.37 / £ 1.869 ltr
Car Parking: £ 5.30
Nights: 7
Camp Fees: £ 107.59
Camp Ave per night: £ 15.35
We upload our holiday photos and videos on to our YouTube Channel, benivanadventures, they are not professionally produced but give a feeling of the area and places we visit so, come with us and enjoy the views - Click on the links below
2024 started well with lots of plans for the coming year, a mix of trips at home and in France, our first home trip was a pub stop at The Red Lion in Cradley, Herefordshire, a country pub but with a Turkish menu, we had a thoroughly good night followed by a lovely day in Malvern. January slipped into February and a trip to Charmouth in Dorset staying at a Camping and Caravanning Club site at Monkton Wyld, we had a lovely week but as the week went on Izzy was not her self, sleeping a lot and not really eating, returning home at the end of the week we thought she would improve at home, she didn't, by the end of that week we took her to the vets, she had some antibiotics and an injection to improve her appetite, which initially worked but after a few days this wore off so back to the vets, after having a ultrasound scan they found growths on her spline. On the 29th February she had stopped eating and drinking and on the advise of our vet we had to make th...
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