We are on day six of our second road trip to Cornwall in the last 3 months and we have been blessed with lovely sunny weather. I have also noticed the abundance of blackberries again this year. Delicious!
It wasn’t straight forward when we were looking at where we could travel to this month. Trying to marry a good weather forecast, availability of pitches and the desire to travel to a certain area wasn’t easy. Hence our trip back down to Cornwall and not Northwards as we had originally planned.
After hours of pouring over campsite availability we finally found sites in locations we have not explored previously and I’m not sure why we overlooked them, because we have discovered some wonderful places.
We started with a couple of nights at the Camping and Caravanning Club Site at Tavistock. This gave us time to explore a little of Dartmoor. Stopping off at the well-known Clapper Bridge at Postbridge. According to Historic England this atmospheric bridge is a scheduled monument and represents the finest clapper bridge in Devon. Clapper Bridges were built with huge flat stone slabs either balanced on stone pillars or directly on the banks of the river enabling pedestrians and packhouses to cross. There is also a brand-new National Park Visitor Centre over the road which holds a small museum detailing the Whitehorse Hill Cist finds and a small shop selling locally made produce. Plenty of green space for a picnic and a shop selling take away cream teas. As always the drive through Dartmoor is spectacular and you can’t go far without encountering sheep or ponies or both. Normally in the middle of the road!
On our second day we walked up to the top of Cox Tor. At the top after we got our breath back, we could admire the view right over to the coast at Plymouth, it was spectacular. We followed the winding route up sunken byways, alongside streams and met some friendly farmers along the way. We enjoyed our picnic lunch at the top along with a few sheep, some very busy bees and a couple of other people who had decided to tackle the climb. Needless to say we slept well that night. And ached everywhere the next morning! (Note to self. Must get fitter.)
As I write we are at the end of our 3rd day of extremely warm and sunny weather, wonderful for September and according to the meteorologist on the radio this morning, becoming the norm for September in Britain. Over the past 20 years most Septembers have been hot and dry. It’s all down to climate change apparently. July and August almost becoming our cooler rainy season.
We have just left Merrose Farm CMC Site in the Roseland Peninsular, having spent three wonderful days exploring. This area is truly where the countryside meets the sea. Looking to the right on our drive down is rural farmland and to the left a shimmering ocean. Merrose is a large but rather lovely and well-kept site within a 10 minute walk of the SW Coastal Path. To get to the path you have to walk through Curgurrell Farm where there is an excellent farm shop. Immediatelyoff the path we found a pebbly but lovely quiet beach called Porthbean where we spent a sunny couple of hours paddling in the crystal-clear waters. Back on the footpath we sat awhile and admired the views.
We travelled along the sometimes very narrow and windy road up to St Antony Head where the views across the Fal Estuary and beyond on what was a lovely sunny day were sublime. A military base for many centuries and used during the 1st and 2nd World Wars you can rent a holiday home from The National Trust here, rent out the Lighthouse too, now that would be something. We follow one of the walks around the Head. Had to use a rope to climb on and off the beach which was interesting.The views from the car park are not to be sniffed at either. We enjoyed our lunch here and got chatting to some fellow campervanners who had been exploring the area and gave us some tips on where to go.
On our return we stopped off at Porth Farm. Again, NT owned, with rental cottages and many signposted walks some along the creek, which runs out to the estuary. Opposite is a small café (not NT) if you walk through their courtyard 30 yards down the footpath you emerge onto Towan Beach. A beautiful strip of sand bordering the clear waters of the bay. A real gem of a find and we couldn’t help thinking how much our grandson would have enjoyed a day on the beach here, especially as The Thirstea Co. Tearoom sell the most delicious Ice Cream.
We loved this area and will definitely be back. There was so much to see and explore and as always there never seems to be enough time. But leave we had to today because we could only get three nights at the site. Apparently, they are fully booked until the end of October, along with much of Cornwall!
Our journey today was interesting. Having stocked up at Curgurrell Farm Shop we travelled over the Fal on the King Harry Ferry, which proudly boast that its service saves 5 million car miles a year. It a 27 mile trip by road! The ferry was established in 1888 and connects St Mawes and the Roseland Peninsular with Falmouth. One of only 5 chain ferries in England it has had numerous songs and poems written about it. There seems to be some mystery about where it got its name but one story is that King Henry VIII took Anne Boleyn to St Mawes on honeymoon and signed a charter for the ferry. Quite romantic until you remember how she ended up!
Continuing our journey I was searching for somewhere to stop for a picnic lunch when I saw the Stithians Reservoir on the map so we took a short detour. A great place for watersports we were impressed by the very young sailors who launched themselves out into the cold waters in their single-handed training dinghies under the watchful eye of their trainer. At both ends of the reservoir are nature reserves and we watched, cormorants, buzzards, a very large heron and numerous wading birds whilst eating our picnic at the water’s edge. There was a campsite too, looked rather good we thought.
As I write I am sitting in the van on a new site, just outside Coverack, called Little Trevothan. We have had a walk around this well kept site that puts nature and the environment at the forefront of all it does. Very friendly owners who did not hesitate to help us out when we realised our levellers weren’t high enough and gave us some to use during our stay. Thank you.
Our muscles and joints are protesting at the moment. We realise that although we have been walking and cycling a lot over the past few months the flexibility required to be in a campervan very soon gets lost when you don’t get to go away. I have aches where I didn’t know I could get aches and all the stretches, exercises, walking and cycling don’t seem to have kept me as bendy as I would like. I am really not enjoying this getting older business!
Well I will sign off for now. I am shattered after another busy day. We are looking forward to the next few days exploring The Lizard and of course sharing with you the places we discover.
Bye for now
Hi both,
good to see you made the most of the weather and beautiful Cornwall. Total empathy with the aches and strains! Keep moving though! I am sitting now with heating and warm jumper on. Still hopeful for dry if not warm days. We managed a short break in Whitstable and found some lovely off the beaten track walks etc. Take care and all the best for a safe Autumn
x