Would you believe it!

Tuesday 17th May 2016 - to Marazion.

We moved the short distance from the Lizard to a CL near Marazion.  The site is on a farm field and amazingly has wifi (more amazingly, it works)!  This isn't the thing that I am asking you to believe.

We cycled across the main road and in a residential street we heard and then saw, what I thought was a Chough flying around various nearby gardens.  I was cock-a-hoop to say the least (I am trying to avoid saying I was chuffed).  I even managed to catch the bird on camera...

Sorry it's not a great photo.  I don't normally go around taking pictures of telegraph poles!

Unfortunately, we checked the photos of chough's later in the evening on the Internet when we got back to the site and realised that I probably was mistaken and had seen an over active blackbird impersonating  a Chough!  I was completely in a flap.  I'm going to have to get therapy for this ornithological problem that is developing.

To add to my problems, someone has pointed out that my identification of Michaelmas Daisies was wrong and that they were really Wild Camomile Daisies!  My identification confidence is at rock bottom.   If people cared for my feelings they would just pretend that I was right, despite the proof that I serially wrong.

We carried on to Marazion which is a town that means 'market' in Cornish.  The town has a lovely beach that looks directly on to St Michaels Mount.  We intend to visit the Mount tomorrow so I will hold back any pictures till then.  We carried on through Penzance, Newlyn and onto Mousehole (pronounced Mouzel).

Yes, it says Mousehole! 

The harbour is lovely and actually has some nice little sandy beach inside the harbour.

We called in at Penzance on the way back.  I managed a small pasty that wasn't good enough to properly compare to other recent pasties and Janice (Captain Kidd) went back to her family's previous profession as a Pirate.  The proof is here, as she comes from the Admiral Benbow pub (a well known haunt of Pirates, Vagabonds and ne'er do wells).

For those that haven't read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the Admiral Benbow is the pub that features in the book.  The parrot flew off her shoulder before I managed to get the picture taken.  She had been complaining of a stiff leg and a black spot earlier too (hahaargh).

We returned to the van and broke all the rules of our travelling lifestyle by using the wifi again to watch BBC iPlayer to see the last episode of 'Line of Duty'.  It was very dramatic...and the good guys won in the end.

Lizard Flora Blog Contest.

The bio-diversity of the Lizard is very much documented so I thought we could have a Eurovision style contest to choose a winner of the wild flower world.

In order to do this we need to know the competitors before Janice and I set off on our coast path walk to Lizard Point.

So, in no particular order here are the wild flower contestors:-

Blue Spring squill

Pink thrift

Creamy sea campion

Hottentot fig

Spotted cats ear

Bloody cranes bill

Land quillwort

Dwarf rush

The sun was shining again as we set off from the site to the coast.  We first got to the coast path at Poldhu  Cove.

Closely followed by the Marconi monument...

This is a commemoration of the point from which the first wireless message was sent across the Atlantic in 1901.  The message was a repetition of the letter S in morse code and it was received in St John Newfoundland by Guglielmo Marconi himself.

We digress, back to the flowers.  Along our walk the wild flowers were prevalent and sadly we couldn't recognise many of them.  Here is a few pictures....

I think the flowers in the bottom right corner are little micklemas daisys?

Maybe creamy sea campion?

Are these Hottentot figs?

There was an abundance of pink thrift and blue spring squill too.

The coastal scenery was stunning.....we passed several coves, this one is Mullion Cove....

This is where we had our pack lunch watching 6 seals in the water, sorry the seals didn't manage to get in a good photo but the view was still brill!

The rocks in the sea are at Kynance Cove and are called Asparagus Island, Steeple Rock and Suggar Loaf.

This is down in Kynance Cove.  Janice getting her feet wet.

This view is of Lizard Point, the most southerly point of the British Isles.  We visited the most northerly point, Duncansby Head,last year.

The walk took us about 5 hours and we had considered walking back but discretion got the better of valour and we caught the bus back.

We had been focusing on the plants but we didn't ignore the bird life.  However there were no chuffin' chough's in sight.  I've only just found out that they look a bit like a blackbird but have a longer orange curved beak.

My decision for the Lizard Flora Blog Contest is......the cream sea campion as it was prolific throughout the walk and I think I can correctly identify it!

Back at the van, we are the only vehicle on site.  It's really nice to have a beautiful location all to yourselves.  We were forced to open....

It is our last prize from the quiz night at Bishopsteignton.  It's only fruit juice at 9pc alcohol by volume!

Well Choughed!

Sunday 15th May 2016 - To Mullion on the Lizard.

We woke this morning to find out that Ukraine had won the Eurovision Song. Contest.  Like many people we don't have the staying power to stay awake all through the scoring.  I actually paid no attention to the new scoring system with which included direct audience voting as well as the jury votes.  Not surprisingly the UK song came third to last and the audience votes only gave us about 8 votes, compared to hundred + votes for the leaders.  I'm surprised that the 'Brexit' supporters didn't make more of it for a reason to leave the EU.  It seems like the rest of the EU has no interest in us staying!  Whilst not generally liking politics straying into all aspects of life I was reasonably pleased that the Ukrainian song that sniped at the Russian attacks on their country actually won despite it being a rather dower (but powerful) song.  The Song Competition is totally skewed by national preferences rather than song quality although occasionally a good song wins by coincidence.  It seems that we will never, ever, ever, ever win again!! But as good British sports we continue to be optimistic and continue to enjoy the spectacle of being humiliated by other European prejudices despite having better songs.  .....I hope I wasn't too controversial!!

Having said all that, it didn't spoil our day one bit.

We packed up and had a look around Helston.  We shopped at Lidl and had a look around the town.  Nothing particularly impressed us about the town.  It was fairly quiet on a Sunday.  We parked up and cycled a few miles to Porthleven on the coast.  It was a lovely place, different to Mevagissey but I thought it was just as nice, if not better.

It was a bit bigger and had a few more nice food places, including a Rick Stein restaurant, not that I like the pretentious tosh that surrounds Rick Stein and his Padstow empire.  The harbour was lovely and kids were jumping into the clear sea off the harbour walls and more importantly there were nice old pubs overlooking the sea.

Janice and I both thought we saw Celia Imre riding a bike around the harbour, perhaps she is opening a 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" in Porthleven?

The most compelling reason for liking the place is.....

This was a 'standard' sized pasty (I asked for a large one but they had run out).  It was made on the premises at the Horse & Jockey Pasty shop and it was the best yet.  Perfectly moist and warm and the meat was succulent mmmm,!

We also came across the same old jalopy as we saw on our walk near Helford yesterday......no I am not the jalopy, just getting cranky!

We cycled back to the van and set off to our new CL on the Lizard.  We passed RNAS Culdrose, the search and rescue helicopter base which looked very impressive.  This is an area of outstanding natural beauty especially for the fauna and flora.  It is one of the only areas in the country where we have 'chough's'.  These are rare birds, I don't know quite what they look like but I will be looking out for them and will let you know when I see one.  I will certainly be well Choughed!

Our new CL was not as easy to find as expected......However, we arrived to a lovely field surrounded by trees.  The farm that it belonged to was totally scruffy but that was not in view from our nice field so it didn't matter.  It was nice and cheap to stay too, so no complaints.  

The sun had been glorious all day and we had a super evening too.  We walked to Poldhu Cove and to Mullion village.  I wondered, how many is in a mullion?  We had a drink at a pub and walked back.  Brilliant day!

It was a Good Vintage.

Saturday 14th May 2016 - Falmouth.

Having done Falmouth yesterday we wanted a rural day.  We cycled south to Helford Passage fastened up our bikes and caught the little ferry across to Helford.  This is an area of coastline and creeks with lovely walks.

Not quite so sunny today but good for a long walk, so I needed a pasty to give me some energy, especially since I didn't get one yesterday.  The woman in the shop gave me a cheese and onion pasty by mistake..... I managed, no problem but it can't be in the pasty competition.

Plenty of empty beaches.  This is my girl Friday....or at least she would have been yesterday!

Which one is vintage and which is clapped out?

It was a lovely walk initially along the coast to St Anthony's Head, past coves and small hamlets.  The woods and verges were all covered in bluebells, wild garlic and campion.  It was 'champion'.  We walked around to the other side of Helford to Frenchmans Creek.  It supposedly featured in a Daphne DuMaurier novel but then everywhere round here claims a connection with her, it's a bit like the Lakes and Beatrix Potter.  

We needed a little cider to help us before we caught the ferry back.  Here is the pub...

...and here is the view from the pub......

It could be a Carribean Island if it had a bit more sunshine.

Back at the van we are getting excited about the prospect of listening to the Eurovision Song Contest on the radio.  Sad, isn't it!

So exciting, we have just seen a couple of bullfinches by the van.  Apparently they mate for life with the same partners unlike other small birds.  They were really cute and I managed a photo, but not both together.  Here is the male.

Move over Simon King!

Foul mouthed in Falmouth.

Friday 13th May 2016 - Falmouth.

What is there to be foul mouthed about in Falmouth.....absolutely nothing.  On a day like today it is fantastic.  The weather has been superb, best yet.  Sunny all day and 19-20 degrees, probably more!

We did a few chores and exercise before cycling the 5 miles into Falmouth.  Straight away we decided to take the ferry to St Mawes as neither of us had been before.

This is the arrival photo of St Mawes.

This is St Mawes Castle.

There was a bit of a clash between what we should have for lunch.  It was between pasty or cream tea.  I know some of you would say we should have both but we are slaves to our health and we told ourselves we couldn't have both.  Of course I favoured the pasty and Janice favoured the cream tea.  I diplomatically conceded on this occasion (wimp, I hear you say).

Doesn't look bad ehh...

In Janice's own words, it looks like 'road kill'.  Yes it was very cumbly but it was tasty and fresh.

This is still in Falmouth, we had a sit on the beach, it was gorgeous.

We came back to the site and because I am so keen to eat healthily, I licked the salt off the peanuts before eating them to get the health benefits of eating nuts without the negative effects of eating salt.

Our evening meal was made up of our successful fishing activity during the day in Falmouth bay.....

We are such expert fishermen that we managed to catch the fish gutted and boned!  Scallops and Sea Bass for evening meal, beautiful.

The evening concluded by listening to Abba songs on the radio.......EuroVision Somg Contest tomorrow night, how exciting!

On reflection, we are having a smashing time.

Thursday 12th May 2016 - to Falmouth.

Someone has identified the butterfly photographed on a previous blog.  It's an 'Orange Tip'.  Well done  Sheila.

We are enjoying the narrow Cornish roads, or at least we were until we clipped mirrors with an oncoming tanker that couldn't quite manage to stay on its own side of the road.

It was certainly a cracker!  We later stopped at a Halfords and got the stick on mirror that you see in the middle.  I tried ringing a truck garage to see if they might have a new mirror unit but no joy so far.

We stopped at Truro park and ride and had a day visit to Cornwall's Capital City.  I have been before and some of it was familiar.  The usual reason to visit Truro is when the weather isn't good enough for going on the beaches.  I think was that was the reason for my previous visit because I remember that we were whiling away the time in a little cafe, also I had my hair cut at the barbers and we went to the cinema but can't remember what we saw.

The weather was a little better this time so we had a good chance to look a round properly.  The cathedral is the obvious attraction.

It was actually built as recently as 1880 and finished in 1910.  It looks older.

Truro was a centre of tin trading and the Coinage Hall below was where it was weighed and stamped and sold.  Poldark mine isn't far away.  Janice is hopeful she may get a glimpse of Aiden Turner who played the role in the recent dramatisation.

In another effort to spread knowledge, here is a monument to Richard Lemon Lander....

Together with his brother John Lander they explored the upper regions of the Niger River in deep, dark Africa in the 1820s and 1830s.  He was from Truro and has a local school named after him.  He was shot in the leg by a musket shot and died of his injuries during his explorations.

We moved onto our new site, approx 4 miles outside Falmouth.  Again it's nice and quiet with alpacas in the field next to us.

The nearest is called 'Al' and the one behind is 'Pacino'!

We had an evening walk to the village of Constantine.  What a nice name.  It didn't quite live up to its promise but we had a pint of Merlins Muddle in the Queens Pub before we returned.

Why bother with a forecast?

Wednesday 11th May 2016 - Mevagissey.

Yesterday's weather bore little resemblance to what the forecast had said because it was glorious sunshine when rain had been predicted.  Today the forecast said dry but light cloud and it rained all afternoon.

We had set off mid morning in search of the 'Lost Gardens of Heligan' and we utilised there free wifi.  That was the only thing we utilised because the entry price was £13.50 each (we like to name and shame expensive tourist attractions).  

We continued our journey onto St Austell.  I had high pasty expectations from the town and believed that the town had been improved.

We haven't done a church for a while.  As normal, photo doesn't do the church justice.  The ceiling was lovely painted wooden beams and mosaics behind the altar.

We managed a pasty which was the best so far but I know their are better out there.  The pastry crust wasn't stogey, the insides were moist and warmer than ones I've have previously on this trip (but not scalding).  It didn't quite have the spice that I am looking for.  I know some of you will be wondering about the consistency of my methods.  I have so far stuck to traditional steak pasties so I can compare like with like, otherwise my method involves shoving it in my gob without letting any of the contents fall on the floor!

It was at this point of the day that the rain started and we were forced to take emergency measures to avoid it....we had to visit the Town Museum and I found a Janice look-a-like locked up in the town gaol!

OK, ignore the moustache and it's a dead ringer!  I'm in trouble today!

In the interests of balance, here's a photo of me in gaol too.

The lady at the museum did give us some good information about the local China Clay quarrying industry that still carries on today.  Apparently the Clay is washed out of the stone by water and whilst in water form it is dryed to leave the end product that is used in all sorts of modern processes.  Of course it is used in the production of porcelain but it also features heavily in paper making and gives the paper its quality finish.

It continued to rain, we tried to sit it out in a cafe but eventually we had to cycle back to the site and just get wet.  It's amazing how the cycling gets faster in the rain.  We spent the rest of the afternoon drying out back at the van.