John and I at Watergate Beach.
Watergate Beach.
Mawgan Porth.
Bedruthan Steps.
Padstow.
Port Issac.
Port Issac from the opposite hill.
Billy and Trish from Australia.
Wednesday, August 30th.
Well that was an interesting evening.
Mr. Semi Planner, John, had booked this accommodation without
realizing we had to share a double bed. Very cozy and quite warm as
well. But we had shared a tent for weeks, so this was no problem.
One thing I forgot to write about is
the narrow winding roads here and the hedgerows or forests that come
right to the edge of the road. That plus being on the wrong side of
the road makes for some interesting semi-blind corners and turns.
John rides his bicycle along roads like this. I would find it
intimidating as there are no shoulders and it is tight enough for
cars let alone a bicycle as well.
It rained overnight and was still
cloudy and misty this morning, but we set off anyway, after a cup of
coffee and a chat with our hostess Jill, and headed toward the north
shore of Cornwall. Our first stop was at Watergate Beach. This is the
surfing capital of England. We found a restaurant overlooking the
beach and had a full breakfast while watching the surfers. It's
amazing how many people were out there or taking lessons, when the
weather was cool and the water is cold. However, they all were
wearing wetsuits. We walked up and down the beach enjoying the
sunshine when the clouds cleared. Then we drove to another smaller
surfers beach called Mawgan Porth for a short visit.
When we left there, we came across a
place advertised as the 100 Beruthian Steps. We stopped at the
parking lot and asked what that was, and the attendant told us it was
like the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road in Australia, so we
decided to go see it. What it is actually is some rock formations
just off the coast and 120 stone steps down to them. At low tide
there is a beach there and you can walk around the formations, but
unfortunately we were there at high tide. But it was still beautiful.
Our next stop was the fishing village
of Padstow. Apparently this town has been put on the map because of a
local man, Rick Stein, who has become a famous food author and owner
of a chain of very successful seafood restaurants. As a result the
town was very busy and the restaurant was lined up well down the
road. The port was pretty and there were a lot of shops, restaurants
and stores, but I couldn't see any other reason for so many people to
be there.
From there we continued north east to
the historic fishing village of Port Issac. An aerial shot of this
town appeared as my screen saver at home and when I checked where in
the world it was, it turned out to be an hour and a half from John.
So I asked if we could visit it. Visitors cannot park in the village
as the streets are too narrow and steep, so we parked outside and
walked around the headland to the village. We spent a couple of hours
there walking around, exploring and then hiking up the headland to a
view from the hill. Really a pretty town. We had a couple of pints in
a pub before going to a restaurant for a sea bass dinner. Then we
drove back to our farm Bed and Breakfast and spent some time
computing.
It is always interesting the people you
meet while travelling. I was wandering around the port and two
motorcyclists saw my beanie with the Australian flag on it, and said
hey you are one of us. I told them how I got the hat and asked where
they were from. Turns out they are from Broome in Western Australia.
They are probably in their late fifties and have been travelling
the world on their motorcycles for seven years! They both retired
early and occasionally go home to make a bit of money. They have
traveled the world thoroughly and are camping. Amazing. I would have
loved to talk to them longer but they were on their way. Personally I
can't imagine riding through some of the countries they have, riding
in the crazy traffic, camping that long, all the rainy riding and the
hassles of getting visas and then taking your bike with you on the
flights to other continents. Not to mention where do you put your bike
and stuff to keep it safe when you are exploring? Nice people who are
living a very different life from most people.
I bet your hostess Jill thought you two made a very nice couple!
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