Out and about

 I slept remarkably well... and that made one of us. Di had a poor night's sleep which she blamed on eating later than usual and going to bed too soon after eating. We spoke with reception and have changed our meal time for the rest of our stay.

When I opened the curtains there was horizon to horizon unbroken grey cloud - but it was dry and mild. We met up with Jan and John for breakfast and decided on the day's plan of action. 

We hopped in the car and I drove us down to Caerhays Castle and Gardens which nestles right on the coast between Dodman Point and Portloe. These gardens are only open from February to the first week in June and contain an astonishing collection of Camellias and the National Magnolia Collection. We were a bit late in the season to see these at their best but there were a few specimens hanging on.

We bought our tickets for the garden (deciding not to do the castle tour) and set off weaving our way up and down the hillsides and zigging and zagging along the various pathways. A few sections were hard going and we had to slow down to catch our breath but we took things at a sensible pace and enjoyed the views.

As we finished, we stopped at the tea room for some well-deserved refreshments. By this time, the sun had broken through and it was delightful sitting in the courtyard with our coffee. We finally stirred ourselves into action and stopped in at the little shop where we were greeted by the shop assistant who was one of the most naturally funny people we'd ever met. We didn't buy anything but we stayed there chatting to her for ages. She is wasted in the shop - she should go on the stand-up circuit.

Back at the car, we decided our next stop would be Mevagissey. We fought our way through the tiny Cornish lanes, having to back up several times to avoid oncoming vehicles and duck into passing places for others. We parked in the centre of the quaint harbour town and went for a stroll. The tide was out, leaving the fishing boats high and dry for the next few hours.

We looped around the harbour wall on the south side all the way to the end where we stopped to watch the world go by. Eventually, we turned and retraced our steps, stopping at an ice cream shop for some rich Cornish ice cream cones.

We continued the loop along the north side of the harbour where we had a good view across the outer harbour (from where they were running boat trips). As you can see from the photo, this morning's cloud was but a distant memory.

At the end of this walkway was a tiny little beach that looked quite sheltered and enticing. I fear that our bucket and spade days were over, so we just stood there and watched before turning back to the car park.

Back at the hotel, we sat out on the terrace, lapping up the sun, some tea, and a pint of Doom Bar. It was the perfect end to the afternoon.

We dressed for dinner (you never hear of people undressing for dinner, but then you don't want to get splashed by hot soup). Diane had the prawn starter again (without the octopus) and I had grilled mackerel. For our main course, Di had poached plaice and I had hake.

After dinner, we all went for a walk around the grounds before retiring to our rooms around 9 pm.

We sat and read for an hour or so before bed. It had been a lovely day. Let's see what tomorrow brings.