Saturday 9 April 2011

Cornish coast photos

Last week saw myself and my husband down in Cornwall for a short break. We actually stayed in a generic hotel at Bodmin which is smack bang in the middle of the county and an excellent location for visiting the north Cornish coast. On our first full day, Monday, we struck lucky. In Bodmin it was a dull, overcast, dreary day but when we reached the coast it was glorious and stayed like it all day. First stop was the coast around Bedruthan Steps. I don't have a head for heights so we didn't go down to the beach, but had a walk along the cliffs there instead, an area the National Trust own and call 'Carnewas'.










The gorse everywhere was stunning.






By the time we'd wandered a mile or two, ooohed and ahhhed over the views, stopped for a cuppa at the little NT café, wandered a bit more the other way, ooohed and ahhhed some more - that took up most of the morning. We moved on up the coast after that and stopped at Constantine Bay. Not a bay we know well, although that area around Padstow is reasonably familiar as we used to pop down regularly when we lived in Barnstaple. We popped into the small village shop where they had homemade pasties for sale, grabbed one each and took them down to the bay for a picnic lunch. The day was chilly and blowy but very sunny so it really was gorgeous sitting on the rocks enjoying excellent pasties and looking out to sea.





Parts of the beach were rock-pool heaven for kids and we said we'd have to take the grandkids there in the summer.





This chap was trying to land his wind-surfing parachute thingy and it was quite the entertainment watching him make the attempt... at least half a dozen times.

Well, that's the first batch - I have two more lots to post, of Lanhydrock, the National Trust property near Bodmin, and of the coast around Tintagel. We packed quite a lot into three days!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glorious, glorious pictures. Makes me recall why I fell in love with Cornwall *happy sigh*

DesLily said...

gorgeous cath!!!! I saved every one of them!!!

Anonymous said...

Cath, these pictures are just awesome! Such clear blue sky. I'm glad you two had a nice trip.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful Cornwall adventure you have had and how are we to see such beautiful pictures here? That "cuppa" tea sounds just grand right about now.

Margaret @ BooksPlease said...

Lovely photos, Cath - they remind me of happy holidays we spent in Cornwall!

Vintage Reading said...

Fabulous pics. Adore Cornwall. Went to Fowey last year it was beautiful.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Cath,

Glad you both had such a great time and so peaceful, as you managed to take the break before all the dreaded 'little people' took their Easter break!

I think that NT membership comes into it's own in Cornwall, as there are so many small bays and coves, where you can park up for free and there is always the inevitable tea shop, which is welcome at any time.

Fabulous pictures by the way.

Yvonne

Cath said...

Zoe: Well, Cornwall is quite an easy county to fall for so you're not alone. :-)

Pat: Glad you enjoyed them, more to come soon.

Kay: We had a wonderful trip thanks. Did quite a lot but also managed to relax a fair bit too.

lifeonthecutoff: So pleased you enjoyed the photos. It's one of the joys of blogging I think, that you get to hear about, and see, places you never would otherwise.

Margaret: I'm always surprised at just how many people have wonderful childhood holiday memories of Cornwall. Makes me realise how lucky I was to have actually been born and brought up there.

Nicola: Oh, Fowey is another delightful part of Cornwall. I love the Daphne du Maurier connections down there.

Yvonne: Yes, we got away before the children broke up from school so it was fairly quiet everywhere.

That's right, we got free car parking because we're members but you have to be careful there as the actual carpark for Bedruthan Steps is privately owned. You need to enter at the Carnewas entrance 50 yards away, which is NT, and walk down the cliffs to the steps.

Glad you enjoyed the pics.

Danielle said...

Lucky you! Gorgeous photos! If I click my heels three times together can I wish myself there? Darn, didn't work. Thanks for sharing your experience instead! :)

verity said...

Oh so beautiful you got some very similar weather tothat which we had. i can't wait to see the rest of your pictures.

My Gallery of Worlds said...

How gorgeous!! I can just imagine the wind, and the smell of the ocean :D Glad the weather held out for you

Cath said...

Danielle: Sorry it didn't work. Better luck next time. ;-) Glad you enjoyed the photos though.

Verity: weatherwise we had a mixed bag really. And it was strange in that we were able to drive away from the dull weather and find something better.

Kelly: Glad you liked them. Yes, the ocean is certainly a big influence on the atmosphere in Cornwall.

Julia Kavan said...

Had to say - beautiful photographs!

Cath said...

Julia: Thank you so much!

Yvette said...

Lucky you, Cath. These are gorgeous photos. I've only been in Great Britain once - I fully expected to go back but somehow never did. Still, I have fond memories of a great trip. Never did get to Cornwall, but I can certainly dream...

Cath said...

Yvette: Really pleased you like the photos and that they brought back fond memories.