Holiday – Page 11 – Neil Baldwin's blog : Warning contains walking, technology, photography, holidays.

Raining hello kitty and Kishu inu

Late start again, I think it is the jet lag, in the middle of the night we wake up then fall asleep only to wake up at 09:00 feeling tired. That would be late evening at home, so our body is saying time for bed but we need to get up. Helen insisted on some fruit and veg in our diet so last night we bought a couple of bananas at one pound each for breakfast, as well as a small jar of instant coffee.

We headed off at about 10:30 the plan to go to a kite museum, and then play it by ear from there. When we got to the station it was a bit more challenging, we could not figure out which way to go turn put we were true trying to navigate with two different maps one for the Metro and the other for JR East train company. We spotted that we could get to the electronics district from the station so we jumped on the train and got off at Akihabara, which is the Tottenham court road of Tokyo, but multiplied up about 100 times, shop after shop with separate floors devoted to different kit, computers, cameras, peripherals, tablets, phones etc etc. We choose one store and did all the floors officers were reasonable bit not out and out bargains the main thing was the choice. We popped thorough a short of bazaar shop which had lots of small stories selling specialist products, plugs, chips, radios, transformers, wires etc etc. Helen soon got bored, but did make a purchase of some more headphones for the flight back. We spotted a coffee shop for a rest and a fag break for Helen then headed back to the station to find the more museum, it had started to rain.

We figured out the train to a station near the kite museum, but spent some time walking in heavy rain try to find the museum, which is located on the fifth floor of a building which had a restaurant on the ground floor which was owned by the guy who put together the collection. The museum is full of kites with little explanation but there was kit collectables from all over the world, and it only cost 200 yen to get in. Whilst in the warmth of the museum we consulted the guide book the nearest attraction was the Tokyo stock exchange, where for free you could have a look around the exchange and the museum. We arrived dripping wet from the rain we were the only people without an umbrella. We passed through security with even though we set off the metal detectors. The museum was small and explained the history of the exchange. We passed through the actual exchange observation deck, then Helen spotted a coffee room with a smoking area a coffee to have a fag, I had a coffee from the vending machines which offered a wide choice .

We bought some souvenirs from the reception then left. It was raining stop we consulted the guide book an decided the next destination should be the communication museum in the NTT offices, it was shut on Mondays like many of the museums, so we went to the Tokyo station. At the station we figured out the best way to experience Japanese food. They have food halls which serve all shoes of different specialties we went to an soba noodles restaurant and had a lovely bowl of noodles in a broth came with tempura prawns. We decided that on future nights we would head out to a similar place to eat, lots of choice an they are used to foreigners. When we had finished eating Helen noticed some people smoking so asked for an ashtray, she was disappointed to find we had been sat in the no smoking area, foiled yet again!

As we had eaten well and it was early evening we went to a large building with shops and bars for a look round and a beer heading back to the hotel. Turns out to be a building full of posh shops selling stuff we neither like r could afford, so we want back to the station to get the train back. We jumped on a rapid train which did not stop at our station of choice, se we got off two stops later and crossed the platform onto the more local train for another stop then got off at our station, or so we thought. We are sure we got the name right but it was not the station a quick lookout the map outside and we figured there was only a five minute walk to the hotel. We went through another interesting district with more food establishments, it seems there is no shortage of restaurants in Japan. We stopped off at the seven eleven for some breakfast bits then retired to our room with the hope of getting u a bit earlier and a bit less tired.

Yoyogi park, and the Meiji shrine

Entrance to Meiji Shrine, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

After the marathon time spent awake yesterday we slept pretty well, and did not finally wake up till 09:30. We have decided that we will skip breakfast at the hotel as it is 2,300 yen each. We stopped of at the lobby of the seven eleven next door for Helen’s first fag of the day,then headed down to the nearest station to try out our Tokyo Oyster cards. The station was confusing until we spotted the English signs. From Suodobashi station we caught a train to Shinjuku where we found a nearby Starbucks some breakfast, then we got back on the trains to go to Harajuku station. Shinjuku station is the one famous for employing people to squash commuters onto the trains during rush hours, it was quite crowded and it was only a Sunday, I wonder what it is like on a week day?

The train was an over ground so we had the opportunity to see the world go by. We passed lots of water one area seemed to have boats for hire, we passed a fishing place where there were lots of fishermen on methods jetties with fishing rods, apparently quite popular I remember seeing it on a documentary about cap once on TV. We guessed correctly which station to get off at, and soon found the park entrance, there were lots of people walking down the wide tree lined avenues we followed the crowds and eventually came to the main shrine area. People come to the shrine to get married so there are as lot of people in traditional dress especially ladies and children. There seemed to be a harvest festival gong on as there were many displays of produce some on the form of large boats worth sails made off leeks. I didn’t know where to point my camera there was too many things to photograph.

We did a leisurely loop around the rest of the park, we were on the look out for the rockers that the park is also famous for. We spotted for a coffee then headed out to find them. We had a stroke of luck my Kindle is a 3G version and can access data worldwide, so we found a picture of the rockers and showed it to an official, who pointed us in the right direction. The rockers were strutting those stuff at the entrance to the park, which is separate to the shrine park. We walked round the park and did some people watching. It seems the Tokyians know how to make use of the green spaces, there was not just lounging around, the rule was that you had to be doing something either cultural or physical. We saw people with Frisbees, hula hoops, shuttle cocks, basketballs, soccer balls, tambourines, then there was the was the cultural ones singing, dancing, reciting, playing etc. There were also some street performers, one on a cylinder and board was very good as he flicked bowls on tithe head of the girl balancing on his head. There was an fenced off area that seemed to be full of dogs and their owners I thing the area was where you are allowed to let your dog off its lead.

Dancers in Yoyogi Park, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

Next stop was to be a the oriental bazaar near by which Helen had spotted in the guide book. Lots of Japanese ware in a nice shop that was well spaced out, unlike the western shops which are squeeze in as much as you can. Helen bought some gifts. Then we headed back to the hotel because we needed a east before going out for something to eat. The trims were quite busy people were on the move, the Japanese queue on the platform nears marks then was politely for the disembark before getting on themselves.

After a rest and freshen up, we ventured out again to find something to eat. We could not make our minds up where to eat. Many restaurants have photo’s or plastic models of the food they sell but neither are very appetising, add to that neither of us eat meat and Helen does not eat fish either it makes the whole thing a bit of a challenge. We ended up at the Tokyo dome we we found a Spanish restaurant, I managed to stay slightly Japanese with the Japanese crab pasta, and Helen got another tick on the list of countries where she has eaten a Margarita pizza. Before going back to the hotel we had a look round the attractions at the dome, and stumbled across another unusual Japanese tradition, there was an area with posts of fairy lights including a long tunnel, and all around were late teenagers, mainly girls all dressed up in Anime style clothing, photo graphing each other. Some of the camera and kit was very serious I saw a 50mm f1.2 canon lens they retail at £1,200 many of them had flashes and reflectors.

Back toward the hotel we tried to go to a Belgium beer establishment we had spotted yesterday, but alas the place was shut, so we went back and had a beer at the hotel. We managed to stay up until 21:00 the jet lag is wearing off.

Four on the Richter scale

Following on from the last entry. Once we had unpacked etc we decided to have a quick snooze, before going out for a bite to eat. Two hours later I wake up really tired and struggle to get up and have a shower. Helen is awake once I had showered and we agree we should get out and have something to eat, to force ourselves onto local time if we slept at 17:00 we would be up and awake at some ridiculously early time the next day.

We headed back to a street where we had earlier seen some food establishments, and after some debate we decided on a little place with pictures of food that looked veggie. We sat down and the girl running the place bought us a glass of water each and handed us a menu in English, no pictures but the descriptions we good enough. Whilst we consulted the menu there was a movement much like mild turbulence you get on a plane. The locals expressed surprise but no panic the girl came out and quickly changed the channel to a news channel. Clearly we had experienced out first earthquake, the news channel was suggesting 4 in the Richter scale, a quick look in the Internet suggests it was M4.8 http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000dxm5#summary the news channel stayed with the story for a while showing recordings of camera shaking from various places in Tokyo. After about twenty minutes they moved onto the usual stories but the quake was in the headlines but was not the main topic of conversation.

We had a rice mushroom and egg dish with a small cup of miso on the side, cost was 2,000yen which included 2 large beers. Suitably refreshed we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Flight VS900 to Tokyo Narita

The day has finally arrived we are off to Tokyo for a week. Didn’t have the best night sleep in anticipation of the exciting week to come. Got up at about 06:30 and spend a leisurely time having breakfast and finishing off the packing. We are allowed two 23kg bags in Premium Economy we both managed one bag each both less than 14Kg’s. Butlers taxi was five minutes early and we were soon on our way, strangely we stopped for diesel at Watford on the way. The weather was foggy but Heathrow was bathed in sunshine. While Helen was having her last fag before Japan I busied myself taking videos of my self. The plan is to create a video montage of very short (most less than a second) clips of video of our trip. The results should be really good I got the idea from another video on YouTube where a guy had done a tour of Europe, most of the frames consist of the person centre picture but the wide angle lens of the GoPro takes in a large area of background and the surrounding view.

Checking in was a breeze there were no queues at the bag drop, security took some time but the queues kept moving, there is not priority boarding like there is at London Luton. One through security you enter a shopper paradise with many ways found to part you from your money. Looking in Dixons it was a crying shame that white canon lens worth over a thousand pounds were there to be picked up and fondled, no lens cap on either end, there was smudges all over the lens! Note to self I wonder what happens to the lens when the shops close etc is it possible to pick up a bargain?

Helen grabbed a glass of wine to calm her already calm nerves, whilst I purchased a pillow for the flight. I found a memory foam one for £14 we’ll see how well it works. Our flight was soon called at gate 20 so we wandered on down. There were no queues at the gate and we were soon sat down in the lounge waiting for boarding. Complimentary magazines and newspapers were supplied. We were only sat for about 5 minutes when we were called to board.

The seats in premium are very spacious with plenty of leg room even when the person in front has their seat reclined. We got ourselves comfortable whilst the ground crew delayed our departure shift cargo around in the hold. We had the pleasure of the preflight drink, followed by the safety briefing. Soon we were taxiing out to the runway and taking off, heading out over Clacton in Essex, then across south Scandinavia, then a long stretch over Russia, before reaching the Pacific and then Japan.

We had a choice of dozens of choices of films, TV program’s and music to chose from the in flight entertainment system all provided on demand. I fancied Dark Knight Rising which we missed when it was on at the cinema, but first it was time for pre-dinner drinks then a veggie Thai curry. Suitably refreshed and after turning down a night cap and coffee we tried to get some sleep. Not before going to he loo. On her return Helen managed to catch her head phones plug as she sat down and snapped it clean off in the socket, luckily she was able to extract the end of the plug otherwise it would have been silent movies only for the rest of the flight.

I felt surprising tired at 00:00 Tokyo time, perhaps my body clock had shifted in anticipation. I suspect not you will have to watch the blog for and update. As it happens we have been preparing for the flight by getting up at 05:00 and going to bet at 07:30 for the past week. My theory is that idle can shift our sleep even a few hours then the 9 hours time difference will be just a little bit easier to adjust to. If it does it’ll let you know, and the. Right a best selling self help book on the subject. As after all I will be an expert after one flight!

I take my hat off to anyone who can sleep on and aeroplane even the people in Upper Class who get a bed. You can recline and shut your eyes but sleep is something that just escapes me. Having said that I did spend a lot of time relaxing with my eyes closed. Does that count as sleep? Some time in the middle of the night we were handed a hot pastry with mature cheddar in it but it tasted of nothing to me, I had read somewhere that you lose your sense of taste on a long flight, I had! An hour or so later a jug of water and glasses was bought into the cabin. At around 07:00 Tokyo time the sun started to rise and a fantastic landscape could be seen below.

We were in a very cold part of the world, the land scape was plains, pine covered mountains, with the odd frozen lake and rivers. We were over a place in Russia just over a corner of China. The city was called Khabarovsk, it must be cold it is north of Vladivostok. Every so often we would pass over signs of human habitation, fields covered in snow, roads, pipelines, I think I even saw a skiing resort with one oft and three runs down. The sky had that classic white land, rising to the blue sky through yellow and pink.

At about 07:30 someone wandered through the cabin in a dressing gown, with his tooth brush! He was a row in front of us and a few seats over he must have got changed into his lounge wear sometime in the night, I would guess he is a seasoned traveller. Soon it was time breakfast was to be served, I could smell the frying of bacon and eggs. Not really I believe they just microwave or bake to get the prepare pared breakfasts hot. We were in for a treat some sort of scrambled egg mushrooms and tomato dish for us.

Breakfast was cleared and the staff encouraged us to get ready for landing. Helen and I had managed to trash completely the floor area around our two seats. Once off the plane immigration, luggage collection and customs was a breeze. The airport seemed deserted and there was hardly a queue at immigration, where we had our passports checked and scanned and it photo and finger prints taken. We arrived at the luggage carousel and our bags were more or less waiting. Then we were waved through customs. We sought out a place to buy a Narita Express ticket into Tokyo Station. A kind man pointed out to us that our best bet was to buy a combined return ticket which included a preloaded money card for the metro. It was to be the first test of using a credit card and it was a breeze, we had to sign rather than use a pin. It cost 11,000 yen for the whole lot that’s less than £100 so £25 each way each and we had two cards with 2,000 yen of metro credit on each.

The train left at 10:15 and took about one hour to get to Tokyo station. It was really great to be in a different landscape which we had a good view of from the large train window. At the station I made my first cash purchase, a lighter for Helen, the we found the exit and the very well organised taxi rank. We had prepared a google translation of “please take us to Hotel Niwa” and it worked a treat he driver instantly figured where wanted to go. The ride cos us £10 a bargain.

We were too early to check in so we left our bags and went for a walk towards Chiyoda park where the imperial palace is. It is a lovely park and we both agreed we should return for second look. The sun was shining and there was a bit of a chill in the air. We got back to the Hotel at 14:30 our room was not ready but they put us in one that was not, Helen promptly fell a sleep while I typed up this blog entry.

The journey home from Port Gaverne

We were all up in good time and managed to leave the hut by 10:15 only 15 minutes later than we should have been, there was no cleaner waiting to get in so it did not matter. We headed off and filled up at the Delabole petrol station, one of the many independent service stations you see in Cornwall.

We made good progress and were soon at Stourhead NT and ideal stopping point for a stretch and some lunch. It was 3 hours from Cornwall and left us a 2 hour journey to home. The place wasa busy and the overflow car park was filling up, not surprising as the weather was gorgeous and bad weather was on the way for Sunday.

Stourhead NT is one of the more popular National Trust properties it has a house and extensive grounds with some follys and a large lake. It was (is?) owned by the family that founded the Hoare Banking company I believe similar to Coutts in terms of it’s customers. We had lunch first in the modern building which houses the cafe and obligatory shop, the queue was long because it was lunch time and there was only one till manned.

After lunch of sandwiches all round we went to look at the house, which was the type of NT house I prefer with a bit of old and a bit of new in it. After we took a walk around the gardens and lake followed by the walled gardens where I admired their artichokes which put mine to shame. We popped into the farm shop to get some essential supplies for dinner and then headed back to the car to continue you journey home.

There were signs suggesting the M3 was shut at a junction we needed to pass so we ended up diverting from our planned route onto the A34 via Oxford. It made no difference to our travel time and we arrived at home on schedule.

That evening we watched the ITV series called Bletchley something about a murder case solved by ex-wartime code breaker women, which we enjoyed.

Surf’s up in Polzeath Bay

We thought as it was the last day we thought we would make the most of the time left. We would body board in the morning and go for a walk in the after noon. There were 4 volunteers, T&C, Helen and I, the plan was to go down to Polzeath see what the waves were like then decide.

BBC weather predicted calm seas so we were not expecting much, but when we got there the waves seemed big enough for beginners so we went to one of the trailers to get some gear, we all needed boards (£3 per hour) and two of us wetsuits (£3 per hour) so £12 and hour for two hours entertainment seemed good value. We were soon suited and booted and ready to take on the Atlantic waves.

Getting in was the first hurdle, but we were at the end of the summer, so the sea was warmed, and we had wet suits on, so the thermal shock did not live up to our fears. In fact it was not cold at all, I would not describe it as cosy but not unpleasant. We worked our way out to where the waves were breaking and a couple of other boarders were hanging out and waited for our first wave. It turns out that there is a knack to catching a wave, for the best results, pick a big one and then try to catch it just as it breaks, that way you have a steep edge to get moving on. Next make sure the nose of the board stays above the water otherwise expect to become a submarine!

We were glad to get out of our wetsuits and into dry clothes, over time it does make you cold and it is very tiring fighting the waves and walking back out into the surf. I would definitely do it again perhaps even try a surf board. We headed back to the hut for some well earned lunch.

Some of us dragged ourselves off the sofas to go for a walk from a book called “Shortish walks in Cornwall”. We picked on a stretch of coast we had yet to see. We parked up as the book described in a small layby near Treligga, but not after visiting the village whilst looking for th layby from the book description.

The walk started by heading towards the sea in both directions, lower in altitude and in a northerly direction. There was an option to visit a mall beach down some wooden steps then some cut into the rocks, I was the only one to take up that option, I was after some snaps of the lovely beach with large rocks from the cliffs scattered around. There were also a couple of deep caves.

From the beach it was back up the steep steps up to the coastal path, which once we had found it followed the top of the cliff for a couple of miles, then the path descended into a valley, at which point there was a sign suggesting a permissive path heading in land, we came to regret not taking the easier route. At the bottom of the valley the path headed in land up the valley, we saw some interesting plants including lots of wild mint.

After a few hundred yards of slow ascent the path veered right and we then had a very long slog up a hill to get out of the valley if it had been any steeper it would had steps in it. At the top of the valley we walked through a dairy farm where the cows were all waiting to be milked. We walked through the farm and up their drive to the road then it was a short walk back to the layby. It had been quite a tough walk especially after a morning in the sea.

That evening we went down to the pub in Port Gaverne I had the Mussels starter which was tasty and well cooked but a bit short on mussels, followed by the grilled sole which was excellent. A couple of pints of Sharps Doombar washed it all down nicely.

Padstow rib trip

Thursday we had organised a trip on a rib powerboat from Padstow harbour up out of the estuary and along to coast to look for wildlife. It meant and even earlier start as they like to do everything in Cornwall at high tide. We left the house at 08:15 and the trip was booked for 08:45. We parked up at the harbour car park which even at that time of day was fairly full, I guess from people staying in hotels and holidays lets. The public loos were all locked up at that time which caused a slight panic amongst the women but the three sisters manged to persuade a pub to let them use their facilities.

We were all well rugged up with plenty of layers and we had all experience of boat trips, it can be very cold out over the ocean at any time of the year. We all got on board apart from our party of seven their were a couple and another guy who would share the experience with us. We cast off and slowly headed out of the harbour and onto the estuary where the skipper opened the throttle and we powered out towards the sea. We stopped on occasions so that the skipper could explain the history of Padstow and the local wildlife that was visible. It is not really a good time of the year t see wildlife and the breeding birds had all moved on and although it is possible to see dolphins and basking sharps the summer months stand a better chance.

Once out of the estuary the sea was significantly rougher, as we powered over the waves towards Padstow lifeboat station, the rib seemed to leave the water and slap down hard, Helen let rip with a few expletives at that point, and questioned what we were doing out in such a high sea, even if we had an RLNI volunteer as skipper. That turned out to be the worst leg of the tour, as it was the only one where we were going against the tide and the wind. From the lifeboat station we headed out to a rock island that the RAF had once used for target practice. We saw a seal and some divers just off the rocks, then we headed at full speed in a big arc back to the mouth of the estuary and then back to Padstow Harbour.

We stopped of at Rick Steins deli and then Tesco to grab some stuff to eat in the evening, then went back to the holiday hut from some lunch. After lunch we headed over to Daymer Bay for a walk on the beach and a spot of rock polling where I found a medium sized crab, under a rock. On the way back we checked out Polzeath Bay with a view to possible surfing in the morning, on our last day n Cornwall.

Sea kayaking off Port Gaverne

It turns out that Port Gaverne should be pronounced Port Gay Verne, according to Ben our Kayaking guide, aparently if you pronounce it Port Gav Urn in front of a local fisherman you should expect a wet fish in the face. I digress! Wednesday morning we had arranged a Sea Kayaking trip. We had to be up early to start out at high tide, we went down to Polzeath beach our rendez-vous point at 08:15. They were not quite ready for us so we went for a welcome coffee for 10 minutes. Down on the beach there are quite a few surfing/coasteering/kayaking businesses selling their wares. The weather was grey and winding with the threat of rain, but out ovewr the sea it looked like the clouds were clearing. We finished our coffee and went back down onto the beach to be kitted out. Each of us got a wet-suit boots, buoyancy aid and a helmet. Then we all got in our cars and followed their van up the coast to Post Gaverne where the waves were not breaking on the beach to launch the Kayaks.

We parked up at the derelict Headland Hotel, and got into our wetsuits, which is not easy. I managed to out it half on twice before on the third attempt got it right. First time I got it back to front and the second it was the right way round but inside out, other people were having similar problems. As it was cold some of us put on raincoats under our buoyancy aids, to help protect us from the wind. Once we were all ready we headed down the steep hill past the pub and down to the boat store just over the road from the beach. We ported the kayaks down to the beach and Ben gave us a quick lesson in kayak and a safety briefing on what we should do when out on the ocean.

Next we got on with the main show actually getting on the water. The kayaks were pretty stable at no point did I feel that the boat was going to tip over. Each boat takes two people and I was paired up with Jim, who had done some kayaking before. First we did some basic maneuvers around the shallow end going round two buoys and turning on the spot to ensure that we all knew what we were doing, then we headed out a bit further. The more distance we put between us and the shelter of the cover, the bigger the waves got. Helen and C decided they did not fancy going out on to the ocean and round to Port Isaac so Helen’s dad swapped boats and went with T, which left three boats. When we got to the edge of the cave Ben announced that it was too rough to go round the coast so we would have to make do with paddling round the sheltered area of water. It was disappointing but you have to respect the sea and the people who have a better knowledge of it, we certainly experienced what to me looked like big waves, particularly when you are low down on the surface they were big enough to on occasions lose sight of other kayaks, but they were not breaking so it was mainly a case of bobbing up and down and keeping the kayak square to the direction of the wave. One couple also had had enough due to feeling a bit seasick and headed back to the beach while we bobbed about for the rest of the session.

We beached the boats and carried them back up the beach which was now much longer as the tide had been going out while we were at sea. Ben came across a broken bottle probably lobbed from the road onto the beach he cleared up the glass. The we slogged our way back up the hill to the car park and were able to get out of our wet-suits and into some warm dry clothes, which was very welcome. Then we drove back the 500 yards or so back to the holiday hut, for a shower and some lunch.

Helen’s dad and I decided to go for a short circular walk from the hut, in land the fields then down into Port Gaverne. The path stared from the road at a farm near the hut, but it was not sign posted at all. I popped back to get the map to show us the way. We walked through the farm yard past the chained up dog, then into a field with a warning about the bull on the gate. We crossed the field following the map and when we got to the field edge we had to fight our way through gorse and brambles. A couple of men chopping down a tree clearly knew that there was a pat there but claimed that it was the postman’s path and that us Englishmen are all the same walking on their land. We continued on our way and into Post Gaverne.

The route back back was via the coastal path the weather had improved and the sun was shining, I striped down to just my T shirt it was so warm. After a couple of descents and ascents we found the pah inland back to the road that the hut was on. We met a couple who explained that they had walked from Boscastle but wanted to get to Port Isaac the quickest way because they had almost run out of water. We gave them all the water we had as we were only a few hundred yards from home. It turns out that the guy was doing the southern leg of a mission to walk the coast of Britain, he had already done Gravesend to and round Scotland, then Wales now he was doing the final stretch round from Bristol along the south coast back to Gravesend.

We ate at the local pub which was followed by a quiz we came second!

Cycle ride from Wadebridge to Padstow

Eventually we were all up and ready to collect the bikes from Wadebridge at 10:15, the plan was to cycle from there to Padstow and back again, a round trip of about 12 miles. The weather was sunny with fluffy clouds being blown along by a stiff wind, it seemed cooler than the past couple of days.

Once we were all fitted out with bikes we headed off down the Camel Trail, the dog strapped tightly in a trailer and Helen’s mum being towed on a two wheel tandem conversion by T. It was a gentle flat ride to Padstow with several stops to adjust the dog, then for a coffee stop where a guy tows his coffee making equipment to the half way point, including all the water needed for a day making hot drinks.

We parked up the bikes at a secure bike park (50p per bike/trailer) then headed into Padstow town. It was Sergio Ramos, the car parks all had “car park full signs up”, god knows what it is like at the height of the holiday season? We headed through the town, and out to the war memorial just up the estuary. We passed the flat helen and I stayed at (next to the public loo’s above an art gallery) some years ago.

We sat for a while on the benches over looking the Camel estuary, while the dog was worn out by throwing a ball down the hill. On the other side of the estuary is Rock where all hooray henri’s spend there summer holidays, and money in the shops and rental prices for the lovely looking riverside properties. Next stop was the pastie shop.

We purchased our pasties from the Cough Bakery www.thecoughbakery.co.uk which had featured on one of those TV programs where they take a troubled business and turn it around. You can’t fault the location, it bang on over looking the harbour an a junction which affords it longer than usual frontage. If I remember correctly it was a family run business but they could not all agree who should do what, and the mother would not let the kids do anything different from they way it had always been run. They certainly have customers now we had to queue to buy our lunch.

Suitably refreshed we went to recover the bikes from the secure storage shed and were soon back on the road. The wind was behind us and we made really good headway, so decided to pass though and and past Wadebridge to add another hour to the days activities. However it involved passing through Wadebridge center and it busy public roads. We got through with only one minor mishap when one wheel of the the wide dog cart hit the curb and almost ejected the dog. Just when some of us had cycled far enough we came across a vineyard that sold wine by the glass on a terrace over looking the valley, unfortunately dogs were not allowed. The girls decided to cycle back to Wadebridge while T and I took the olds up the hill to the terrace where we enjoyed the Camel Valley Baccus and Atlantic Dry. The wine was good you can buy it here http://www.camelvalley.com

Next was a sprint back to Wadebridge to catch up with the other who were waiting for us at a bar near the cycle hire shop. We joined them for a swift half then headed back via Tesco for something to eat. They explained that at at around the vinyard point a couple of young guys had cycled past Helen’s dad then as they passed the girls one said to the other “That’s the coolest thing I have ever seen an old fella smoking a pipe on a bike!” . Later C cooked her famous Tomato risotto with veggie meatballs. We are up early tomorrow for a Sea Kayaking session at Polzeath Beach.

Trebarwith Strand

First day of the holiday and we took our time getting up and ready to go. We took two cars and headed to Trebarwith Strand. The road in was interesting very narrow with steep rocky sides at times luckily we only met one car on the way down. We parked at the long stay car park (£5.80 for 4 hours) in the belief that the short stay would be cheaper than any short stay. Turns out that the smaller short stay was charging £2.50 for the day!

Trebarwith Strand is an interesting place there is a wide beach which is pretty much covered over when the tide comes in. Access to the beach is over some smoothish rock on one side was a stream cutting a gorge into the to the rock, on the other was what looked like a cutting into the rock.

We took a stroll on the beach looking for life in the rock pools. C won the prize for the most interesting find a big fat star fish with only four points. There were some caves on the west end of the beach, one of them went at least 50 metres into the cliff.

We had lunch at The Port William pub at a table in the conservatory, over looking the bay. The St Austell Trelawney Bitter went down well with the cheese sandwich. We drove back to the hut to get sorted for a rib boat trip that T had organised, but when we phoned to check the weather was too rough, and the owner said he would take us out but that we would probably not enjoy it, so we cancelled. It is a shame because it was the last trip of the season. Still we have the sea kayaking to look forward to which has been postponed till Wednesday due to high winds.

The girls decided that they would go on a shopping trip, and T and I took the bikes down to Pooley Bridge and did a cycle ride to Bodmin and back on the Camel trail, which I must say is an excellent little trail for walking and cycling. We went at a fair pace on the way back which gave me a good work out.