How did I spend MY Summer?
I saw a post by McGuffy Ann Morris about kittens - who can resist kittens??
And I saw that she had linked it up with Rorybore for coffee chat and the theme was, 'How did you spend your summer?'.
Well, I like to spend as much time as the weather here in the UK will allow at the beach and I have several posts about this summer. This is one from my holiday in Cornwall, a place that I love and that I'm lucky enough to visit several times a year:
One, or actually TWO of the things I like to do most when I'm in Cornwall is to walk and cycle.
Did I mention how hilly Cornwall is?
Walking and cycling are not for the faint hearted in this part of England but I really would encourage anyone to give it a go.
I'm not fitness freak and I huff an puff up all of those hills and cliff paths but the trick it to give yourself plenty of time, take water and snacks with you and stop often to take a beak and some photos.
We first found Penberth Cove a couple of years ago and it's there that I took what is still one of my very favourite photo of Miss Mac:
We had been walking the cliff path from our campsite to Porth Curnow and stumbled across this stunning place entirely by accident. It was so lovely that we stayed to have lunch on the rocks and bask in the sun for a while.
This year SD and I planned to try and find the road to Penberth as we cycled to Porth Curnow. We knew roughly where it would be and sure enough, on the brow of a hill we saw the signpost.
Penbeth has a tiny fishing fleet of only 4 boats. In the past there may have been up to 15 fishing boats setting out to catch herring, these days it is just the 4 and they mostly fish for mackerel.
It's impossible not to love Penberth and on a sunny day could there be any more perfect place to be?:
Having only ever approached Penberth via the cliff path before I hadn't realised that there was more to the 'villiage' than the few houses perched on the edge of the rocks.
Leading down to the cove are some beautiful houses on one side of the road while on the other there appears to be a huge estate. I did try to take some photos but trees mostly obscured the view but it was stunning!
We passed the entrance to the estate:
To the left of this arch there is a small lake and a stream that passes underneath and continues down to the cove. On the right of the arch is a small weir, I couldn't get and decent photos as it was a little dark with all the vegetation. Over the archway there is a room (or rooms) accessible from a stone stairway on the far side. There is an open space through the archway which I first thought was a very upmarket car park but it soon became clear that it was the start of the drive up to the estate.
There are loads more photos, there were taken on my phone and I've yet to download the camera one but I will at some point and show you more.
We spent a lovely hour or so at Penberth eating our lunch before continuing on our way to Porth Curnow.
By the time we got there we were more than ready to sit for a while and have a coffee.
If you visit Porth Curnow do try the museums cafe which you get to by taking the path through their beautifully landscaped garden. For some reason they have housed the museum archive in a large building right by the car park. The PERFECT place for a cafe. The cafe they have put in the large museum building at the top of the hill where you can't really see it but if you do make it up there they serve pretty decent coffee.
On the way back down to the beach there are several small gardens that are part of the museum. These house various sculptures including THIS one:
This is actually part of a larger sculpture showing something to do with time lapse I think but being the kind of shallow person I am I was more fascinated by the way it distorted my image.
The gardens also house all kind of weird and wonderful plants that I hadn't seen before including this:
It looks like an alien cabbage tree!
And finally we made it to Porth Curnow beach:
And the sun shone, the gulls wheeled high above, the sea was bloody freezing and the sand was warm as I sifted it thorough my fingers ...
If you are interested then here are a couple of other posts from my Summer which combine sun, sea and the ridiculous that seems to follow me around.
Sennen , Budleigh Salterton and Corfe Castle and Swanage
6 comments:
What an interesting place, and the water does look cold. Not sure how water can look cold, but it does.
Sadness. I have always hoped that one day I would end up in Cornwall - it is so engrained in me and I feel as though I belong there. I feel further away than ever now though.
The sea is ALWAYS cold in England Joe!
Who knows where you will end up Holly. I always think of you when I'm in Cornwall and wonder which photos Holly would like to see. I hope my photos make you feel a little closer to the place you love so much. x
My husband travels to England at least once a year. I'm so jealous. Some day I'll get over to your side of the pond! I love all your photos!
What a beautiful place!! I love the old homes like that - reminds me very much of my hometown here in Canada; a very old city. Would be lovely to walk those cliff paths and get some stunning shots.
And I feel you about the cold water -- it never really warms up here either.
Thanks for you joining us today, and sharing such an interesting place.
Maybe one time you will be able to come with him Tami. I'm very spoilt living where I do, Somerset itself is very beautiful and we are close to Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, nowhere is more than a couple of hours drive away.
I have some amazing photos taken on the Cornwall cliff paths Rory, it's a beautiful place. This is the only time of year that you might find some warm water in England right at the end of the Summer but probably not in Cornwall, the Dorset beaches tend to be a better bet for that.
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