Our Cornwall Holiday :: Part 2

Hello Lovelies ,

 this post is about a couple of morning runs I did while we are away. I love being able to explore the area we are visiting in this way. This year my running has been a bit sporadic so I don't have the stamina I did when I was training for the Great North Run last year, but I still enjoy shorter runs.

  THIS run in north Devon last year was very special and will be ingrained in my memory for a long time,so this year I was keen to do some more coastal running.

Once again the site we stayed at was very close to the South West Coastal Path. 

TUESDAY

On this  morning I got up headed down hill to join the path. I turned right.........

In hindsight that was a mistake....I ended up running away from the beach and along the river estuary..

Oh well, I thought it can't be that far, I'll soon find a bridge. The path led into a field and this cow was standing next to it. I decided to walk past it so as not to spook her, but she still jumped out in front of me as I went by and gave me a fright....cows are really big close up aren't they.........

I was happy to get out of that field, but not happy to see the grey sky and the estuary stretching as far as the eye could see, then I noticed a bridge. Can you see it? it wasn't very inspiring, but as I wasn't prepared to brave the cow field again I had little choice but to head towards it............

Heck, it was slippery walking across this silt, I fell over once and got rather muddy.........

I was glad to reach the bridge, but a bit wary incase this too was slippery. The water was flowing quicky beneath it and I didn't like the lack of a hand rail......this was not turning out to be a good run :0(

Thankfully I got across ok and after a while running along the streets of the opposite riverbank I ended up on a headland with a gorgeous view........

I carried on a bit further and was amazed to see this house with a swimming pool carved out of the rocks at the waters edge.......you may need to enlarge the photo by clicking on it to see it clearly.........

It looks stunning spot don't you think . Through the wonders of google I've discovered you can rent it HERE.

I carried on a bit further, arriving at the famous Fistral Beach, where the surfers were already out in force.

Trouble was I was a long way from our caravan by now and didn't have the energy to run the miles around the estuary to get back , thankfully I had my phone with me,  so I resorted to phoning Mr BM and asking him to come and rescue me...something I've never had to do before, it did feel like a bit of a cheat.

WEDNESDAY

After the previous days misadventures I was keen to try and have a better run to remember from this holiday.
I was delighted to peep out of the window and see a clear blue sky first thing in the morning........

I headed out, past the neat rows of caravans..........

across the field and towards the beach..........

Once again I joined the coast path, but this time I turned left.........

I followed the markers across the dunes and was so happy to see the sea looking gorgeous in the morning light..........

The time was about 8am , but it was very still and the air already felt beautifully warm.......

I didn't run much along the path, they are pretty narrow and you need to watch your step, but the views are too lovely to rush past anyway..............

The dog roses have finished flowering and the rose hips are forming...........

The sun was not yet high enough to shine into this secluded little cove.............

At times the path is high above the beach, but then it descends steeply and you are almost at sea level........

Back up on the cliffs I spot a Gatekeeper butterfly

Looking back the way I've come I loved the sunlight shining on the waves...........

Then I noticed a pretty butterfly resting on a scabious, This is a new species to me ....Wall

I ran back through the dunes, stopping one last time to gaze at the ocean........

Simply stunning 

This was turning out to be a much better run, and it wasn't over yet..........

We stayed close the the little village of Crantock, which has a lovely church. From our caravan we could hear the bells chime every hour........

The whole village is just impossibly pretty. This particular morning there was even bunting decorating the sweet little village hall, where the Women's Institute were holding a cake stall...........

There are many thatched cottages in the village.........

Quite a few, like this one, are holiday lets..........

I loved this modest little home too..........

With it's pretty Agapanthus growing on top of the garden wall........

The post office sells everything, including paintings by local Artists, can you see them in the window......

It really is a totally delightful village...........

There was even a book sale on the green that morning and I loved the milk churns on a bench by the red telephone box..........

Eventually I managed to tear myself away and head back to our caravan , to enjoy breakfast siting on the caravan steps in the sunshine....perfect.

Hope you are enjoying sharing my holiday memories, I think I may need to write a couple more posts to cover the whole week :0)

Jacquie x

Our Cornwall Holiday :: part 1

Hello Lovelies, 

I love having this space to share good times, and to be able to record them for myself and the boys. This is the fourth summer I have been able to write about our travels and this is quite a long post , but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Since we have had children we have been lucky enough to enjoy a yearly seaside break with extended family.

My boys are very fortunate to have cousins of exactly the same ages as themselves,  they get on so well that it's a delight to watch  and it makes for a relaxing break for us grown ups.

For various reasons it looked like 2013 was going to be the year that it all ended , but at the last minute things changed and we booked to go to one of our favourite destinations.....Cornwall.

SATURDAY

This is Porth beach near Newquay. The first ever family holiday we had, back in 2001, included a trip to this beach. 

On Saturday, after enduring the usual tailbacks on the A30 we headed straight here, so happy to stretch our legs and feel the sand beneath our toes.........

Of course the children were not content with staying on the sand....they urgently needed to have fun in the waves, and who can blame them.Thankfully they all managed to squeeze into last years wet suits and off they went.......

I simply love this photo, the colours of the sea changing from blue to green. The grey and purple  of the rocks and the sparkly waves. And two cousins having fun while a young seagull looks on.

I was happy to paddle in the shallows and watch the sunlight dancing  on the water......

Soon it was time to head to our caravan site , dump our bags and head to the supermarket for supplies. Not my favourite part of the holiday, but returning "home" with fish and chips and eating them while taking in the wonderful view of the distant beach from our static caravan's window more than made up for it.......

SUNDAY
As our booking had been last minute we had decided to make do with what we thought would be a budget caravan, but what we actually ended up with was a delightful, brand new model....how lucky were we :0)

 Anticipating a slightly shabby holiday home I had packed some crochet to cheer things up a bit. My giant granny square blanket and a crochet flower vase. The boys stripy cushions also added to the homely feel, along with fresh flowers and shells gathered on the beach..........

 As the weather in Britain can be rather unpredictable it's great to have a cozy place to shelter when the sun doesn't shine.
The weather on Sunday morning did not look promising. But of course children are not happy to stay inside all day , so the afternoon saw us back at Porth . The great thing about this beach is that you can park right on the sand. I sat in the car and did some crochet while Mr BM and the children enjoyed some body boarding.  Brave things :0)

 After a while I decided to do a sketch of the beach scene in the little sketch book I always keep in my handbag.........

It's just a small book, about 5 inches by 4 inches, so this photo is as big as the drawing actually is.....

I coloured it in back at our caravan......and made it look sunny.

MONDAY

This was the view from our caravan on Monday morning. Boy did it rain through the night and flash flooding even made it into the local news. We had a power cut for about half an hour and I was feeling a bit fed up but very glad we were not in a tent !

Thankfully by late morning the rain had stopped and we decided to head off to another favourite spot.....

The weather was not cold at all and we  enjoyed a delicious ice cream from "Planet Ice" the ice cream parlour  you can see in the picture.........

 Perranporth felt lively and seemed to be thriving . I loved the painted shops and bunting hung across the street.

Soon the beach was calling and I stood in the shallows trying to make out family members in the surf......

This beach is more exposed than Porth which makes for great waves but it's also rather breezy and I was not tempted to head into the waves myself, though I had to smile when I saw these white haired  ladies, with their retro wooden boards,  being braver than me.

 It's a huge beach ........

 And very popular with surfers...........

I was happy to shelter inside our beach tent and try and get a photo of the seagulls overhead....as you can see I failed and had to make do with a kite instead..........

 In the evening the beach we could see from our caravan was calling.
 So despite the looming cloud and fresh breeze we all set off in coats and jumpers. This picture is taken from the dunes behind the beach, looking back towards our caravan site...........

 As we walked along the sun suddenly appeared below the clouds...........

And the hillside was bathed in golden light............

 As we reached the front of the dunes we could see the beach and setting sun stretching out before us.......

 The children rushed ahead, speeding down the dunes and chatting happily as they headed towards the sea.......

They did a bit of beach combing , presenting me with a pebble with a hole, which I attempted to photograph artistically :0)

Luckily we had brought bag of swimming things , just in case, and soon the boys were heading into the sea for the second time that day. Coats and jumpers were discarded and it was declared that the sea was warm.....

After a little while Middle son, who was not as wet as his brothers , asked to borrow my camera and the rest of the photos in this post ( and the sunset picture in my previous post ) are all his ..........

Thank you for taking this sweet picture of Mr BM and myself son, I love your photos and I  think they are my favourite images from the whole holiday.

It certainly was a magical end to a day that started out looking like a washout.

Jacquie x