Cash's Holiday

Hi, What a rush my previous blog ended up……this is going to be no different. Returned to Horrabridge after a few days exploring Cornwall…..fly to Dublin tomorrow.
Our road trips have felt reasonably easy throughout England, distance between places seem to be over before you know it. ……..Put that down to such pretty countryside to look at (through the gaps in the miles of roadside hedging !!!!! ….wonderful world if you are a badger, but frustrating to eyes from a car). `Popped’ into Wales briefly…..little bit of genealogy curiosity…. The town of Pontypool plays a part in my family history but time didn’t permit to achieve much…will use the internet when home to delve. Wasn’t impressed with their modernising of the town centre (where my ancestors shop once stood) a real 1960? ugly result.
Our farm stay as mentioned (last blog) was really good, (thanks so much Phil – for that connection) The gypsy life is all very well but it’s so good to sleep in the same bed for more than two nights. Based near Bristol opens within easy reach area’s like Stonehenge, Bath…..picturesque ….. beautiful honey-coloured stone Georgian styled buildings, the River Avon twisting through the city.
Horrabridge was our next destination…..Anne’s childhood home town set in Devon. Approached it via the Dartmoor National Park. A good road takes you over the moorland, pasting farmland, little villages….a prison (as you pass through the approximate centre of the park) Dartmoor’s small ponies with their foals graze on the bracken right by the fenceless roadside…..free of restriction…..presumably to get rounded up for culling from time to time. Black faced sheep graze the paddocks…..the winters can be harsh on the moor which seems to spread out as far as you can see.
Dominic (Anne’s brother) took Dave and Jim rock fishing the first morning on a headland across from the Plymouth Harbour. Joining them later we explored the little villages and the NZ like rocky coastline. A good fish meal was enjoyed that night…..after further sight-seeing and good advise on Cornwall highlights we once again set off a two day road trip. The summer holiday season is about to start with gusto and Cornwall is a popular destination……short notice accommodation can be difficult then so we have been lucky……..On returning can understand why is so sort after, variation of rugged dramatic coastline to sandy beaches, little harbours guarded by huge concrete seawalls….the weather can change dramatically and many a boat has been lost on the Cornwall coast. Called into `Port Isaac’ the location for the TV program Doc Martin….what a pretty fishing village it is….and doesn’t appear spoilt by its fame. Cornish fishermen still go about their business, boats lie on their side on the sand, attached by long rope lines fore and aft. Cray & crab pots piled up. Lingered nearby to hear the strong Cornish accent as groups gathered.
Managed to call in to a number of seaside towns……Padstow, where the famous chef Rich Stein has settled himself….opening a seafood restaurant that requires a table booking months in advance to experience his dishes. St On to Land’s End…..which we saw with our eyes but not our feet…..huge car park to one side…pay for the `privilege’ to enter the area…..far too commercial for our liking….soon back out of there and on to a southern point further round were an open air theatre has been constructed on a cliff pace way above the sea `Minack Head’ is its location and all that you see was the creation and determination of one women (Rowena Cade) who in her 30’s and involved in the theatre, moved down to Cornwall and has the vision of what is there today…..spectacular, dramatic & inspirational. Her help came from various locals….one or two stayed with the project for years….mostly funded by this remarkable women who was still working on the site well into her 80’s. A trust continues her work and performances are booked out. The standard of plays are very high but seating costs are kept to a level that allows all to enjoy….so was the wish of Rowena Cade. Thinking about the inclement weather in England…..the plays are rarely cancelled so the outside elements must all add to the drama.
Stayed last night (Monday 5th) in a Harbour to wn of Falmouth…..what an interesting place to base yourself for a week or so to discover Cornwall….so central to a number of directions and another pretty coastal area. One other place I will quickly mention before I finish was the little (a lot of coastal villages are `little’) harbour of `Mousehole’ …..pronounced Mowzill by the locals….it is tiny…. with a solid sea wall whose entrance couldn’t be any wider than 15 – 20m. Approaching the gap by boat on a rough day must be like threading a needle. The village has seen one major tragedy that claimed the life’s of eight local men who as part of the volunteer coastguard ventured out to save a vessel who’s owner initially refused a tow for fear of selvage rights being enforced (he had his wife and child on board)!!!!! The skipper of the fatal rescue boat….realising how bad the conditions were refused to pick more than one man from the same family….for obvious reasons. Need to say no more except that a commemorative plaque is on the wall of the local inn, under which, the photo’s of the men…..what an impact that result would have had on such a small community.
And on that sad note we say a sad goodbye to England tomorrow……to return for sure. (:) G