Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : 2020

Tuesday 22 September 2020

Porthcurno ........ or not ?

Tuesday 22nd September 2020

We had a fabulous day yesterday on the golden sands of Praa in the warm late summer sunshine and enjoyed going to sleep to the sounds of waves on the beach.

It was much cooler and cloudier when we awoke this morning and it looks we've seen the best of the weather for the moment.

After a walk along the beach we set off for Porthcurno.

We'd decided we would try and get another day out of this trip before heading home.

Porthcurno is close to Lands End and has accessible parking without the rip off parking rates.
Problems arose on the lane down to the village. A "Road Closed" sign greeted us.
After speaking to a local it was indeed closed.

Now, we could have found another route there no doubt, but looking at the lanes and knowing how narrow some can be, I decided an alternative route was not advisable.

So I decided we'd head north a bit and find somewhere else to visit.
Tintagel seemed to fit the bill so we programmed the sat nav.

Tintagel is a proper tourist honey pot, it was packed to the rafters with visitors who flock to view the Castle remains

Anyway we had a wander around, the path down to the castle looked too steep to appeal to Sue, so Louis and I did it later.

It is indeed a very steep path and access is only so far before you have to pay to cross the foot bridge onto the island rock. I wasn't bothered about going there so we walked along Glebe Cliffs instead and had a great view of the rock and the foot bridge.

So Tintagel is a nice place and worth visiting but very touristy, King Arthur Shields and Excalibur Swords at every turn.

Tomorrow we'll head home.

We've had a good trip visiting some old haunts and some new places and I'd like to return to see more of the north coast sometime.

I`ve got lots of photos but slow internet means I`ll link them from home tomorrow

Tintagel Penninsular

Foot bridge to Tintagel Penninsular

Tintagel Town

Tintagel Town - National Trust property

On to Praa Sands

Monday 21st September 2020

The weather is keeping up it's warm and dry Indian Summer which is very welcome.

After yesterdays walking we slept well at Heligan Camping and awoke to more glorious sunshine.

After doing the essentials of emptying waste water and filling fresh, we set off for Praa Sands which is further towards Lands End.

I researched it and found overnight parking right on the beach which looks to be a wide expanse of golden sand.

So that'll do us nicely for today.

It was busy when we got here, or I should say the car park was, and we had to park at the back adjacent to the road.

Not a big problem as it's only a quiet lane but it would have been nice to get on the front overlooking the sea.

After some lunch we set off for a wander down to the beach.

It is a lovely beach, golden sand and also some rock pools to investigate.

Warm sunshine and just a gentle sea breeze to cool us - perfect.

On the way back to Ed, one of the motorhomes parked on the front was just leaving, so we hurried back and quickly got Ed started and moved onto the vacant space.

Lovely, right on the front with a sea view for tonight and then drop off to sleep to the sound of the waves gently breaking on the shore.

Tea was lasagne, sweetcorn and garlic bread en van, teamed up with a bottle of German beer.

Praa Sands

Praa Sands - parking virtually on the beach

Praa Sands

Praa Sands - our view for this evening

Praa Sands - parking virtually on the beach

Praa Sands

Praa Sands - An interesting story of a Sunderland flying boat that crash landed on the beach in 1943 after suffering damage from enemy action

Sunday 20 September 2020

Finding the Lost Gardens ....... again

Sunday 20th September 2020

We woke again to another glorious sunny morning in Cornwall and after a lazy breakfast Louis and I walked from the campsite along a foot / cycle path that goes all the way down into Mevagissey.

There is a branch off towards Pentewan which is where we headed.

It was a pleasant walk but quite a slog back up the hill to the campsite.

After lunch we headed to the gardens for our timed visit.

The next two - three hours were spent walking around the lost gardens.

It's an interesting story and there are some lovely old trees, tree ferns, bamboo's rhododenndrons, Guneras etc.

For me, and probably most people, the most memorable part is the jungle walk in the lost valley with the board walks going all the way around.

There is also a kitchen garden, flower garden and Italian garden but it's the jungle that sticks in my mind.

This is where all the giant bamboos`s, magnolias, tree ferns and guneras are.

Everything is more organised and the shop and restaurant facilities are all on a much bigger scale than when we were here 25 years ago.

But it still has the same charm and is definately worth a visit if in the area, but it`s not going to impress people who expect magnificant floral displays in a garden, it`s more of a woodland garden but has lots of interest non the less.

We're having a BBQ for tea as the weather is so good.

Tomorrow we'll head on towards Lands End, probably to Praa Sands or Porthcurno, neither of which I think I`ve been to before.

After that it'll depend on the weather and it looks like it might get a bit cooler next week, but we'll see.