The Newquay Song

We returned our 7 seater car and picked up a more manageable sedan as Michael & I headed off to spend a week on our own, leaving Anne, Phil, Margaret & Peter to a week of catching up with old friends.  Matthew is spending the rest of his time exploring London.

The day was spent driving through the countryside and we stopped at Southampton for lunch.  Unfortunately we ended up dining in a food court as, try as we might, we couldn’t find how to get to the old city.  The city is huge and well developed with many large shops.  It seems a very busy place with many of the cruise ships still leaving from here.

 

The drive became more picturesque as we neared our destination of Newquay, a coastal town in Cornwall.  The town would have been quite lively and a premier tourist destination back in the ‘60’s, however now it is looking a little faded and run down.  The coastline is spectacular and the beaches are quite beautiful (they even have sand) and the views from the cliff tops are stunning.  Michael & I enjoyed walking around and it was invigorating to breathe in the cool sea air.

 

 

 

The following day we drove to Land’s End, somewhere I have always wanted to visit.   

When I was child, I was fascinated by a photograph that my grandparents had on their dining room shelf, showing my Aunty Pat sitting at the base of a sign showing that she was at Land’s End.  The idea that she was sitting on what appeared to me to be the end of the world enthralled me.  Aunty Pat passed away a week ago, so it seemed particularly fitting that we visit this site.  We saw the sign where she had her photo taken which has become a major tourist draw.  The views as you can imagine were spectacular.  Michael had his first proper Cornish Pasty – it looked hideous to me, however Michael enjoyed it.

 

 

Penzance was our next stop, which is another lovely coastal town.  We had originally intended to stay for a few nights, however what little accommodation they had was fully booked, which was why we ended up in Newquay instead.  We then drove on to Porthleven, which is a beautiful fishing village.  We enjoyed a cream tea at one of the pubs alongside the harbour while watching a Vulcan bomber fly overhead.  There was an air show nearby so we were treated to several jets passing overhead.  We later learned that one of the Royal Navy Sea Fury planes had crash-landed at the runway.  No one was hurt, luckily.

 

Later that evening Michael and I had a drink at the bar downstairs in the hotel.  There was an Irish comedian entertaining the crowd, telling some of the worst jokes I have ever heard.  The average age of the audience was 70 and they were screaming with laughter.  I got the feeling that they didn’t get out much!

One For The Bristol City

When we met up with Terri and Ben in London, they mentioned that we should try and visit Port Isaac as it was a gorgeous little town.  Ben’s girlfriend Nat hails from there and they had spent some time exploring the area.  Based on their recommendation we decided to pay a visit and it was by far and away the best thing that we did.  You may be familiar with the town as the fictional Port Wenn from the series Doc Martin.  

 It has quaint twisting and narrow streets lined with pretty granite cottages.  We loved walking around and the view from the top of the road looking down to the water below is breathtaking.  It is truly one of the prettiest places we have seen on our travels.  We stopped for coffee at one of the beautiful cafes and tried a Cornish heavy cake, which was described to us as being a cross between a bread and butter pudding and shortbread.  It was delicious.

 

We finally arrived at our destination of Bristol after an agonisingly slow journey along the M5.  The British must just be resigned to traffic jams.  Bristol itself is a nice city and I instantly felt comfortable there.  It appears to be going through a period of regrowth and there was evidence of urban renewal everywhere.  We had dinner down at the quay area, which was lively and filled with the ubiquitous bucks’ and hens’ parties that abound in the UK.  Why British men have a constant need to dress in women’s clothing is a mystery to me. 

 

The following morning we spent walking around and looking at the street art, which was our main reason for visiting Bristol.  Banksy has a number street art pieces and we saw the famous man hanging from a window (my favourite) and the mild, mild west.  There were many spectacular and interesting pieces done by other artists as well and we enjoyed walking around studying them.  Michael struck up a conversation with a shopkeeper who explained the changing area and work that her son does in promoting artists and their work. 

 

 

 

Continuing our art theme albeit with a change of pace, we visited the M Shed to view the Wallace & Gromit exhibition.  It was a fascinating exhibition showing the creative process from scripts to production.  The work that goes into making the figures is astonishing and I will view the shows in whole new light. 

 

Next day we took a short drive to Bath, a city both Michael and I visited and loved separately 30 years ago.  The city is every bit as beautiful as I remembered it and it was wonderful walking around The Circus and Royal Crescent.  The entire city has been well preserved.  

 

 Bath Abbey remains an architectural beauty however, not as peaceful as I remember as it was packed with chattering tourists.  I was eager to revisit the Roman Baths as I remembered being entranced on my previous visit.  The entire set up has changed (except the actual baths themselves) and the whole experience now feels totally commercialised.  The audio guide’s information was so “dumbed down” that it struck me as childish and I really felt like I was at a theme park instead of an historical site.  The fact that people were wandering around dressed as Roman centurions and noble women didn’t help. I suppose that the administrators feel that they have to chase the tourist dollar, however I think it is a shame.  

 

 

What’s The Meaning of Stonehenge?

Next on our list was one of the most famous sites in the world – Stonehenge.  We first caught a glimpse of the site from the road as we were crawling along in the traffic.  It didn’t seem that impressive from a distance however, once we were up close it was a different matter.  It was amazing looking at the huge standing stones, seemingly in the middle of nowhere and pondering how and why they placed there.  There are many theories and much folklore attached to the site however, at the end of the day, no one is absolutely certain.  All I can say is, that I am glad I saw them up close.

 

We spent the night at a hotel in Crawley, which is a town not far from Gatwick Airport.  The town was originally called Crows Leah however the name and spelling evolved over time to what it is today.  It is a nice area and we had a pleasant and relaxing evening there.