Wedding Anniversary has arrived again so we decided to do a whistle-stop tour to Cornwall. Max found Camelot Castle as a Wedding Anniversary excursion… boy, it was amazing. Standing on the windswept cliffs of Tintagel, it commanded superb views, even from the bedroom window.
Atmosphere was a little bit spoilt because one of the owners called Ted Stourton was a painter and obviously thought his art was good,( apparently he sold a lot) , but the old castle just wasn’t the place to show case his style of paintings. HUGH Pink and blue butterfly paintings just don't gel with rich red carpets and antique furniture.
Sampled a few local pubs, and then off for supper in Padstow. Rick Stein country.
Unfortunately we only saw Padstow at night. We found out that Ric and his wife own half of the town, so the visitors keep it well and truly alive. These little Cornish fishing villages find it hard to survive and the only way is through tourism.
We had a lovely meal and a windy road back to Tintagel. He had a small varied wine list with Australian and new Zealand wines,but no French or south African.
Next day off to visit the home of Doc Martin, Port Isaac. Again a tiny little hamlet fishing village built before cars were invented. So tiny one lane, steep windy very single lane roads and no real access for us tourists, so parking was up on the cliffs and you walked down into the harbour front.
This is the local sweet/ice-cream/local shop that for 11 days a year gets to be turned into the Doc Martin Port Issac Pharmacy ( below ). They take the whole stock out, and rebuild the inside for the TV shoot. The surgery in the house is actually shot in a barn 3 miles up the road. They are starting shooting again for 4 months from next April if any one wants to visit!!!!
Some signs we saw …………………………….
Don’t you just love them??
Next off to Lands End. The end of the road, the most Southern tip of England.
And of course the last PUB!!!!
Not the best picture, sorry but it was called The Last Pub in England.
And then back via St Ives to Tintagel before leaving the next day to head back through to Looe, and then to Bournemouth and home to Chichester,
The view of St Ives from the road.
In Looe we caught up with Chris and Paula Roy who we be-friended in Rethall, on the canals in France in the summer. Looe is another much busier, but again small fishing port on the southern coast of Cornwall.
Sunday lunch out with Dawn and Alvin in Bournemouth. They took us to a pub called The Candlestick.It dates back 600 years and couldn’t believe it was right next to Ringwood's Brewery, where Max got the help and inspiration to start Newbegins Brewery back in Auckland in the 1980’s.
At least this brewery is still up and running. Max will have to go back for the t-shirt.!!!
An amazing 4 days away. We caught up with old/new friends and visited places of such natural beauty, along with the few obligatory visits to the local pubs for a few pints.
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