Cornwall's Bodega Bay

18th June

         Heading for sunny Cornwall today(eternal optimist).Instead of a two day car trip or 12 hours cooped up like sardines in a tin can on wheels which is a Voyager train we decided to fly from Edinburgh to Newquay which meant a humongous one hour and twenty minutes flight to Cornwall-brilliant.We spent about as much time waiting for our hire car as the flight  with the standard twenty questions as the flight took.

                After we picked up our gigantic car-Renault Twingo-and joined the race to the west on the A30 which if there was ever an advert for the need for a dual carriageway this was it.The only good thing about it was their was wall to wall VW campers on the roads.After stopping off to stock up on rations we drove through the streets of Penzance which seems like the average British town-ie needs a coat of paint-heading for sleepy Mousehole the destination for our trip.

Invitation to a dance-50 years to late.

      Apart from the day trippers and the cousins of our friends from Inchcolm it looked absolutely sublime.The living quarters were quickly sought out and rations and kit were suitably squared away so that we could check out the important things,the local hostelries,which didn't disappoint.

The Netloft

Part two

The Ship Inn offering very nice ales and plenty fresh fish dishes on the menu.

             

No,they are not both for me.

  Let me expand on Mousehole especially from a car point of view.For the lucky people of my age , I possess some hair but I assure you it has got greyer as the week has gone on as you have to cross yourself every time you crawl round a corner in a car hoping that nothing is coming in the opposite direction as reversing is at a premium. I think the locals know this as there is nothing more frightening than the sight of a pickup truck coming hurtling towards you at a rapid rate of knots.

Local welcoming committee.

       Mousehole has the same streets now as it has had for hundreds of years.It was a smugglers haven with more nooks and crannies than any coastal village that I have seen.Oh and parking is a barrel of laughs as well.There is one official carpark and one small carpark.If you miss out on one of them you have two choices-parking about a mile out of town or parking on the harbour wall.I chose the latter which was okay as long as you are prepared to put up with the giant cobbles which put Edinburgh's Royal Mile to shame.Another thing about Mousehole especially in June is that it is the nesting ground for seagulls and they are on a 24hour babysitting cycle.Not realising this I had found a copy of Daphne de Maurier's short story The Birds and if you havn't read it its the original story which takes place in England and it is very thought provoking as it relates the story from a farm hands point of view and his attempts to protect his family from the massed bird attacks and the destruction of society throughout the country.Once I'd finished it I went round the house making sure all the windows were shut and bolted.

The pier on the right was my carpark.

How I'm going to get through the week without denting the car is in the hands of the supreme being.
     Speak to you soon.