Caravan Travels

10.09 – We’ve finally woken up to a ‘nice’ day today. It’s cloudy, there’s no hint of sun and there’s dampness in the air, but there is only the most gentle of breezes – thank goodness for that! After four days of howling gales and both of us being required to safely open and close the caravan door, it’s such a relief to be sitting here with it actually standing open to allow some fresh air in!

So, we’ve got Sunday lunch booked in a pub in Padstow this afternoon and we’re leaving around 11am to drive the short journey to get to the town (15 miles or so). From what I’ve learned online, Padstow is a very picturesque Cornish coastal town with a working harbour and thriving tourist trade. I’m sure we’re going to enjoy ourselves today.

11.45am – We’ve stopped In Port Isaac enroute to Padstow. It’s a beautiful village and home to the fabulous Fisherman’s Friends choir which Helen and I have been lucky enough to see at two music festivals in the last couple of years. Sadly, there was no sign of them today, but a local brass band were set-up near the harbour playing hymn-tunes. (Today is a Sunday after all!).

1.40pm – We’ve arrived at Padstow and come into a pub at the quayside for Sunday lunch. It was a bit tricky finding a parking space because there are a lot of visitors here today. On parking-up we discovered the pub we’d originally booked for lunch (Rick Stein’s ‘The Cornish Arms‘) was not actually in Padstow itself but a short drive away. Given the difficulty in procuring a parking space in the town we felt we had no choice but to cancel that one. Fortunately, we were able to get an excellent Sunday lunch in a pub called Shipwrights near the harbour instead.

4.19pm – We’re in a cafe in Padstow. Helen has just ordered coffee and walnut cake, so is very happy!

6.45pm – After a lovely day out we’ve returned to our caravan and are just enjoying a cup of tea. It has turned a bit rainy again, but it doesn’t matter now that we’re back in our lovely, cosy van. We’ve two more full days here near Tintagel before we move on to our next site – Trevedra Farm, near Land’s End on Wednesday. Various options are being discussed about where we might go tomorrow and Tuesday. Padstow was the top of my list, but there are so many other places to choose from. Watch this space!

Ps. Helen is an absolute professional – she saw-off all that monster-slab of coffee and walnut cake without breaking a sweat!