No advice from me, but I just wanted to say it sounds like a great trip. I love that you are not micromanaging it all, and will have time to just be.

I hope you both have a wonderful time.

Thank you, hetismij2. We really love the idea of having a home base and flexibility. Our time in Edinburgh will be more structured, since we are taking a couple of day tours, but other than that, we plan to do whatever we feel inspired to do each day. And our short time in Exeter and Newbury will be a nice stopover and end point, respectively. We're very much looking forward to "just being"!

I just re-read Carolyn's trip report, and realized we have indeed come full circle. It was in reading her report that I first got the idea of flying into Exeter!

Wonderful report, Carolyn, and so many similarities to the places we plan to visit. It sounds as though you had a lovely trip with your daughter and sister. I look forward to making wonderful memories with my mother. We've got quite a collection of them so far. :-)

no probs, BBgt, glad to help.

[if I have - you'll have to wait to find out, won't you?]

I find that the over-planning just gets me more excited for the trip. The final trip rarely resembles what I had in my mind other than maybe the order of destinations if more than one town is involved.

This year I did a few "zero planning, just show up" and a few where I did a lot of reading. I was busy for both trips - never ran out of things to do. I didn't look things up afterwards, either, so I can't say I regretted the things I did not do...

Yes, Ann, I guess we'll find out! I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions, and I'm quite sure your comments will prove to be helpful.

Ah, Flygirl - how well I relate to your first statement. I love the planning stage, although I drive myself mad sometimes with all the possibilities. It's always interesting to me to see what finally shakes out. Good plan on your part to not look things up afterward - no regrets!

If you go through Dartmoor there is a great hotel right in the middle you might enjoy stopping at...The Two Bridges Hotel. The rooms are lovely and some are named after famous guests ie Vivien Leigh supposedly stopped here when filming Rebecca!

Dartmoor Prison is also close and then it is an easy drive down into Cornwall.

Fowey is worth a visit and Trebah Garden is a favourite.

Penzance is not what you expect now and Lands End is just a tourist trap but Sennen Cove is lovely and then keep driving through St Just and Zennor (stop at the church to see The Mermaid's Chair) then on towards St Ives, great scenery!

If you go to Porthleven have lunch or dinner at the Ship Inn....wonderful fish pie!

Thanks for the tips, Cyansiam. I'm not sure how much time we'll have on our drive through/past Dartmoor, but I'll keep those things in mind. I definitely plan on doing the drive you mention between Sennen Cove and St. Ives, and thanks for the mention of the Mermaid's Chair. I'd read about it somewhere but had forgotten about it. Sounds like something we'd enjoy!

mmm - I'm not sure that I'd be recommending a visit to Dartmoor Prison to the OP and her mum, Cyansiam - it's in what always seems to me to be the most gloomy part of Dartmoor and Princetown is a singularly unattractive village and of course they don't do guided tours of the prison - it's strictly "residents only".

There is a small private museum nearby which is moderately interesting but not worth taking a detour for. I do agree about the Two Bridges - I had the best coleslaw I've ever tasted there recently - and though the hotel would make an excellent lunch stop, it is rather out of the OP's way.

<<Penzance is not what you expect now>>

Trouble is, the OP doesn't know what you would expect of PZ, now or at any other time. You'll have gathered from the above that I'm rather a fan of PZ, having been there myriad times in the last 18 years, i wonder why [and when] you found it disappointing. Undoubtedly Land's End is a tourist trap but our last lot of german visitors just loved it, so it might be worth the OP and her mum having a look but you are absolutely right about the coast north of there - all the way up to the Gurnard's Head [great pub] and beyond.

as for Porthleven, the Ship is good but there are a load of other restaurants there too now - well worth sussing out I would have thought.

I agree with Ann that the Two Bridges is probably out of our way for an afternoon drive to our cottage, but it does sound nice. We'll most likely stop at the Tors for lunch, then be on our way so we can arrive at our cottage by late afternoon/early evening.

Mom and I will probably stop at Land's End just to see it, and do our best to ignore the tourist trap. We both thought that Cape Cornwall sounded much nicer for a quiet stop, but if we're going all that way, we probably ought to at least see Land's End!

Penzance is pretty much a given - Besides being a good grocery stop, we want to visit the gardens (Morab, I believe, and Trengwainton), and just check out the town.

The scenic drive sounds perfect - just our thing. Mom and I both love dramatic coastal scenery, which I understand Cornwall supplies in spades :-).

I needed to read this as I am in the middle of planning now! What a wonderful revelation. Enjoy your trip...

Thank you, hworth1976, and happy planning! It is a large part of the fun of travelling, isn't it?

hworth - please feel free to ask me anything you like about Cornwall - I love "selling it" to prospective visitors.

And having once owned a house in North Devon, I know quite a lot about that little visited [at least on Fodors] part of the world too.

We go to Cornwall every time we go back home as Jon lived in Porthleven for 10 years so we always stay there and obviously he knows Cornwall extremely well to the point where it is difficult to find anything he has not been too!! I wish I could explain where a lot of the unusual places are for you! This is one that may fit in for you.... on the road from St Just to St Ives you will pass an old tin mine ruin on the left, we always stop there and walk down to the cliffs for a picnic, great location!

Over the years places have changed and I suppose it depends on what you are looking for but we tend to class Penzance as more like the majority of towns in the rest of the UK, same shops, same look etc so it does not appeal to us as much.

Re Dartmoor prison...as it is on the way out from Two Bridges I thought it is worth a look because it is so bleak, always reminds me of Hound of the Baskervilles.....the prison museum is just ok as you said Annhig, if you are not going that way then no it is not worth the detour.

I found Bodmin Jail more interesting especially the ruined section...very eerie and sad!

We'll look for that tin mine ruin, Cyansiam. Since you mentioned it, I loved Hound of the Baskervilles - read it several times as a kid. I'm sure if we had more time for that leg of the trip I'd be seeking out atmospheric places like those in the book. Hopefully this won't be my last visit to Cornwall, so perhaps someday I'll drive out and spend more time exploring on the way!

I found Bodmin Jail more interesting especially the ruined section...very eerie and sad!>>

When my kids were at school, Bodmin Jail was a regular outing for Years 7-8, [12-13 year olds] after they had studied the Ballard of Charlotte Dymond:

http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/myths-leg...tte-dymond.htm

they are also taken to the shire Hall to take part in a reconstruction of the trial:


http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/attractio...experience.htm

Definitely one of the more unusual places to go to in Cornwall!

http://greatscenicrailways.co.uk/lin...ives-bay-line/

I'm going to come in with my usual suggestion :) especially if your Mother doesn't cope well with hills.

The walk back up to the car park can be a challenge.

good point alya. but the walk up the hill back to the station can be hard too.

the alternative is to park in the town but the ones closer to the centre [with less walking up and down required] fill up very quickly.

Fascinating story, Ann, and very sad. Such an evocative landscape - I wish we had more time to explore.

Thank you for that link, alya. I would love to take the train to St. Ives, but now I'm a bit concerned about the hill back to the station. Mom can manage hills very slowly, but is very long? (Long being subjective, of course)

you could always get a cab back to the station of course.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?clie...OsGq8weonr_wBA

you could even arrange in advance for one to be available at a certain time to connect with the time a train was due to depart!