I think there's a pic of the sledges in the Clovelly set?

They were in virtually every garden. Pretty good way to keep fit, lugging everything up and down those steep slopes manually!

annhig, RM - we were too poor to have sledges up in the grim north

We used tea trays :))

Seriously though , I'm loving the pictures - we spent every summer in Cornwall when I was a sprog.

So many good memories of camping with our kiddies - my Dad's ashes were spread on Hayle Towans. His favourite place overlooking St Ives

I have a few Cornwall ones as well Alya, including St Ives (taken a few years ago). They look a bit grey, which is odd, because I remember the weather being fairly decent.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4945230...7626765837439/

Lovely photos, I liked the ginger cat. I'm to visit Plymouth twice a year for 4 years and pleasantly surprised by my first visit - I'm reading up on the surrounds; any tips, RM67? Weymouth was featured fairly recently on Saturday Kitchen and that looked quaint.

RM - I did see your pics on FB, St Ives is my favorite town in Cornwall mainly because it has so many wonderful childhood memories.
I always remember the sun shining when we were there :)

We have a linocut original by Seb West that's a view of the harbour from the Slopp to the Georgian house. It hangs in our living room and I see it everyday. We bought it years ago and I'm shocked by the prices his original artwork fetches these days but it's a wonderful daily reminder osf carefree days.

http://www.sebwestgallery.co.uk/news...r/linocuts.htm

We used tea trays>>

you were lucky. we had to use beer mats!

alya - it's not m y favourite pub, but even so, i wouldn't call it the sloop - t think it's the Sloop.

i'm not familiar with Seb West but i recognise the style. A few years ago we went Christmas shopping in St. Ives and there were so few people that you could almost hear the village tom-toms going as each shopkeeper told the next one that some potential customers were approaching. it's much nicer in the winter than it is in the summer when it grinds to halt with all the visitors, even when the sun isn't shining.

I'm to visit Plymouth twice a year for 4 years and pleasantly surprised by my first visit - I'm reading up on the surrounds; any tips?>>

Steve, i have to go to Plymouth quite a lot too now, and for eating, can recommend virtually anywhere round the Barbican - a very nice range of restaurants from Nepalise to Italian with everything in between including fish and chips. as for staying, sadly the B&B i was very happy with has closed down for the winter so I'm on the look out for an alternative. If i find one, I'll let you know.

Ayla - I know it's a well used cliche, but I love the light in St Ives.

Stevelyon - I don't know the Plymouth area very well, but my closest recommendations would be the Dartmoor National Park (loads of great walks). I know the eastern edge of the park a bit better than the Plymouth side and recommend the Teign gorge and Castle Drogo as a decent walk/day out. You've also got Bigbury on Sea and Burgh Island not a million miles from Plymouth. Burgh Island has the famous art deco hotel loved by Agatha Christie, but if you can't afford to stay there you can always have a meal at the pub instead (the island is private so you might need to book your lunch in advance).

Further afield, I like Beer (sea-fishing, tearooms and antiques), the cliffs above Sidmouth for the views out to sea and the observatory.

In Cornwall (admittedly much further), my favourite haunts are Mousehole/Newlyn for fishing villages. Pothcurno (secluded bay only accessible on foot) and the Minack outdoor theatre in the cliffs. St Just (art and cafes), road from St Just to St Ives (standing stones and old abandoned tin mines overlooking the wilder, rockier parts of the Atlantic). St Ives itself is one of my favourite towns in Cornwall, but is always packed with people. Whitesand Bay is beautiful (just before Lands End). Praa Sands good for surfing (v friendly). I also liked Padstow, but again it can be rammed with tourists.

Porthcurno? Wonderful, wonderful memories - sifting through the sand picking the tiny seashells and trying to fill a matchbox, My Dad's idea to keep us busy :)

Looking at the house in the cliffs and trying to imagine how wonderful it would be to live there, especially in winter.

Climbing to up to Minack theatre and wishing that we visited later in the year so we could watch a play.

Trying to imagine where the cable went, what else was out there and future possibilities. Although as a child I never imagined I'd end up living in America.

Ann, I know it's the Sloop, damn spellcheck :)

I was also fascinated by the cable. Because I don't really understand how it works. Is it one long cable 3000 miles long? Or does it have joins in? Is it on the bottom of the sea (if so how did they put it down there??). O does it sort of float under the surface (if so, why don't ships catch on it and break it??).

Trying to imagine where the cable went, what else was out there and future possibilities. Although as a child I never imagined I'd end up living in America.>>

as i understand it [why didn't i pay attention in the Telecoms museum?] it does sit on the bottom of the ocean [some of it is even buried] - it would be far too vulnerable if it floated. I think that the ends are re-enforced but it is less protected on the bottom. they lay it from ships so it is more or less one long cable. here's a link to wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submari...ications_cable

we could have a GTG at Porthcurno and find out all about it!

and lol, alya, the spell-check worked too well for me, and spelt it "Sloop" both times!!