That should've said "makes me rather sad..."

Thursday, May 26 - St. Ives and Godrevey Head

We decided this was the day to visit St. Ives and drove the short distance to Lelant Saltings Park & Ride. Couldn't have been easier - we parked the car, bought tickets from the window and took the short, very scenic ride to St. Ives. The train lets you out right by Portminster Beach, and it's an easy 5 minute walk into the heart of St. Ives. The town was very much as I'd expected - very pretty and already busy with tourists even on a Thursday before the Bank Holiday crowds (presumably) descended.

We stopped in at several galleries, admiring the local art on display. At one shop, I chatted with the nice lady working there and somehow came to find out we shared the same birthday. The people I met in Cornwall reminded me so much of people from back home - very laid back and friendly. Maybe living in such a beautiful place just makes people happy. :-)

Another pleasant diversion was provided by a young musician playing an instrument I'd never seen before, which I've since learned is called a "Chapman stick". The music was truly beautiful, and when my mom and I walked over to talk to him, I was surprised to hear a Texas accent. He explained that he is travelling around the world on earnings from his music. We each bought a cd and continued on our explorations.

In what seemed like a very short distance we found ourselves at Porthmeor Beach. This and Porthminster are both gorgeous beaches, with white sand and turquoise water reminiscent of the Caribbean. We walked a little on the beach, then had an excellent lunch at the Porthmeor Café (more soup and bread!). After lunch we walked through the picturesque streets toward the train station, stopping at one of the art galleries we'd visited earlier so Mom could purchase a print of St. Michael's Mount that she'd fancied.

Before leaving St. Ives, I just had to have a good walk on Porthminster Beach. Mom opted to sit on a bench overlooking the beach, while I walked down to the end of it and back. It was a beautiful, sunny day (I know - the weather report is getting kind of boring!) and there were very few people on the beach. Lovely. We took the train back to Lelant Saltings, both wondering for a moment whether we should have stayed nearer Carbis Bay just for the amazing beaches we were seeing (but both perfectly content to return to our perfect little cottage that evening).

Having retrieved our car at Lelant Saltings, we made the short drive through Hayle to Godrevey Head, another National Trust site. Having cleared the booth where we were asked to show our pass, we drove a fun little single-track (pulling over for other drivers required!) back to a large, grassy car park. There were other cars there, but it was nowhere near full and it seemed many of the people there must have been locals out for an evening picnic or walk.

I recall Mom looking around and saying, "This is really beautiful", which is saying something after all the beautiful things we'd seen. It was also very peaceful. The lighthouse sits out on a point beyond the rocky beach, and the views toward St. Ives and out to sea are magnificent. We enjoyed an hour or so picking through the rocky tide pools and sand for treasures, then made our way back to Marazion.

We needed a few supplies to get us through our last couple of dinners at the cottage, and decided to stop at Morrison's (only because we saw it first - Sainsbury's is MUCH better in my opinion). It was here that I had my only truly hair-raising driving experience of the trip. It was one of those perfect storms of several people trying to exit/enter parking spaces at the same time and could just as easily have happened at my local supermarket. The crisis was short-lived, everyone made their decisions without hitting one another, and order was restored. We returned to Marazion with our dinner makings and spent a pleasant evening "home".

BBg, thanks for your reply. And annhig, that was a great tip, thank you. I'd never even heard of that place - I understand it is still fairly new. (It's also free, apparently, which is a big plus as no risk attaches to at least trying it out.)

I am designing a UK-suitable car. It will seat all of two people, in seats oriented not side by side but front to back, so the vehicle will be 3 feet wide. Children and grandma will ride on the roof, on a rack. The car will be clad in a special padded suit. Whereas James Bond's car had hidden weapons, this one will have forklifts to remove obstacles. And so on...

And annhig, that was a great tip, thank you. I'd never even heard of that place - I understand it is still fairly new. (It's also free, apparently, which is a big plus as no risk attaches to at least trying it out.)>>

if you're talking about Heartlands, Sue, you do have to pay for parking but as I say, not for entrance. And there is an excellent cafe. it sounds as if you are planning a trip to Cornwall - when are you coming?

And do let us know when you get the patent on your UK car - it sounds just the job.

BBgt - thanks for the description of what sounds like yet another lovely day. Glad you got to Godrevy - it's one of our favourite beaches.

Yes, Sue - Please do let us know how you're getting on with that car!

Ann - I remembered you saying you like Godrevy, and it has a lighthouse, so it was an easy sell.

Friday, May 27 - Last full day in Cornwall

We had considered driving to the Lizard Peninsula on this day, but by Thursday evening the idea had lost some of its appeal, and come the day, we really didn't feel like going very far afield. The gardens at St. Michael's Mount had been closed the day we'd visited the castle and it was shaping up to be another lovely day, so we decided to hop across the bay and explore a bit more of the Mount. It turned out to be the right decision for us, because we had a wonderful, relaxing day, and heard later that evening that there'd been a terrible accident on the A30 - possibly due to heavy traffic coming into Cornwall for the holiday.

The tide was high that morning, so the only option to get to the island was by ferry boat. We waited only a few minutes at the pier near the Godolphin Arms before a ferryman picked us up, and for a small fee we hopped aboard for the short, scenic journey.

We used our National Trust touring passes to enter the gardens and were immediately 'wow'd by views of the castle above us and the coastline beyond Marazion. We walked across the lush, green lawn toward the seaward side of the island and followed the pathway along the lower edge of the gardens. Smaller paths wound upward amongst rocky terraces, on which grew an astounding variety of exotic plants. The whole effect was absolutely stunning, with the sea on one side and the wondrous gardens on the other.

After we'd taken all the photos we could take, we stopped in at the Island Cafe for lunch and made the obligatory visit to the gift shop for a few more trinkets to take home. By this time the causeway had opened up, and we walked across to Marazion Beach, where we strolled for a bit before Mom headed back to the cottage and I headed for the car to return it to Enterprise. We'd decided to turn the car in on Friday and take a taxi to the train station for our departure on Saturday, mainly to save me the angst of trying to maneuver the car down our tiny lane to pick up luggage. I guess my driving confidence has its limits. :-) In any case, it seemed the more relaxing option, and I drove the short distance to Enterprise, had a thoroughly uneventful check-in (meaning I'd not inflicted any damage), then got a ride back to our cottage with the very nice young woman from the rental agency.

A bit later, before having our last supper at the cottage, Mom and I walked along Steps Beach, literally a stone's throw from our cottage. This quiet little beach is frequented only by locals as far as we could tell, and during the week we'd seen many a happy dog heading for the beach with human in tow. On this particular evening we saw only one human-dog pair. We spent a relaxing half hour walking, picking up shells and looking longingly out at views that we'd be saying good-bye to in the morning. The last night somewhere special is always bittersweet for me, and this was no exception.

Great write up.
NT (as Ann mentions) use a lot of volunteers, to help keep prices down.

Thanks, Bilboburgler. It's great that so many are willing to give their time to support the NT and other organizations (I'm sure RSPB and English Heritage must use volunteers as well).

Saturday, May 28 - Train to Newbury

We ate breakfast at the cottage for the last time and packed our last few things. I'd booked a taxi for 10:00, and while we waited I decided to walk down to Cobble Corner to pick up something I'd run out of. When I came back, I found Mom standing at a spot overlooking the beach, chatting away with a lady who had just arrived for the week and was out for a walk with her dog. We chatted a few more minutes, then the nice lady and her dog continued their walk and we said our goodbyes to our little slice of Cornish heaven.

The taxi driver arrived perfectly on time and I was very glad I'd decided to turn in the car a day early, because he had to do a bit of fancy maneuvering between a car of vacationers packing up to leave and a work van parked on the lane. We arrived at the train station rather early for our 11:00 train, which gave me time to look around at the station. Having accomplished that in about 30 seconds, I stood at the end of the tracks and watched for our train. It's quite evident you're at the end of the line when a train is coming in. I got a couple of great photos of the train heading straight toward me.

We boarded early and were pleased to find we were all alone in our first class car. Perhaps 2-3 other people boarded the whole time we were on the train, but we never heard or saw any of them after they boarded. The journey was pleasant and uneventful, and we enjoyed the lovely scenery as we passed through countryside and along the coast. Cornwall seemed to go on forever and I was struck by the thought that we'd really only seen the very tip of it. After about 3 hours we arrived at Taunton, where we made a very easy change to the train that would take us to Newbury.

I had booked a private taxi driver to take us to Heathrow from Newbury, and had also arranged to have him pick us up at the train station as we had a little side trip in mind. Mom has read a lot of Dick Francis books, and apparently most of his stories involve horse racing. She was curious to see a real English racecourse, and Ken, our driver, was happy to oblige. He met us at the train station and drove us straight to the Newbury Racecourse, then waited while we had a look around. He explained what some of the buildings were for and drove us around the back to see the stables. Mom was delighted with the visit and I was happy that she was happy. :-)

Ken drove us to the Carnarvon Arms, where we'd booked in for two nights, and told us he'd pick us up on Monday morning at 7:00 for our trip to Heathrow. We were quickly checked into our room by Dan, the general manager at C.A. and a very pleasant fellow. Our room was small, but very clean and nicely appointed. We wandered out to the restaurant, which consists of several rooms - all very tastefully decorated in country/horsey themes. The whole place has recently been refurbished and I'd say whoever did it did a fine job. It was a bit too early for dinner, so we explored the empty dining room and had a look round the outside while we waited. We were among the first to be seated for dinner, and we had delicious burgers and chips served by a very sweet young lady.

We talked to Dan about our best option for getting to Highclere in the morning, and although he had offered to drive us over, he said it would probably be faster to walk because of the anticipated traffic for the Highclere Country Fair, which coincided with our visit. I decided to take a walk to get a feel for the distance, and besides, it was a nice evening for a walk. Mom went to the room while I took my walk, and indeed - just as Dan said - Highclere was only minutes away. We amused ourselves with some British tv show until bedtime, then tucked ourselves up in exceptionally comfortable beds for a good night's sleep.

Thank-you for taking the time to share with us.

I got a couple of great photos of the train heading straight toward me.>>

i hope you didn't give the driver a heart attack!!

glad you enjoyed the train; I'm sure that for those sorts of journeys first class is well worth it, if you can afford it. And what a great idea to go to the Races - I'm a big Dick Francis fan too and my pleasure has not been diminished by the rumour that it was his wife who actually wrote them, assisted by Dick who provided the racing knowledge.

Shame that you only had time to see a little bit of Cornwall - we still haven't seen it all - but thank you for sharing your view of it with us.

No heart attacks, I hope. :-) I only meant I was able to see the train coming straight on because at the Penzance station, the tracks literally end a few feet away from the waiting area. The train isn't going very fast at that point!

I'd really like to come back to Cornwall and perhaps spend a week around Fowey, then a week further west. Actually, I'd like to spend a month in Cornwall, but don't see that on the horizon...

I know what you mean about not seeing it all, Ann - there's so much I haven't seen in my own state, much less my own country (and I've probably seen more than most). But as the taxi driver from Belfast told us when he picked us up at the Penzance train station, "Don't worry about what you don't see - just enjoy what you do see!"

But as the taxi driver from Belfast told us when he picked us up at the Penzance train station, "Don't worry about what you don't see - just enjoy what you do see!">>

Ah - the wisdom of the Irish! I wonder why we try so hard to fit in so much - after all it's obvious that you can't see everything, so why try? I know I feel happier when I've trimmed a trip down to what is realistic, but it's hard knowing what to leave out.

Yes Fowey is lovely as is the far west, the north coast, the Lizard, the Helford ....I could go on!

With regard to trimming - When we decided we wanted to visit Scotland and Cornwall, it seemed impossible to narrow our wish list down to a two and a half week trip. It wasn't until we resolved to pick a base in each that the trip seemed doable. We knew we would miss an awful lot of Scotland, and an awful lot of Cornwall - but we sure enjoyed what we saw!

Sunday, May 29 - Highclere Castle, last day of our trip )-:

I like to make the last full day of any trip as enjoyable as the first - in other words, I want to have something to look forward to other than the prospect of leaving the next day. We had both wanted to visit Highclere Castle, and since its opening dates coincided with our last couple of days in England and Newbury is a reasonable drive from Heathrow, it seemed the perfect stop for our last day.

We had morning tickets for Highclere, meaning we would be allowed entrance to the house and Egyptian exhibit between 10:30 and 1:00, so we had plenty of time to enjoy an excellent cooked breakfast at the Carnarvon Arms. We left the inn at about 10:00 and walked the short distance to Highclere's entrance, then the longer distance to the house itself. As Dan had warned, there was a long line of cars headed for the Highclere Castle Fair, but no worries as we were on foot. It took us about 20 minutes walking at a leisurely pace to reach the ticket booth for the Castle.

After reading the Countess of Carnarvon's books, Mom and I had both developed an interest in the house's history, including its stint as a hospital in WWI and the 5th Earl of Carnarvon's role in the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. One thing leading to another, I'd started reading the Countess's blog about the house and had mentioned to my mom that she seemed a very nice, funny lady and wouldn't it be lovely to meet her, never imagining that I would. I couldn't quite believe it then when I saw the Earl and Countess standing in front of the Castle, apparently for a photo shoot with some dapper fellow who was rather overdressed. I thought it was a funny coincidence that we had seen the Earl and Countess at all, but as it turned out, she was out and about all day and we saw her several times. We didn't get to say hello, though - until later ;-).

We toured the house, which was exactly as it looks on television but somehow smaller. The interior is lovely, but as all other stately homes we've visited in England, it's evident that maintaining such a house must be an enormous task. It's no wonder owners of such places invite film crews and the public into their homes - otherwise most of them wouldn't survive.

The Egyptian exhibit was interesting, but we didn't linger very long. I'd booked us a table for afternoon tea in the Coach house for 1:30, and at the appointed time we were shown to our table and were very quickly served with the most lovely tray of tea goodies - finger sandwiches, scones and sweets. We were also served flutes of sparkling champagne - very nice! We savored the experience, as did a lot of other guests, apparently, because everyone around us was taking photos of their tables, the food, each other... everyone seemed to be having fun.

After our tea we roamed the grounds, exploring the beautiful gardens and enjoying the glorious weather. We were in good company. It was such a beautiful day, and lots of people seemed to be savoring the day out and having a good time, picnicking on the lawn, strolling the garden, eating at the outdoor cafe and taking photos of one another. We visited the gift shop and went a little crazy buying goodies for friends back home, wandered the grounds a little more, and at 5:00 finally made our way toward the entrance gate. It was there that I got to say hello to the Countess. She was right near the gate, and we said hello and told her how much we'd enjoyed our day. She asked if we'd managed to eat a lot, and said with a laugh that's what she would have done. :-)

Since we were on foot and most everyone else was driving, we had the long lane back toward the main road to ourselves. Just before leaving the estate, a Spitfire - part of the airshow at the Country Fair - flew over our heads and did loop-de-loos. We stood and enjoyed our private airshow for a few minutes, then made our way back to the Carnarvon Arms. We had another delicious dinner that evening, packed our bags in preparation for the morning departure, and called it a night.

Oh, my, what a lovely last day you had!

I know that bittersweet feeling - and am feeling it all over again as I finish writing my own trip report.

But what a wonderful trip you had and how lovely to share it with your mother. I know I said that before but having lost my mom a few years ago, I miss sharing those special moments with her. You are very fortunate.

Thank you, LCBoniti. Oh dear - you've brought tears to my eyes. How right you are - I will cherish those memories forever! I'm going to wrap up this report with a quick little note on our departure day:

Monday, May 30 - All good things must come to an end....

We had arranged to have our driver pick us up at 7:30, so it seemed we would miss breakfast. Dan, the manager at the Carnarvon Arms, wouldn't hear of it. He told us to come into the dining room at 7:00 and he'd fix us up with something cold. Sure enough, Dan met us in the dining room and set out a buffet of cereals, juices, tea, milk and fruit, so we were able to have something to eat before our driver arrived.

Ken picked us up promptly at 7:30 and we had a lovely chat all the way to Heathrow. It was very interesting to hear his perspective on the queen (he'd met her once at his regiment's review years ago), and on the Countess of Carnarvon (he deemed her a really nice, regular person who appreciates her role and takes a very active part in community events). If anyone needs a recommendation for a private driver in Newbury, I can heartily endorse Ken and will be happy to supply his contact info via private message.

We had a wonderful trip, and whether or not it turns out to be our last trip to Britain together, we have those memories to look back on for years to come. Thanks to all who've given their input during the planning process and in response to this report.

Thank you for a great trip report.

BBgt thank you for pointing me to your trip report.

I enjoyed your trip report very much, thank you for taking the time! I'm taking some notes ;-)

You also answered a question I was going to post on my thread, which was if I should get a map. If I can get GPS with the car, all the better (duh, have no idea why I didn't think of that except I never get GPS with a car rental in the US as I use the Google Map app).

You also brought back great memories of my first trip overseas when I was 17-to Scotland. Some memories are crystal clear, others less so. It's made me want to go re-read my travel journal from that time. My first travel journal ever.