Ninety Minutes drive from Devon into North Cornwall following the A30 finds us in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Not visited for some years since summers spent caravanning, these little gems are worth a visit at any time of the year.
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One tidy looking Morgan |
Port Isaac is now on the world map, popularised by the Doc Martin TV series and today was being viewed by visitors, some from overseas. One young man from Australia was overheard talking to the fisherman specialising in local Crab and Lobster.
Helen and me enjoyed a coffee and breakfast at the Chapel Cafe. Paintings on show by local artist Barbara Hawkins, tempted us to bring home some lovely prints.
Further south along the coast is Polzeath, and briefly we stopped to wonder what had happened to it. Driving the Morgan onto the beach was easy enough, and we might have stopped to enjoy an ice cream but no; the ambiance once enjoyed was no longer to be found. Along the cliff road to the north, where once we watched the surf, much development is ongoing today, of the box and geometric shaped sort, glass panelled balconies, sky high floor to ceiling tinted windows, and polished stainless steel fitments.
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Port Isaac |
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Behind the scenes where the fishing gear is stored |
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Gun recovered from a shipwreck six miles offshore, sunk by a German U boat in 1918. The gun was salvaged by the Laughton Sub Aqua Club and brought ashore in 1991 |
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A brief stop on the sand |
Time to leave Polzeath behind and remember it as it it once was. Or is it us two pensioners who have changed? All said and done, the sand is soft, the sea as blue, and just as inviting as always was.
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Port Quin all but abandoned |
Next stop Port Quin which is now adopted by the National Trust.
A one time thriving port and fishing village supporting hundreds, but long since deserted. Said to have been abandoned following a violent storm that took the lives of its fisherman. Even now there seems to be that indefinable sense of loss about the place. The lush green hedges belong to the sparrows, rather than the hardened hands that built them. I find a small twig of Sea Buckthorn to add to my store of Bonsai cuttings. There are very substantial ancient tumbledown walls, what remains of Fish Cellars, once an important part of the Pilchard curing industry.
In the National Trust car park we found this mobile Citroen Van snack bar, so stopped for a quiet moment in the sun, a coffee and chocolate rocky road at Fiona's Cafe
Her restored van was admired and we talked about the restorer we had met the previous year in the ferry port of Dieppe H4 Citroen Vans due for restoration
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For restoration, for the streets of New York - or the honey-pots of Cornwall. |
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