Dartmoor, Penzance and a tacky "cottage"

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Geo: 50.4713, -4.71761

When I got up in the morning and went for a walk, I had to pass through the dining room to get outside. I just chuckled when I saw our table, complete with 5 chairs and an American flag. Really pretty little lane, with a ton of houses that I'd be happy to own. We took off for a drive through Dartmoor on our way to Land's End. Had to first get past the ponies. We had quite an adventure in some portions, with the tiny roads and all, but it was fun. Stopped at Buckland the town (hamlet), thinking it might be where Buckland Abbey was. Silly us. It wasn't, but we visited their little church as long as we were there. We did find Buckland Abbey, and Mom & Sara braved the cold to go see it (although it was closed -- seemed to be a running theme for this trip). Julie, Katie and I sought refuge in the van.

We decided after such a long day of driving that Land's End wasn't really necessary; Penzance would do just fine. And since there were gale force winds driving the rain into the side of the van, I suspect it all looked pretty similar anyway. Penzance would be a great town to visit on a nicer day. We drove around the coastline, and then over towards St. Michael's Mount. We didn't head out there, but given the weather, we're probably just as glad.

We'd learned our lesson from the night before, and had made lodging arrangements at the Penzance information bureau. They set us up in a "cottage" near Bodmin - fabulous! We got ourselves a bit lost along the way (trying to avoid what looked to be a pretty heinous traffic jam on the A30), but eventually found our way to the "cottage". It was actually just half of someone's house. It was clean enough, but there has never been a better candidate for "Changing Rooms" than this place. Burlap wallpaper on the bottom, and nasty old floral wallpaper above, coupled with mis-matched pictures, lamps, gaudy furniture, tacky knick-knacks....made me feel much better about my own decorating skills. We drove to a pub in nearby St. Mabyn for dinner, then headed back for an early turn-in.

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Photos

Edgemoor
Such a happy find this was.

Dartmoor ponies
Wild horses, just hanging out wherever they pleased....even on "our" road.

Buckland church
Not the abbey we were searching for, but cute, regardless.

Penzance
It was just windy, and rainy, and miserable. But I'm sure it's a lovely place, when it's nice weather.....