Blogs from Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 14

Well, after bemoaning the lack of photos on the blog you'll be delighted to know that on looking at the full iPhoto file there are about 3500 pics! So to make life a tad less soporific I'm in the process of deleting vast swathes of seriously awful shots. Me in the tent, me and the bike, me cooking pasta and ragout for the zillionth time and a lot of other rubbish shots. I hope to post a couple of dozen exquisitely composed works of photographic art to encapsulate the glories and futilities of peddling 19800km. Don't hold your breath. It'll take a minute or two to create. Meanwhile, apart from some readjustment to single figure temperatures, wearing socks and shoes, saying 'Yes dear' to almost all Lins suggestions, getting the hang of grandfatherhood, life is continuing ... read more

Many signs and business names at Land's End, and throughout this southwestern part of Cornwall, reflect the theme of "start and finish" or "beginning and end" or "first and last." This is because, for end-to-enders like us, this area is either the completion of a long, tiring journey or the initiation of the same. For us, it is the start. While we still have the energy, enthusiasm, and optimism of journey starters, still it required a bit of effort, and a few adventures, to reach the beginning today, and we are already feeling a sense of accomplishment for that. The flight over from Seattle via Iceland to Gatwick went surprisingly well even though we were surprised that Icelandair did not provide complimentary meals and we had to satisfy ourselves with mediocre chef's salads at $14 per. ... read more

At the weekends we are free to roam Devon and Cornwall. This particular Saturday we decided to visit Boscastle. It is a small town much like most of them round these here parts. We went to the witch museum which we both found interesting and also disturbing as there were many witch hunts and trials during the 15th to 17th centuries, these were known as the 'burning times'. Pretty nasty stuff, torture was used to obtain confessions of being a witch. One of the many ways to do this was to strap them on a chair and weigh them against a bible, if they were lighter than the bible they were hung. Another form of torture was to put them in a sack and throw them into the water, if they floated they were witches and ... read more

We decided that a test camp would be a good idea. The plan was to pack all the kit and take it for a test run to make sure we knew how everything works and make sure we had everything we need. Last year we went camping in Cornwall so we could have some time on our own and the kids (squids) can spend some time with there dad who lives down there. So we packed up what we had and went. We had a few issues once down there. One being our tent leaked along with other things like our airbed being way to small and not holding air. Anyway. This Easter weekend we are going back down the Cornwall to go camping and use all our kit. Now for those of you reading this ... read more

Throughout the night the wind buffeted Georgie and the rain continued to hit her at every angle, we stayed snug and warm inside her, a great shower this morning while Woolly slept…… Woolly says – I was conserving energy!!! The rain was still lashing down although the wind had calmed somewhat we regretfully decided to head onwards and leave Padstow behind us. With gusts blowing Georgie every which way and Ian working hard at the wheel and, the girls attached to the windscreen actually agreeing for once, we set sail for the end of the world!!! No not the end of the world Woolly, Lands End, it’s the most south westerly point of the UK and is famous for the distance between there and John O’Groats in Scotland. Woolly says – going past strange fields of ... read more