Cornwall to Wales!

Sorry about the abrupt disappearance!  So much for the two days in one, I’m afraid.  I meant to save a draft, but ended up publishing the blog half done!  We left to go to a nearby pub for dinner – with plans of returning to the room to finish up the blog post…. but we met some really interesting and talkative people,  ended up sitting with them, sharing a couple of pints with them, and exchanging email addresses.  We retuned to our B&B right around midnight and were LOCKED OUT!  This is the first time that has ever happened!  John had to ring the buzzer and the proprietress appeared and apologized profusely, claiming she thought we were in our room.  Oh well.  Needless to say, we didn’t get back to finish up the blog.  Then Wednesday – the one and only night we did not have pre-booked for this trip, we ended up in a cute little B&B somewhere in mid-Wales that did not have Wi-Fi.  Hence, I am posting this on Thursday! 

So, let’s go backwards for a bit!  Where did we leave off?  Ahhhh yes, we were in Cornwall.  We went to St. Michaels Mount – which I have already blogged about – and then it was onward to Lands End, the very southwestern tip of England.   To be honest, there’s not much there…high cliffs above the sea, a lighthouse, and some rather cheesy shops for souvenirs.  There was also a restaurant which served “cream tea” and so we indulged! 

Here it is, the scones and clotted cream with strawberry jam and hot tea of course!  It was SO good!  I think that may be my one and only clotted cream experience.  Yes, it was good but my goodness, it was SO rich.

We asked a guy at Land’s End to snap a shot of us together – here we are, the “buzzers around Britain”.  Maybe I should change that to “buzzards”?  Ha!

Later that evening we made our way to the Minack Theatre on the Cornwall coast.  I’d read about this place online and thought it might be an interesting experience to attend a performance there.  Because it is literally beside the sea, I was worried that it would pour rain, or we’d freeze to death, or both.  It didn’t actually rain at all, but certainly did a LOT of “misting”.  It did get a bit chilly, but nothing too miserable.  We saw a production of “Othello” put on by a traveling troupe of actors called “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”.  I’ll freely admit I’ve never seen anything by Shakespeare, nor had John.  I have read very little by Shakespeare, and because of that I was somewhat wary of how well I’d be able to either understand what was going on or truly enjoy it.  What a pleasant surprise it was!!!  I could follow the play and enjoyed it thoroughly!  In fact, “enjoy” may not be the right word for this…. It was stupendous!  We both absolutely loved it!  I believe it was a mix of the setting, the professionalism of the actors, and the play itself that combined for this huge “home run” of an event!  If you are EVER in Cornwall, do go to see something at the Minack.  You’ll be glad you did!  Here is a picture of the theatre, carved literally out of the seaside cliff.

The next morning (Tuesday Sept 8) we woke to gray skies.  With all the fine weather we’ve experienced, we refused to be too disappointed about it.  We began our drive up the north Cornwall coast, to North Devon.  As always, the scenery was ever so lovely.  The ocean, green rolling hills, and pastures of sheep and cows divided by hedgerows. 

After several hours of driving, we reached our destination for the day – Lynton in north Devon, located within the boundaries of Exmoor National Park.  Lynton is situated high on a cliff near the ocean.  A mile away is Lynmouth – a tiny village deep in a valley. 

Here is a photo of Lynmouth at low tide.  There seems to be no sand here, just medium sized rocks all along the water’s edge.  Not great for kiddies and sandcastles, I’d say.  Our B&B was spotlessly clean, lovely new comfortable bed, but the owner was so odd.  She appeared (to us) to have “glued on a smile” but underneath, we think she hates meeting people, making small talk, cooking breakfast for strangers, and last but not least, cleaning up after them.  I say – if you hate your job that much, do yourself and everyone else a favor and find a new profession!  John simply called her “the bat”.  This is the same woman who locked us out of the house – as earlier mentioned.  

As I said before, we had a great evening at a local pub in Lynton.  There is a cat that “makes the rounds” from his home to the pub and back several times a day.  He hopped up right next to me, and how could I resist?  Especially since he looked so much like my very own Jinx! Check it out! 

Here are the fun folks we met!  Dan and Justine from Plymouth in Cornwall. 

They are avid “ramblers” – that means “hikers” to all our American friends.

Wednesday (Sept 9) we woke to brilliant sunshine!  The weatherman says the warm front will stay with us for about three days, for which we are very thankful.  How’s this for some stunning north Devon scenery?

Soon we crossed the Severn River into Wales. Our first stop in Wales was in Abergavenny for lunch.  I told John, “I could live here, let’s move”!!  Such a lovely village!  He just rolled his eyes at me.  I’ll never get John to live over here.  Never. 

And now -- time for some more FOOD pictures!!  I only snap shots of food if they are at least somewhat interesting.  This lunch was definitely interesting!  You’ve heard the old adage…. “When in Rome…..”  Well, when in Wales………… have some………… Welsh rarebit!!  (Aka cheese on toast).  Here it is my first Welsh meal!

This rarebit was done with farmhouse cheddar cheese, leeks on top, and a small salad on the side – and oh my, was it ever tasty!!  John raved about his lunch as well.  Here it is:

You know what they call this here in Wales?  “Cowl”.  We’d never heard of that one before.  It was a lamb stew made with new potatoes, celery, carrots, and plenty of Swedes (known as rutabagas in the states).  It was half gone by the time I took this picture.  It came with some yummy bread as well.

Here’s a roadside sign – all Welsh towns are spelled out in both English and Welsh. 

We walked to the pub for dinner on Wednesday evening and there were two young fellows in there chatting away in the Welsh language.  I think it’s great that they have done so much to preserve their language as well as their heritage.  On the walk back to our B&B from the pub, I snapped this next photo.

I love this picture.  I just love it.  Dusk is coming, the trees are just barely beginning to get some autumn color, and the evening is at peace.  Yes, I could call it “peaceful evening”. 

Last but not least for this post – the B&B we “found” for our one un-booked night.  This night we got lucky.  A nice B&B, just a walk away from the pub, and such lovely, friendly people!  

There will be more to come from north Wales ~ your buzzing around Britain bloggers,