The Cornish Trip Sunday 25th Oct – Friday 30th Oct

Sunday 25th Oct 

Picked up Roxy at the farm and drove down to Waitrose in Salisbury to get fuel and LPG for the first time.  An experience without any drama but I did ask for advice from the service crew as I really did not want things to go wrong. Not sure why I bothered really as it is very straight forward.

Loaded Roxy with lots of bits and pieces plus food and drink for the week. Eventually left Salisbury about 10.30 ish a little late than planned.  We had been to Go Camping in Southampton on Friday night and had bought pegs and tables for our week away.  Also bought a very nice light weight outdoor jacket from by Marmut.  It was not until Saturday evening that we discovered that the security tag was still attached1 We decided to get this removed but from the store in Taunton on the way down.

So after very sunny delightful drive down to Taunton we found the store just off the M5.  Clothes tag done we were soon off down the motorway traveling south west.  Turning off at Exeter we went over the top route down into Cornwall.  A quick snack on the way but by 5pm we had made it to  , just as the sun was setting.  A quick overview of the CL showed that it was slightly sloping, the grass very long and wet.  Choosing to site Roxy by the entrance we soon had the wind blocker up ( our new purchase ), kettle on and even had time to walk around the field with the boys.

Sadly thats when it rained and boy did it rain!  So slid out the tv from its cupboard but no luck.  It would not lock onto a channel and keep it.  Really disappointing after taking the time to go and get this all sorted with Vanbitz before coming away.  A telephone call in the morning me thinks!  However we did watch a DVD and had more wine!

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The settlement here is known as Restronguet Barton. Despite the illusion of being a French word, Restronguet is pronounced as if it contained no “u” and it was like any other Cornish place name: “re-stron-get”, with the emphasis on the middle syllable. The reason is that it was originally a Cornish name, starting withros, meaning “promontory”. The other part has been suggested as coming from tron (literally “throne”, also used to mean “elevated”) and koes (meaning “wooded”). Alternatively it could be from the less glamorous stronk, meaning “dirty water”. It’s possible that the spelling gained its French appearance after the Norman invasion.

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Monday 26th Oct

A wet day – all day, so Kaz decided to catch up on school stuff.  I have had a great day just reading and listening to music.  Both of us though have listened to rain pelting the van roof seemingly for ages .  We have contacted Vanbitz and booked in to see them on Friday at 2 pm.  We walked the dogs down to the Weir and back.  Have been watching and counting the pheasants gathering in the field – loads.  Their crowing call is also rather annoying as it starts the boys off. An old Ealing comedy DVD (The TItchfield Thunderbolt)  and scrabble tonight is on the agenda and probably a glass or three.

Tuesday 27th Oct 

This morning after another wet night and very wet morning we decided that we would move on.  However by 10am another check of the weather showed that it was going to stop raining and get brighter, which it did so we have decided to stay but move on Thursday, a day earlier.  We have also moved our Vanbitz meeting to 10am so are going to stay at a Britstop pub near Taunton on Thursday night.

After a very late breakfast we took the boys for a walk down to the Weir and along to the Pandora Inn for lunch! ( http://www.pandorainn.com )  Brilliant food with local fish to go with their super chips.  The boys did not find it easy to settle outside with other dogs passing – even after being tempted by some of my chips.  Oh well they are so much better than they used to be.

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The Pandora Inn dates back to the 13th Century, when there was a farm on the site. Later it became an Inn and was known as the Passage House as a boat was kept there to link the post road from Truro to Falmouth, which cut across the creek. The Inn changed its name to The Ship and was finally renamed in memory of the HMS Pandora sent to Tahiti to capture the mutineers from the Bounty. The captain of the HMS Pandora was from Cornwall and is reputed to have bought the inn on his return. The HMS Pandora was ill-fated, sinking on the Great Barrier Reef with the loss of many of the crew and mutineers, and the pub also had its share of bad fortune in 2011 when a fire badly damaged the building. The proverbial silver lining was that fire had destroyed all the 1970s additions to the pub, and it has now been restored using traditional materials and building methods.

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Continuing around the headline via Greathead we were back inside Roxy before the rain started again.

I am now sitting typing this up at 5.30 watching the sun setting over the hillside after another mixed day of weather.

A new book is calling whilst Kaz is still on school work.

Wednesday 28th Oct

Another rainy morning although it was quiet over night for a change.  When it stops I will pop out for a walk with the boys.  Actually we both decided to brave the weather and all walked down to Mylor Bridge and around the headland.

That evening another MoHo with Nik and Serena Taylor and their two dogs arrived. I did brave the weather to walk over and welcome them and give them some warning of the site.  They are much more experienced than us, being full timers for some years now.  They still accepted my site observations with grace. They can be followed on their web site www.ontourwithdaisy.co.uk

Thursday 29th Oct

While K got the van ready to travel I went off for a final walk with the boys down to the creek and met a couple walking their three Tibetan Mountain dogs.  Expecting the worst from Brandy, leads went on both and pulled into a space for them to pass.  Wow not a word from either of them! I let them off the leads for them to make friends, which they did and they all were very settled.  At one point I actually saw Brandy sitting between two of them licking their paws.  Spent a long time chatting to Andrew and Juliette about things.  It was really nice not feeling in a hurry.

Before leaving I said farewell to Nik and Serena and their two dogs.  This was the first time I had met any full timers and ones with a web site too.  A feeling of being in the MoHo club overtook me.

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This site is a great base for walking with or without dogs.  I am sure it would also be better in the summer when the grass is cut and it does not rain.  However the site slopes and you must chose your location and position carefully.  Broadband was bad and so was the
tv satellite, well actually we could not get it!  There was no one else here when we arrive but a quick check of the site showed that the long grass would be a problem if wet.  We chose the top by the entrance and pleased we did as it rained a lot. The site seems rather basic and almost forgotten with dripping taps and generally overgrown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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That night we stopped at the Lamb and Flag in Blagdon.  What a drive over there from Taunton down narrow lanes that seemed to get worse as it got darker.  Seriously thinking of getting a MoHo sat nav rather than the car version after this.

The pub is (http://lambandflag.co.uk) a great place to stopover.  Parking up in the far corner of the carpark we were given an electric lead by a lady who had just opened up. Whilst connecting up Brandy decided to go on a walk about and ended up in the pub to be retrieved by yours truly who had to try the beer once inside.  Could not wait to get back for our evening meal.  We had booked a table when we had previously checked for space.  It was a super evening and even better that we did not need to drive afterwards.  Cannot remember now whether the boys had been a nuisance in the van barking but hopefully not.  They need to get used to us been out and about for the future trips. We will definitely use Britstops outlets again.   http://www.britstops.com

Friday 30th Oct

After a quick breakfast we were off to Vanbitz again which was only a couple of miles away.  Well after a retune of the tv to the satellite everything was working.  They also gave us an app to be able to locate the satellites in the future.  This all only took about an hour and we spent the rest of the day driving back to far, unpacking and putting Roxie to bed.  This has put us both on a high for our next long trip away.