Oldies On Tour

Wednesday 26th July 2023

Having joined “BritStop”, an umbrella organisation offering pub car parks for free overnight motorhome parking, no doubt hoping you will frequent the pub.   We decided to give it a try, so left this afternoon and booked in at the “Portsmouth Arms Inn” Umberleigh, situated in the Taw Valley.  We are actually booked into  “Incledon Farm”, the same campsite we were at in June, for tomorrow.

After a dreadful journey in the pouring rain we arrived at the pub car park, one other motorhome parked, otherwise empty, well at the moment!!  Around 1830hrs the car park suddenly filled up so not having booked a table decided to join them.

The landlord, Stephen, an affable chap with plenty of front of house charisma welcomed us, sorted a table and even took the drink order “and” then delivered them!!  The food order on the other hand took longer to arrive due to a bar full of holiday makers who all ordered food and shortages staffed; we were the last to arrive as well.

Later in the evening after the diners had all left, Stephen sat down and chatted with us, 

and low and behold it turns out there is some fascinating local history around here.  He informed us this building dates back to 1420 and the interior is still in keeping with its low ceilings and dark wooden beams, as he said, centuries of history within the thick stone walls with many stories of death and debauchery.  

In the late 1700’s the 4th Earl of Portsmouth, a politician before he inherited the title, built the turnpike from Exeter and Barnstable but later, being a champion of railways he supported the construction of a railway along the same route.  The pub was named in his honour.  The railway company decided to have a station about 50-meters down the road and named the station “The Portsmouth Arms”; This is the only station in the U.K. with a name of a pub and the railway still runs today and trains stop at The Portsmouth Arms Station.

After our chat it was time to head back to the car park for our free night which turned out quite expensive in the end😂🤣. “No Such Thing As A Free Lunch”

Tuesday 10th July 2023

Christine was up at the crack of dawn to join Jane and her childhood friend Jo for a beach walk with the three dogs, obviously Tom-Tom and Rosie were besides themselves when we got back yesterday, and they were the same this morning so a good beach walk will calm them down. This worked well; whilst Christine had her nails done, I took them to the local park but the last thing they wanted to do was run about!!!!

Back home in time to enjoy the pasties we bought from the “Pasty Shop” in Port Issac for lunch, we also had the “team” back to complete our bedroom wardrobe doors and we’d also arranged for our last hall door to be delivered.  Everything had to be squeezed in including the washing etc; it has to be done as we’re off again tomorrow to London via a night just outside Burford. We’ve also got to sort out guest room as we have dog sitters whilst in London. 

Wednesday 11th July 2023

With all the work done, car packed we waited for our dog sitters to arrive mid morning.   This is a new experience for us but was recommended to this idea by friends; fingers crossed🤞🤞🤞

Our dog sitters arrived on time and after introducing them to the dogs and settling them in we hit the road: Cirencester for lunch today at “The Bear”, another “Butcombe” pub that offers its members 25% discount on food every Wednesday!!

After a very pleasant drive through the Cotswolds with a detour to Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm shop; good gracious cars everywhere, and the queue to get into the shop was long, we took a picture and headed off again through beautiful Bidbury and arrived at our hotel for the night; “The Inn Of All Seasons”, tonight we are on a fact-finding mission as we are looking for a suitable venue to celebrate my 80th.  When we booked we chose one of the dog rooms but not having them we tried to change to a normal room but alas, all pre-booked; getting into this hotel is difficult as it is so popular.  One reason for its popularity is the history of the place as well it’s location as the gateway into the Cotswolds. 

The original part of the Inn, now the bar area, was built in the 1500s and started out as quarry cottages housing quarry men and their families employed by the Barrington Estate and quarrying Cotswold stone.  With the arrival of the highway in the 1700’s the building became a coaching inn and later extended to accommodate coaching passengers and other travellers travelling between London, Oxford, the West and Wales.   The Inn’s current Coach House is to the east side of the main building and dates back to the 1870s; it has now been converted into comfortable guest accommodation. During the stage coach era it was known as “The New Inn” and provided an essential stopping place for horses, carriages, stage coaches etc., and today the “Inn For All Seasons” still provides hospitality to travellers, but this time for motorists!!

In 1960 The Barrington Estate sold “The New Inn” to Jeremy Taylor, The “Horse Master”, a well known figure in the film industry providing horses for period films from The Man For All seasons to Lawrence of Arabia and everything in between.  In homage to Jeremy’s career, the name was changed in the late 60’s to “The In For All Seasons” (from his film A Man For All Seasons) and it has now been sympathetically but substantially updated for the modern day traveller, yet still retaining many of its original features. The current owners, Eddie and Melanie Hillier, very experienced hoteliers bought the hotel in December 2016. 

We stayed in one of the outbuildings, very comfortable and of course perfect the dogs we didn’t have!!!   Being a Wednesday night, the restaurant wasn’t to busy but never less the food was excellent, the chef did us proud.  After dinner I stayed around the bar getting the “low-down” on the place whilst Christine, being tired, headed off to bed.

Tomorrow we head to London to meet Andrew and Elton, returning home Saturday.

Monday 10th July 2023

Our decision is to give Sainsbury a miss and forget the breakfast comparison competition, instead we would finish the fruit we brought with us and have lunch out in “Port Issac”.

Today we woke up to rain but can’t complain as we have just had 4 days of sunshine but again the “gods” smiled upon us, the rain stopped for us to load up the car!  With a little sadness we headed out of town, vowing to return in the near future but today, Port Issac, here we come. 

Having skipped breakfast we decided to stop off in St Agnes, a smallish but pretty little village with its heritage of industrial archaeology but today, tourism.  It didn’t take long to find a nice, quaint place to stop for a break and luckily there was a “free” carpark a few meters away.  The place was called “The Bull Frog”, a strange name we thought in a very old cottage but well decorated and had a comprehensive menu, from cakes to alcohol but we plumped for “cream teas”, just had to be done!!!!

“Fully Loaded”, we headed to Port Issac but Christine wanted to take a detour to see the Cornish lavender fields at Perranporth but when we arrived the place is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays but even worse, we could even see the fields through the fence, they are “over-the-brow-of-the-hill”, not a happy chap!  Arriving at the new “BIG” carpark at the top of the hill that leads down to the harbour and surrounding cottages. Thanks to Doc Martin and then the Fishermen’s Friends, this village is a very “hot” tourist destination hence the new carpark and big signs banning cars from the narrow streets at the bottom.  After all the steps at St Michael’s Mount yesterday, my knee was complaining so out came “Solo” and off we trotted down the steep hill, (I hope I can get back up!!!) through the very narrow streets down to the harbour and headed into “The Mote” the pub on the harbour that specialises in fish.  I enjoyed a large plate of Mussels while Christine dived into their smoked Mackerel pate, both accompanied with big fat chips, lovely. 

After lunch we wandered around the village identifying the various buildings from the Doc Martin programmes, though the only one we couldn’t find was the “Police Station”.  Having watched the Fishermen’s Friends on Saturday, it was fitting we should come here. 

There is quite a lot of history here, it is surprising how busy this little port was during the Middle Ages then as it’s use as a port wained, it became a fishing port with Pilchards being the main fish caught until the Pilchards shoals started to decline after WW1, and tourism became the mainstay, though they still fish for crabs, lobsters etc.

Heading back we bought some past pasties to take home for our tea later, and ice creams to give us a boost heading back up that hill.   The narrow street was steep but one particular section was extra steep and “Solo” refused to go any further😡😡, he just stopped, he’d had enough but we had a cunning plan, Christine took over and the reduction of circa 30kg did the job, it went straight up the hill 😂😂

Back in the car park as the weather started to break, it started to rain again but again we were lucky, no rain as we wandered around Port Issac.   Next stop Weston S Mare general hospital to pay a fleeting visit to Dave

Tonight we are stopping at Hope Farm as we have to be in W-S-M in the morning

Sunday 9th July 2023

Today we are heading to St Michael’s Mount, the island off Penzance with a castle on top.  At low tide one can walk over the causeway but at others, the only way is by boat but before catching the boat, tickets have to be bought on line.

Today our breakfast venue was Tesco as they opened at 1000hrs, Sainsbury opened at 1100hrs so they will be tomorrow’s venue.  We walked into the store only to be told they don’t have a cafe, What???   So we headed back to  Morrisons arriving a little after 10.00 am when they opened but by to our surprise they were already very busy.   We ordered but due to being so busy it took just over half an hour for it to arrive, so they will lose points for that!!!

We headed off to the small village of Marazion where the boats leave for St Michael’s. We parked easily, then along with many others, searched for the jetty they leave from.   The signage was non-existent and there was no one to ask!!  Eventually we walked down an ally and found the jetty, it turned out there are two but the state of the tide dictates which one gets used; fine but tell people!!!!

The sun is out though rain is again forecast so we were armed with anoraks etc., and the sea across to the island looked calm, good job as they are only small boats, ours took 12 people but there were seven today running continuously, so minimal waiting.

St Michael’s Mount is a National Trust property and as we are now back in England and spending holiday time here it seemed appropriate to re-join the Trust, so did so on line and the result of course, being members there was no entry fee.

The 5-minute boat ride was uneventful and we were deposited at the end of the harbour mole, so the walk began.   Firstly everywhere is cobblestones, but not normal, uniform ones, oh no, these were basically flattened stones of every conceivable size so one had to walk with care.    Next the climb, something I was dreading but it has to be done; can’t give in and with Christine’s encouragement and a number of stops along the way we arrived at the castle entrance, great.  Unfortunately upon entering the castle we were confronted with more steps!!!

St Michael’s Mount: The monastery that became a castle that became a home

This castle is perched on top of a granite rock just off the coast; obviously a good defensive position, and the sort of place that would appeal to holy men back in 495AD when the first church was built up there, followed by a monastery few hundred years later, both dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of fishermen. This is England’s  answer to Mont Saint Michel, just off the Normandy coast of France.  Over the years there has been much “activity” over ownership but in 1659 it was sold to Colonel John St Aubyn, an MP at the time who had served in Cromwell’s Parliamentary army, since then his descendants, the Lords St Levan have remained.   Apart from the castle there are a number of cottages and a community still living there with children having to ferry over to the mainland to attend school. 

In spite of the gloomy weather forecast, the sun was shining and the views from the battlements over Cornwall were lovely.   Wandering around the castle was interesting but as usual whilst visiting these places, there is never enough time to take a good look at everything, especially as we had the daunting prospect of retracing our steps back down the steep stony pathway; also being a Sunday it was rather busy.

Back down in the harbour with the causeway still under water, we had to buy 2-more boat tickets; they don’t sell return tickets🤔🤔

Having enjoyed a late Morrisons breakfast, we headed back “home” and as luck would have it, get back in time for the British Grand Prix, good planning or what!!!

After an exciting GP with two British drivers on the podium and hearing England had clinched a win at Headingly in the ashes, we headed into town for dinner.   Tonight we went to the Admiral Benbow, the oldest pub in Penzance, serving rum ti pirates and smugglers since 1695.  It was a rather dark and pokey place but the food was nice and beer good, what else matters though Christine was pleased it was dark as the place looked as if it could do with a deep clean!!!

We headed back through the town, but everything was shut and the place was dead, then back through Penlee Park and had a listen to the group performing at the outside theatre, but not for long as we weren’t impressed!!!

Our last day today put this short break has wetted our appetites so will defiantly be back to visit Cornwall, but for longer next time.

Saturday 8th July 2023

Today we are heading to Lands End, but first Breakfast.  As we drove into Penzance yesterday we noticed a Morrisons Store, across the roundabout a Sainsbury Store, and a little further down the road, a Tesco Store, all “big” superstores.  As we are in a self catering we have decided to breakfast out, but more, we have three mornings here so will breakfast in all three supermarket cafes and judge each one, see which is the best! Today we will sample Morrisons, so off we headed.

After a really enjoyable, well cooked, hot and well presented breakfast we headed to Lands end, but much to Christine’s disgust I went using the narrow lanes, I was not her favourite person🥶🥶, but my thinking is obvious, we see more of the countryside!!  

My my how things have changed since we last visited (different lives!) Lands End, everything is so commercialised, even the “several” car parks had numerous stewards controlling everyone, naturally we paid for them!!!    We had a good wander around in the sun though it was a little windy, enjoyed a coffee and ice cream before heading back via the souvenir shops.

Before I go any further I must praise Tyla (my Granddaughter),  now a fully qualified physiotherapist, she has given me several exercises and these have improved my mobility no end; thank you Tyla I can now join Christine out and about more.

Discretion being the better part of Valor, we headed back along the main road though I did insist on a detour and visit the small fishing village of “Mousehole” which by definition is down a narrow country lane🤔.   After driving down the hill through the narrow streets we arrived at the harbour only to find the two car parks full; the village was full, so regretfully we headed out, and that was not as easy as it sounds due to the “one-way” system around the narrow streets.    Eventually SatNav sorted us out and took us along the coast road through Newlyn back to Penzance.   

Tonight is the performance we have tickets for so need to eat early, but we got back too early so headed to our “home” for these few days and by coincidence, we were in time to watch the qualifying for the British Grand Prix, win win🤠🤠.

Christine decided tonight we would have fish and chips, not in a restaurant but on a bench on the promenade 😟😟, not my “cup-of-tea”, her only concession to me was to take a knife and fork from our self catering place.    Again we looked up the best fish and chip place to go to In Penzance and when we arrived there was a long queue; either good marketing or really good fish and chips.

As “directed” I secured the bench to sit on the sea front and Christine brought over the freshly cooked meal and in-spite of my dislike of eating out of a paper bag in a cardboard box, I did enjoy them; they were delicious, and trip advisor was right.

We now headed to Penlee Park as we had been advised to get there early to secure a good seat; we were early alright, two hours early!!!   Worse, the cafe opposite was closed so we only had the Test Match to listen to.   We did try the staff entrance and get in early but we got a resounding “no”, but did find out they had a bar inside and also after chatting to the “official”, we managed to get our places reserved, a space for me on the scooter and a chair, the bonus of this meant Christine didn’t have to stand in the queue which started about hall an hour before the gates opened, which was one hour before the performance starts!!

At 1830hrs the gates opened so headed to the bar to stock up with beer and wine before taking up our reserved spaces.  It turned out we were probably in the best place looking straight down the access between all the seating.   Until the performance at 1930hrs we kept looking up to the heavens worried it may rain as it had been forecasted but so far so good.

This unlikely open air theatre that can accommodate an audience up to 300 is situated in Penlee Park, it is surrounded by thick hedges and the “stage” is a raised lawn area with a small garden wall around it, and the performers “appear” from behind the bushes.  The theatre is 75-years old this year and they have a full season of events from music to plays, very versatile.   Being an outdoor theatre naturally we knew we were exposed to the elements but what shook us was there was no roof above the performers, in fact the only covered area is the temporary bar!!!!

The Fisherman’s Friends arrived on stage at the appointed time to a rousing reception and then they started, their first song got the audience in the mood and the first hour of their performance just flew by, they were very entertaining and between songs had a few funny stories to tell.   After the interval they re-appeared and were full on with the audience, with some members jumping up and down with the music amongst the chairs. .   The good news though, several of the group are the originals, and even played their parts in the Fisherman’s Friends films.

A little after 2200hrs we headed back having been thoroughly entertained and we would urge everyone to go and see them perform.

Friday 7th July 2023

Mia was allowed to sleep-in after her very late night but in the end she wasn’t too late for school!!

Returning from the school run, Christine joined Jane and Oreo with Tom-Tom, Rosie and headed off to Brean Beach, a short drive away for a good long walk whilst I was left to pack the car and poo-pick👹👹

Today is very sunny and warm as we hit the road heading to Cornwall for our weekend break, the highlight being our seats for the “Fisherman’s Friends” concert, my birthday treat from Christine; I’m really looking forward to seeing them.   Our itinerary starts with a visit to the famous “Jamaica Inn” on Bodmin Moor for lunch.   Christine hadn’t been there before and it was about 50-years since I last visited the place.

The run down to Bodmin was quick, duel carriageway most of the way and arrived at 1300hrs, “Peckish”, after all Christine had done a long walk!!!

My how things have changed, firstly the pub and surrounding are have been bypassed, Jamaica inn is no longer on the main road and their car park is enormous catering for the many holiday makers passing by.

This famous pub was built in 1750 as a coaching inn but infamous as a staging post for contraband smuggled ashore along the Cornish coast; a sort of modern day distribution point, albeit illegal!!.   It has been estimated that half the Brandy and a quarter of all tea smuggled into the U.K. during the 19th century was landed on the Cornish and Devon coasts and Jamaica Inn being so isolated, made it an ideal place to distribute it from.   There is also a smuggler’s museum but unfortunately we didn’t get in as time was against us; another time.      Jamaica Inn is also well known for Daphne du Maurier’s novel of the same name published in 1936, a story of intrigue and smuggling etc.  Daphne spent a lot of time later in her life intrigued by the place, there is even a mock-up of her working environment.   There is also a plaque on the floor depicting where a “Joss Merlyn”, the leader of a gang of smugglers working the Cornish coast was murdered, and it is “said” his ghost haunts the Inn and comes back to finish his ale!!!   We enjoyed our lunch but was shocked at the service behind the bar.  There were lots of folk arriving for lunch but getting served at the bar was laborious, only two serving so there was a constant queue,very poor.

The rest of the journey wasn’t so good, heavy traffic with miles of roadworks as they are upgrading the A30; typical, always in the summer!!!, still we arrived at the appropriate time to get into our room, not a hotel but a self-catering place at the appointed hour and immediately put the kettle on.  

Tonight we fancied a good fresh fish dinner so searched the internet and “plumped” for a place called “The Boatshed”, but being so late, couldn’t book so had to take pot luck. This was the highest rated fish restaurant in Penzance and it was good, simple, but fresh and tasty and accompanied by suitable alcoholic beverages, it was good choice.

The weather today has been superb, sunny and hot, let’s hope it continues tomorrow and more importantly, no rain tomorrow evening for the concert🤞🤞🤞🤞