Sunday, September 12th 2010 - Lynmouth, Lynton, Exeter to Glasgow

Well, we managed to get everything organized for our 'surprise' flight to Glasgow from Exeter Airport up to Glasgow this evening.  Since we have the whole day to get to the Exeter Airport, we visited Lynmouth and Lynton and enjoyed riding the car between the two and walking around visiting both little holiday places.  Both venues were extremely busy, and everyone we met seemed to have at least two dogs with them.  The British people certainly are dog lovers, I don't think I've seen as many dogs in my life.  Even in the pubs, they are there, Theresa says they should have a service where they rent dogs out so that tourists would feel as though they fit in to the general population, ha, ha.

Saturday, September 11th 2010 - Ilfracombe, Devon

We headed to Ilfracombe via Port Isaacs (Doc Martin fame) and Tintagel (King Arthur Fame).  Port Isaacs was very busy and the weather uncertain, sunny and hot one minute and a shower of rain the next.  The place was bustling with Doc Martin fans and everyone seemed to be having a great time, including us.

We had spent time in Tintagel on a previous trip and so stopped in again for old times sake and had a lovely time there visiting the old Post Office with it's slanty roof and exploring the gardens and inside the living quarters that had beautiful antique furniture and fixtures that made us feel very young.  The hotel in Ilfracome had a beautiful view out the back door, but the two storeys we had to climb to get to our room was a challenge.  We dragged everything up to our room for our flight to Glasgow the next day..... that was a lot of fun, trying to cram everything into the two suitcases after spreading ourselves out for the last 7 weeks in the car.  In between packing we strolled around Ilfracombe, what a cute place.  There were Amusements on the Pier and it looked like Seaside Holidaymakers Paradise where everyone was having a good time.  We enjoyed our stroll around the town and people watching and then on our return a quiet drink at our hotel before bed. 

Friday, September 10th 2010 - Mariners, St. Mawes, Cornwall

We got ourselves and the car all organized as we leave Mariners today.  Had a chance to meet Julie whom we corresponded with from Canada, so that was nice to meet her and have a wee chat.  We loved being there and the house was great for us all.  We are excited about the arrangements made to join Theresa & Ian and Tricia in Glasgow on Sunday and are enjoying our last couple of days in sunny Devon/Cornwall area.  Mary was supposed to join us for the Menack Theatre and The Old Vicarage but because of work issues she just couldn't get away, so we had to continue on without her.  Probably helped with the decision to hop on up to Glasgow to meet up with everyone there.  On our way, we stopped again at St.Michael's mount and walked the road all the way up and back again.  I'm not that strong a swimmer, so we kept our eye on the tide and made it back in time.  But as you can see by the bottom picture here, we weren't back long from our trek (maybe 15 minutes) before the tide came in and covered the road completely - amazing.  The Old Vicarage was great, huge rooms... well a suite really and the place was in a beautiful setting right next to the Church.

Thursday, September 9th 2010 - Mariners, St. Mawes, Cornwall

Got up early to drive Theresa & Ian and Tricia to Truro to catch their train for the next part of their holiday.... overnight in Bath and then on to the luxury flat in Glasgow City Centre.  Sad to say farewell to them but we were so lucky to have had some time together and we had such a fabulous time.  Spent the day relaxing, watching the boat races right outside our front door in St. Mawes and talking about possibities.... the big one of course, did we want to change our plans and 'surprise' them in Glasgow for a couple of days??  Well, no prizes for guessing what we did next.  Lots of arrangements (thank goodness for the internet) and scheming just seems to come naturally to us so it was full steam ahead to go to Glasgow on Sunday for three days!.  Can't wait to see their faces. 

Wednesday, September 8th 2010 - Mariners, St. Mawes, Cornwall

We had a full day planned, Mousehole one of our favourite places to visit - it's so small there the place is aptly named and strolling around was fabulous as you can see we had awesome weather.  We took the little King Harry Ferry which is an extension of the road and the crossing is all of 5 minutes from one side to the other.  We also visited St. Michael's Mount - ubelievable how you can just walk right out there when the tide is out, but you have to be careful to watch out to make it back before the tide comes back in and you'd therfore have to swim to shore.

 

We got tickets to see the Rover a play presented in the outdoor Minack Theatre.  What a fantastic place this is, we've never been to an outdoor theatre production anywhere like this.  During the production at times I didn't know where to look....  the breathtaking scenery or the actual play, you were spoiled for choice really.  We got some ice cream chocky bits at the intermission..... Tricia really enjoyed that part, here's a really nice picture of her filling her face and enjoying every moment of it (as were we all) tee hee.

We all were interested to see Lands End and here it is.  Once again spectacular scenery although very touristy since we last visited.... a mini Disney for the kids, although by the time we got there all the amusement area had closed down (lucky for us), but we were still in plenty of time to go for a nice long walk and check it all out.

Tuesday, September 7th 2010 - Mariners, St. Mawes, Cornwall

Ron and I took an early morning stroll in St. Mawes and got some shots before anyone else was up.  It looks like a beautiful day ahead as we prepare to take the ferry to Falmouth with Tricia, Theresa and Ian.

The Ferry was fun, although certainly breezy standing on the deck.... I did my Sophia Lauren impersonation as usual!  There's a good shot here of our house Mariners and then us sitting down to a nice cream tea in a pub in Falmouth.  Falmouth is much bigger than St. Mawes and it was neat to look back at St. Mawes - our sleepy little fishing village.  The streets of Falmouth were teaming with holidaymakers and busy families, so of course we had to stop off at the pub for a refreshment or two before heading back on the perilous crossing, tee hee! 

Sunday, September 5th and 6th 2010 - Mariners, St. Mawes, Cornwall

We all agreed that the Eden Project would be worth a visit, which it was.  However the rain impeded our total enjoyment of the beautiful outdoor grounds - you get the picture undernoted..

Lunch at Tregony... this was such a great afternoon.  Ian so enjoyed his lunch he licked his plate, tee hee!

Next day, relaxing at St. Mawes

Saturday, September 4th 2010 - Mariners, St. Mawes, Cornwall

For the next week, we have had just the best time ever touring around with Tricia, Theresa and Ian - much too busy to do the blog!  How awesome to be able to share our adventures with them.  We'll cut to the chase with pictures of the towns we've explored... what do they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so ennjoy!

Portloe

St. Anthony's Head

Portscatho

Friday, September 3rd 2010 - Mariners, St. Mawes, Cornwall

9:00 a.m. Great night's sleep and here we are having breakfast first thing - you guess it Ron's is the plate in the middle - unbelievable at the age of 60+ he still likes to play with his food - what a guy, that's why I love him!.  At the bottom of this first collage is the driveway we tried to go down... not too bright after a day of driving I guess.  Anyway, we are looking forward to going to pick up the sisters plus Ian, so more to follow.

Broom Parc interiors shots etc, just had to share these as the place really is amazing.  The posters on the bottom of this collage are hung in the bathroom - so neat really, this is a dream come true for us to actually be here in this house, thrilling actually!

Checked out of Broom Parc and drove to St. Mawes through Truro.  Found the perfect store for Gemma.  After checking in to Mariners (what a place!) and unpacking, we drove back to Truro to pick up the sisters and Ian at the Train Station then back to St. Mawes for a few bevies, buns cold meat, etc.

Thursday, September 2nd 2010 - Painswick to Portloe, Cornwall

Once again the croissant fairy (Brett) had deivered some wonderful croissants and the morning paper to our room before we knew it!  We had a lie-in and got organized to leave Byfield House by 10:00 am.  It was sad to leave this lovely place, and most especially our hosts - as they made us feel so welcome and made our stay in this beautiful part of the world so special.  We had a sneak peak at the Garden Room as Jill was very happy to show us around in between guest bookings.  We would dearly love to return to Byfield House and felt we were leaving good friends rather than landlords!

We figured on a 3 1/2 hour drive to Broom Parc, Veryan, Truro, didn't count on the hour long delay on the M5 because a Lorry literally burst into flames and the 3 lane highway was all melded into one measly lane with enough traffic to fill an Island!  Anyway, the day was beautiful and we spent the time listening to a call in radio show, so all in all it was a pretty good trip down to Cornwall (although much longer than we anticipated).  We arrived in St. Austell and explored the town.... not the prettiest of places for sure, but it did have a big church which we walked around and took pictures of.  Grabbed a Cornish Pasty and headed for Broom Parc for our 4pm check in.  The GPS (George to us) is a wonderful thing and brought us  right to the front door... well that's not exactly true.  You can't actually drive to the front door, although we did......... so, after taking down half their hedge with our car Ron decided that yep, guess this is just too narrow for our car - must be a walking trail, so into reverse it was.  Unfortunately, there were a couple of hikers trying to hike up the very steep hill we had driven down and then the owner arrived in her car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The joys of not knowing where you are going and trying to reverse back up a very steep hill.  At this point you need to know that I am totally mortified and wish the car had an ejection seat - I'd rather have been anywhere other than sitting there looking at those folks.  Fortunately for the owners of this place, the trail is now a lot wider based on our cutting down most of the greenery that was so pretty and lined the hikers walk!  Anyway, after we got the car parked (sorted) in their grassy parking lot, we got up to our beautiful room (Sophy's) with the ocean view.  This place is just unreal, the house is exactly as it appears on the tv series and there's a beautiful lounge with all sorts of information about the making of the show and the actors involved.  The house itself is perched on top of a cliff and the views are absolutely spectacular - I do hope we can bring T&I and T here to see it!  After a much needed refreshment (3) we headed into Portloe (1 minute drive away) and had some pub grub and some further refreshment at the Ship Inn.  Met barmaids Eileen and Rosie and had a wonderful evening together discussing the upcoming week in St. Mawes at our very own rented house and the most welcome addition of Theresa & Ian and Tricia for this leg of our journey.  Back to Broom Parc (from the famous Camomile Lawn TV series) at 9:30 - update the blog, nice warm drink and off to bed.  It'll be a busy day tomorrow driving to Truro to pick TI&T up and back to St. Mawes house for a grand reunion.  Weather was fabulous all day today and we feel so happy to be in Cornwall again. 

Wednesday, September 1st 2010 - Painswick, Cotswolds, UK

Now that we've had a chance to truly experience the Byfield House, we're able to share some of it's charm with you by way of these few candid shots taken around the property.  Hope these will portray our infatuation with the place which is enhanced by the wonderful owners Jill and Brett who really can't do enough for you! 

After a leisurely morning, munching on croissants, reading the morning newspaper and catching up with the blog, we headed our for today's adventure.  Slad was our first stop, only about 5 minutes from Painswick where we stopped at The Woolpak Pub for a much needed refreshment - the first of the day at 2pm.  We then dutifully attended Holy Trinity Church and had a good nose around the famous and in some cases infamous graves.  The sun was splitting the ground as we strolled around - what a magnificient day!

We then headed to Buorton-on-the-Water as we remembered it from a trip long ago as being such a fabulous little town.  On our way, we stopped off in Cirencester which has a lovely old Church and a beautiful, bustling little City Centre.  More exploring and shopping - getting some money from the bank and eating a Cornish Pasty in a lovely little cafe on the main street.  We also visited Upper and Lower Slauters - what a hoot, little villages that you'd miss if you blinked but pretty little houses with thatched roofs and beautiful gardens.  BOTW was just as we remembered, 'awesome' with the little canal running right through the town and ducks swimming by quite regally unfazed by all the people strolling by.  We strolled around the town and explored all the little shops (oh Joy, says Ron) - check out the "forboys" store!  We then headed back home to Painswick for a Fish Supper and Pint at our local here.  What a tremendous day we've had, they just keep getting better and better.  Tomorrow is going to be quite an adventure as we head south for Cornwall and check into Broom Parc B & B!!  

Tuesday, August 31st 2010 - Painswick, Cotswolds, UK

We visited Gloucester today - what a great city this is although it's not the prettiest one we've been in. There's a great cathedral there and bonus for us, there was an art exhibition going on in the cathedral, so you'll see we have a few artsy types shots in here too.

After Gloucester we drove around some of the little one way roads near Painswick to visit a few of the local pubs and villages nearby before return to Byfield House (after a pint at the Royal Oak of course).

Monday, August 30th 2010 - Painswick, Cotswolds, UK

On our way to Painswick - we've never been here before and are really looking forward to our time in the Cotswolds.  We can't wait to meet Jill and Brett as we feel we know them based on the reviews on Trip Advisor!  We drove through Broadway - what a pretty little village - would like to go back there as it was the bank holiday Monday here the place was chock a block with people and cars!  We stopped at Chipping Campden instead and had a lovely time there - here's me posting the post cards to the kids and generally walking around exploring this quaint little Cotswold village.  

 Well here we are in Painswick... arrived around 4 ish and couldn't believe the warm welcome from Jill and Brett (centre picture).  It was like we were old friends reuniting after some time away.  Jill has definitely found her calling she's so good with people and Brett is fantastic with maps and gave us a run-down on many of the 'must sees' around the area and how to get to them.  The house is absolutely unbelievable - it's realy not a house, but rather a home and these gracious people are inviting you in with the warmest of welcomes.  We have the entire top floor and it's like a little palace with everything we need and excellent internet, so once again we are connected and very happy!  The village of Painswick itself is beautiful - what a place, it's called the "Queen of the Cotswolds", so interesting with many quaint corners and picturesque streets.

After getting settled into our suite at Byfield House, we wandered out for the evening.  Stopping at the local pub - the Royal Oak where we got visiting with some of the locals.  People are very friendly around here, I guess when you are new in town everyone knows it and is anxious to find out where you're from and where you're staying etc.  We decided to continue on to find another place for dinner and happend upon this real funky hotel where we had some great pub grub and a bottle of their finest White Wine.  Enjoy the funky decor of this hotel 88 (see pics).  Strolled back to Byfield house around 9:30pm!  We couldn't believe how comfortable this bed is.  From reviews on Trip Advisor some one wrote they wanted to take the bed home with them, now we know why.  Sleeps here are magical - it's like everything else in Byfield House! 

 

Sunday, August 29th 2010 - Yorkshire to Gloucester, UK

We drove up and over the dales on the road with the Butter tubs which are shown on the bottom of this collage of pictures - it was a lovely day, versus the last time we stopped here it was pelting rain all those years ago with the kids.  On our way we stopped in the holiday resort of Morcambe - what a find that was.  I just noticed how close it was on the map while we were driving and so we decided to stop there.  Although it was very windy we had a great walk along the promenade (a guy gave us his unused Pay and Display Ticket - bonus) and we stopped in at Costas for a coffee and a wee chocky bit - delicious.  Stayed this night in a Premier Inn in Gloucester - the usual comfortable, friendly and clean - good night's sleep.

Saturday, August 28th 2010 - Yorkshire Dales, UK

We spent the day out and about taking in the spectacular views, doing some laundy - well actually having it done for us while we continued sightseeing and shopping in Darlington.  Darlington is a great market town with shops and a great sense of community.  The people were very friendly there and the town area which is a pedestrian mall is very attractive.  When there are no cars allowed in the Town Centre, planners have free reign to design areas that are very pleasing to people.  We passed the River Ure, so Ron had to take a picture for his friend Dave - undernoted centre shot.  Catterick (the place we got the laundry done) is the centre for the Defence Support Group, so we found it interesting to find the sign Tanks Crossing 100 yds on the road, we had to take a picture.

Stayed at the Punch Bowl tonight which is a sister hotel to the CB Inn - only 5 minutes up the country road, but with entirely different views of the Dales.  Some pictures below show the landscape - I think you'll agree it's pretty.  Breakfast was a treat, but I had to pass on most of it, I'm just about done with the full English Breakfast, tee hee.  The rooms in this hotel were lovely also, but the outstanding feature is the location of this hotel - isolated and majestic.

Friday, August 27th 2010 - Yorkshire Dales, UK

Arrived at Thorney Barn where we had a beautiful meal prepared for our arrival which we enjoyed  at a leisurely pace in our room - note the bottle of Chateuneuf-du-Pape...  The accommodations here were truly beautiful with lovely country views from our room window. 

We've visited Hawes before and really enjoy it, this waterfall is right in the middle of town just as you go across a wee bridge it's so picturesque.  We made a purchase in the little Cheese Shop (probably from the Monty Python skit) and have been enjoying it with a hot chutney ever since.  Once again the sun was shining in Hawes - and at times we've had to strip off, not entirely though I don't think that would be allowed - not in Jolly Olde England - pity!

Although not scheduled, we're at the CB Inn tonight.  What a treat as we just love this hotel - it's one of our favourites.  The food is to die for and the scenery out and about is spectacular - only drawback no internet or cell phone service!  I guess that can be regarded as a plus or minus depending on your situation - it didn't do much for our Blog, but we certainly enjoyed the relaxing, laid back pace and because we couldn't 'connect' we didn't - simple!  In the middle picture underneath you can see the water right in the middle of the road that you have to drive through (from the James Herriot series All Creatures Great and Small).  It's so nice to be able to revisit some of these favourite corners of the world - we sure are counting our blessings every day (especially the sunny ones)! 

Reeth is just 5 miles from the CB Inn and a fantastic little village.  It has five pubs and one of them is looking for landlords...... possibilities if I can talk Ron into it.  What a life that would be, 'course we'd be drinking the profits so I might need to rethink that one.  This is one of the places that has a fantastic town square with pretty little shops and pubs all around it - ideal really.

Thursday, August 26th 2010 - Ruthin, Wales to Yorkshire Dales, UK

Setting off for the Yorkshire Dales, we decided to stop in Blackpool  (for old times sake).  It was, of course typically Blackpool.  Bustling, tacky, filled with every little souvenire shop and attraction you could wish for.  Steve, Dad took a couple of pictures of the Pepsi Max Big One that you guys rode all those years ago, he still recalls you sitting atop looking at him and saying "I'm gonna kill you for this Dad".  What a ride it was.  I asked him if he would do it again, he said "Hell, no it was bad enough the first time with Steve", we had a laugh at that.  We did get out of the car and walk all around Blackpool though and it was very interesting and recall that Blackpool was one of the most popular holiday destinations (in the day... not saying what day, but a long time ago).  I tried to find the tacky Dalmation Hotel Angie that was in the tv Hotel Inspector Series, but never did find it.  The tower is as imposing as ever, but the dance hall area was all under renovation and in fact the whole of the promenade front was under construction, so you couldn't get to the beach if your life depended on it.  Made for a lot of fun trying to drive along the oceanfront - still enjoyed the experience.

After the hustle of Blackpool we headed to Temple Sowerby to visit the old Church and Graveyard where the Gowlings are burried.  Here's a picture of William's headstone and we enjoyed walking around the grounds of the church - it's so serene there.  A couple of pictures follow of the place we stayed before, see if they bring back any memories.  The Kings Arms pub was closed, otherwise we'd have had a little refreshment... oh well, on the road again to our next stop.  After making a stop in Apleby where the sun was shining and we had our little refreshment as you can see!  One of the great things about being here is that everywhere is so close to everywhere else.

Wednesday, August 25th 2010 - Caernarfon to Ruthin, Wales, UK

We drove through some pretty neat places to get to Ruthin, passing a Castle or two on the way.  There sure are a lot of cars in the UK - tiny little streets and Pay and Display Car Parks in every little village we visit. We can count on our one hand the number of times we've been able to actually park the car without getting a ticket and walking 1/4 mile to town.  Of course since we are eating and drinking like there's no tomorrow (or waistline to worry about) that's probably as good an exercise program as we're going to get. This Castle in Conwy, north Wales was very big and busy, and there's about 5 Castles all basically within a stones throw of each other.... after a while (like you looking at these pictures) you begin to ask the question, how many darn Castles can a couple of Canadian Tourists explore. 

We were a little anxious about this Hotel - that Gemma booked, because there were a couple of negative reiews on Trip Advisor, but it actually turned out to be a great little place.  Food was good and the little town was great to explore... there was a neat Castle there and a building called 7 Eyes of Ruthin (because of the seven dormer windows) which is the first picture shown underneath.  Great night's sleep and looking foward to our drive tomorrow to one of our most favourite places in the world - The Yorkshire Dales!

Tuesday, August 24th 2010 - Newport to Caernarfon, Wales, UK

Left Cnapan B & B after a great breakfast and a cosy sleep. We set off on an adventure to find a little Jewellery Showroom out in the boondocks near Cardigan that we saw in a brochure. As luck would have it we drove right to "Jewellery by John and Victoria" where Gemma spied of couple of pairs of earings she just loved, so late birthday gifts from me were duly purchased. As their brochure states "these creations are inspired by the coastline, by textures, by natural forms and by John and Victoria". John was actually in the workshop area creating some items and we had a chance to see him at work, what a craftsman. You might see Gemma wearing her fabulous new earings in our pictures!

We continued on up the west coast of Wales through a little rain and sunshine heading for Caernarfon in north Wales and our overnight stop at the Premier Inn. The drive took us through pretty little towns with brightly painted buildings and doors and the many shorelines we viewed are spectacular. Caernarfon is a fabulous town with a huge castle in the centre of it and actually North Wales is filled with historic things to see and do. The hotel is built right on the harbour and is very comfortable. The area is called Snowdonia and we had a lot of fun exploring the area on foot after settling into the hotel in the late afternoon. This little town is very pretty, dominated by the Castle and Walled City which has lots of restaurants, shops, cafes and pubs!! (what a surprise)

We met a lovely family at the Black Boy Inn, a young couple with two kids here on holiday from Liverpool - so had a nice visit and a few laughs with them. Then three guys from England who work for the Gas Company joined our lively group and we had such a ball with them. It was just one joke after another (they were here on business if you can believe) but obviously enjoyed each others company. What a great night - we walked home to the hotel had a quick coffee and watched a little tv, although we both fell asleep - must have been all that fresh air (or the refreshments listening to the 3 yorkshire men) tee hee.

Monday, August 23rd 2010 - Newport, Wales, UK

We had a fabulous breakfast at the Cnapan B & B but the weather was wet and windy, so we decided to have a lazy morning doing postcards and updating our blog.  The weather cleared and by 1 pm we headed out to the beach by the Newport Golf Course.  The road goes across a couple of the holes on the golf course to get to the beach - I'm sure more than a few cars have got bonked by wild golf balls, but we were lucky!

We then went by some very skinny one lane roads to an ancient burial chamber (a mini Stonehinge) and then on to one of the most famous and old pubs in all of the UK, the Dyffryn Arms.  Fantastic place. Known locally as "Bessie's", as in the Landlady who, bless her is in her 80s, and still running this jewel of a pub.  Bessie told us that other than a lick of paint, this hostelry has not been changed for over 50 years. She does not want music or television at the pub, pubs are for social interaction and beer! I agree!  Perfect Bass poured from the jug, no pumps. This little piece of real life history - the nearest you will ever get to going back in time.  The place doesn't have two chairs the same and that's what gives it character and encourages conversation... now that Ron has kissed the Blarney Stone I can't shut him up!!!

On to Fishguard then back to Cnapan for a lovely gourmet dinner - prepared by owners Michael and Judith Cooper.  What a delight, we had such a great time, eating, drinking and laughing through most of the courses - we were just in that kind of mood.  What a nice relaxing day as we are off to another Welsh destination tomorrow, new views every other day - that's the plan.