The bad thing about posting this wayyy after we've already been is that I am going to forget a lot of details.
Our first stop was Lacock Abbey. It started as an abbey and nunnery and then later became a Tudor home to the Talbots. In this home, is where the birthplace of photography happened. This home is also in Harry Potter (which are kids are starting to get into).
This spot is where the first ever photographic negative was taken.
Our next stop was Prior Park Landscape Garden right outside of Bath.
Then our very last stop for the first day was Cheddar Gorge. It's just a beautiful limestone gorge with lots of hikes and beautiful views. We were arriving in the late afternoon so we packed a picnic for dinner.
We ended our evening at what turned out to be a super great place to stay in Croyde Bay. It was right on the water. The waves were massive. I guess this is the place to go surfing in England! There were quite a few surfers out on the water and it was starting to get late!
We asked for a late check out the next day so that we could take advantage of the pool.
Blake making friends
From there we went to Tintagel Castle. I'm not much of a history buff so I can't tell you much about it. It was mostly ruins, but it's set on the side of a huge cliff and is the place where King Arthur was born.
It was a super windy day and the kids really were not that interested in the castle. They were, however, completely fascinated by the caves below the castle --- one known as Merlin's Cave. So we had to make our way down for a closer look.
From there, we went to St. Nectan's Glen. It was kind of out in the middle of nowhere and turned out to be a rather long walk through the woods. I knew the end would be rewarding. It's a little glen, ran by what seemed to be hippie/gypsy type people. We had to pay to go down to it which turned Derek off, but I had to assure him it would be awesome.
They had ribbons tied everywhere and these stacks of stone also.
However, we couldn't see the waterfall that we had come to look for....but we could HEAR it! So, we took off our shoes and started walking.
And then there she was!
The hole was supposedly formed by the pressure from the waterfall eventually punching through the rock wall. Creating this majestical little area.
Blake and Avery were more interested in trying to pry money from this log.
After that, we were off to our campsite for the next 3 or 4 nights.
And we just did a bunch of day trips (all places that were easily within 30 -40 minutes from the campsite......and squeezing in multiple things a day.
One of our stops was gorgeous St. Ives! We just walked around the city and played at the beach for a while.
St. Michael's Mount
A small little title island....not to be confused with Mont St. Michel in France. The island can be accessed at low tide via a little coastal pathway. You have to make sure you are walking back across before high tide comes in.......or you're stuck. There are ferries that will go to the island on some days but they were not operating on the day we were there.
The tide coming in!
Later -- when we were eating dinner....
Porthcurno Beach
It started out to be a pretty gloomy day, but it turned into a gorgeous one! Because of the gloomy start we had the beach to ourselves most of the day.
Pednvounder Beach
This beach was quite the hike to get to! By the time we got there, it started raining....and the climb down looked so scary we decided to turn around and hike back.
One night we went to a show at Minack Theatre. Of course, I forget what show it was now that we saw, but I know it was one by Shakespeare. Allie was the only one that really seemed to be into it. We ended up leaving probably about 30 minutes before the show would have ended. Blake and Avery just couldn't take anymore of it......Derek and I were happy to oblige. The setting was super cool......but I just don't get Shakespeare.
We also caught a super cool sunset one evening. We literally chased it down. Ended up near Land's End.
Kynance Cove
That was our last day at the campsite. From there we went to the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Then we played our first ever round of football golf! Super fun!!
Somewhere in there, we found our next home for the next two nights. We weren't made aware until after we booked that we'd be taking care of the owners cat. It was their actual home, they were just away on holiday. Taking care of the cat was fine, but she was MEAN!
We stayed in Torquay, which was actually a really nice area. We didn't take too many pictures, but it had a nice harbor/marina and lots of restaurants and shops in the area. An arcade too that the kids spent quite a bit of time in.
We some time in Cockington.
An evening at Lansallos Cove --- had it to ourselves
Last stop was Durdle Door. We had a campsite reserved right here on site, and had plans for the next day.......but decided it was time to head home. So we spent a few hours here, lost out on the money we spent to camp there and headed home. Really -- we just didn't want to go through setting up the tent again for just one night. So much work! And it rained a lot on us the other nights we camped so we were worried things would be wet and didn't want to deal with that either! Durdle door was beautiful -- but there were nasty bugs in the water - looked like water lice.
Hands down, Cornwall is my favorite place in England. And this trip was one of my all-time favorites!!!
