It was time to head back eastwards towards Padstow but en-route we paid a visit to St. Ives.  Parking the van at Lelant Saltings Park & Ride (being replaced bt St. Erth P&R in June 2019) we took the very scenic St. Ives Bay Line train into the town. After a wander around the shop we met up with our friend, Helen, at a beach side cafe just in front of the Tate St Ives.

We then drove on to the Padstow Touring Park – a large site with good facilities in walking distance of the town.  The next day we spent the day wandering around the town, especially the harbour and had to try out some fish and chips at a takeaway owned by a certain Mr Stein (very nice they were too!).

 

We broke the journey home with a night spent at the Bath Caravan Park which is situated on the River Avon. We could have taken the nearby Park & Ride bus to the town centre but instead we walked along the riverside to the very pleasant Boathouse pub for some food & drink.

We drove on westwards until we basically ran out of country! Sennen Cove CCC site is a basic but beautifully positioned site on a hillside overlooking the Atlantic coast in one direction and Lands End Airport in the other (not exactly the busiest airport I’ve seen!). It can get a little breezy and we were a little concerned with 60 mph winds forecast but we had no problems,

On our first day here we drove to van to the Minack Open Air Theatre.  It’s set into the side of a hill with the sea and rocky coastline acting as a backdrop to the stage.  Dogs are allowed in during the day but we’re not sure Ruby enjoyed all the steps!  We ended the day with drive drive north along the coast to the National Trust’s Levant Mine, a well preserved example on the ‘Tin Coast’ which now has World Heritage Status.

On our second day we decided to walk from the campsite down to the coast and the south along the South West Coast Path, through the town of Sennen Cove, past genuine shipwrecks to Land’s End itself.  Yet again the views from the path were spectacular. Land’s End itself is very commercialised but the surrounding landscapes are very impressive with views out to the Longships Lighthouse.  To save Ruby’s legs (and ours!) we took the bus back to the campsite.

 

Drove down through Truro and Helston to the National Trust campsite at Teneriffe Farm, Mullion.  It’s a small but well positioned site with a new shower block.  We took the 15 mins walk to the coast and then along the cliff tops of the South West Coast Path north to Mullion Cove – a tiny fishing harbour.  The views on the walk were superb.

One of the main attractions of this site is that it has direct access to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. We spent several hours wandering through the 200 acres of these very impressive gardens (and their excellent farm shop too!).

The story of this estate is legend – originally owned by the Tremayne family and at it’s peak in the late 19th century, it fell into disrepair after World War I and remained overgrown and neglected until the 1990s when it was discovered and restored by a team led by Tim Smit – who was also responsible for the nearby Eden Project.

 

After an pleasant overnight stop at a Britstop pub in Somerset (just off the M5) the three of us (Ruby included) headed initially to Lanhydrock, a National Trust house near Bodmin. Ruby wasn’t allowed in the house so we walked around the woods on the estate which had plenty of flowers such as bluebells in full bloom.

 

After this stop we drove on to the Heligan Camping and Caravan Park where we were staying for 2 nights.