We have had a great time away even without the sunshine and I don’t want to sound as if I am whinging about the lack of sun, because I’m not. But I thought I would share with you the report in today’s breakfast newspaper about the English summer. It has been the coldest in 20 years with an average temperature of 13 degrees and there has been a total of 154 hours of sunshine for the summer.
Fog
I managed to find a way to post a photograph on this page and I have pasted a photo of what we saw today in the foggiest day they have had in Cornwall for a long time. Here it is.
Did you like it?
We are staying in Penzance tonight and are off to Mousehole (Mouzelle) for the next two for a rest.
Exmoor to Cornwall
Leaving Bath, we took a leisurely drive south across Exmoor, in the wind and showery weather it was stunning. The hills along the coast here are steep, up and down, so the driving was slow but enjoyable. The last hill we drove down, a 1 in 4 gradient, had the cliffs to the right, the hills and forest to the left and below an ancient village snuggled either side of a little walled harbour full of little boats. I asked in the 700 year old thatched ex fisherman’s house, if they had a room and we were shown up a narrow set of stairs, along a corridor that sloped off at an angle that dipped towards the sea, into a four star room overlooking the harbour. Magic! This was our first foray into Devon and a great one to start. Pages of drawing and photos later, we travelled mostly today in misty rain and cloud along the coast, we think, to St Agnes in Cornwall and a hotel on the bay full of surfers. The hills around the coast here are dotted with abandoned tin mines and the walk to St Agnes Head gave great views. This hotel is an old tin miner’s warehouse from 1650 which has a name for live music. Queen played here in 1971! A bit of shower singing tonight.