Salisbury to Fowey in Cornwall

Monday 8th October Salisbury to Fowey (pronounced Foy) on Cornwall coast

Continued south into Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwell with a stop at the Eden Project, one of England’s top landmark Millennium Projects. In a disused quarry, they have installed 3 of the largest Geodesic Domes in the world to house plants from all over the globe in an atmospheres that duplicates their natural environment i.e. Tropical, Mediterranean etc. Very interesting , especially for those on tour who had won the House and Garden award in Christchurch. Continued to Cornwall and booked into Fowey Hall Hotel which must have been a Manor house in a previous life. It was high on the hill overlooking the fishing village of Fowey. Walked down to the village and stopped at a church dating back to the 1200’s and then had a drink at a pub overlooking the bay. Very picturesque. Back to the hotel where we have arranged for a group dinner and we put on our good attire. Not quite dinner suit but certainly very smart casual. The actual dinner was a disaster as the catering was totally inadequate and Marty made sure we got a substantial reduction on the previously agreed price for the dinner.

Tuesday 9th October (Day trip to St Ives in Cornwall)

Kenneth Graham, the author of “Wind in the Willows” lived in the area and the mansion we stayed at was the setting for this book. Fowey Hall is managed by the von Essen hotel group which has numerous castles and mansions throughout Europe. Had an early start today preceded by a lovely buffet breakfast at this amazing old mansion, then off on the bus for a 2 hour trip to an old fishing on the other side of the Cornwall coast called St Ives. On the way we stopped off at a village which was a constructed port in the 1700’s. This tiny beautiful cove is also used as a film base for such films as Horatio Hornblower as the port contains 4 x three masted schooners. At St Ives the bus cannot drive into the village because of the narrow streets, so we parked in a coach parking area and caught a mini bus into the town. Had a lovely clam chowder (using clotted cream of course which Cornwall is famous for – back to Weight Watcher’s when I get home) and a Cornish beer called “Drectly”. According to our guide the Cornish people are well known for using the word “Drectly” when asked when they are going to do something. Has the same connotation as “manyana” apparently. Rows and rows of Cornish and Georgian houses – very, very picture postcard and even though the day was overcast and it was low tide it was easy to see just how beautiful this would be in summer. Had a lovely 2 hour wander around. Had some lovely Cornish clotted cream fudge – so naughty! On the way to St Ives we passed a lot of the old housing for the machinery for the tin mines which have now all closed. Such a shame for the locals. Back to Fowey and as we entered the township we passed a bus shelter that the locals have done up and painted with pictures on the walls and with quaint lilac pillows on the seats. Unreal! On the way the guide mentioned that Daphne du Maurier also lived in this neck of the woods and many of her stories are set here. (When I caught a taxi back from Fowey tonight after dinner the taxi driver told me that people would not look so romantically upon this author if they could have seen her in the last years of her life, wandering around the streets as the local “bag lady” and talking to herself! Old age is not for the fainthearted!) Dinner in Fowey at local pub on the water – sausages & mash cooked inside a Yorkshire pudding. Early to bed tonight as a long day tomorrow. Have to be up at 6am. Unheard of!