We were so enjoying our Cornish holiday, but you cannot keep us still, there was so much to see
Falmouth is close to Mevagissey so we decided to visit it and several other places in one day
The view across the bay, where there are some lovely seaside houses and private boats
We decided that, if we ever won the lottery, this house would just fit the bill! Pipe dreams
It’s on a large estuary
More seaside housing above
Looking sideways from our viewpoint, we saw the dockside of Falmouth
and didn't realise then that we would be returning later in the week
Warships at the dockside
P222, HMS Forth, is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel
Named after the River Forth, she is the first Batch 2 River-class vessel to be built
She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13th April 2018,
following a commissioning ceremony at her home port, HMNB Portsmouth
Just behind the Falmouth Naval docks with its huge crane, is this extraordinary glass building
It's the Ships and Castles Leisure Centre on Pendennis Rise
Off down the coast past the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose
It is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall, and is the largest helicopter base in Europe
Then, on the way to Marazion, the rain came down in buckets, but it didn't seem to deter the kite surfers at all
We had timed our visit badly as the tide was very much in
and so we couldn't walk across the causeway to St Michael's Mount
So near and so far. We could have taken a ferry, but didn't like the look of the weather coming in over the sea
Originally the Cornish counterpart of Mont St Michel in Normandy, France,
it has been home to the St Aubyn family since 1659
In 1954, Francis Cecil St Aubyn, 3rd Baron St Levan, gave most of St Michael's Mount to the National Trust,
together with a large endowment fund
The St Aubyn family retained a 999-year lease to inhabit the castle
and a licence to manage the public viewing of its historic rooms
This is managed in conjunction with the National Trust
You can see the sea getting rough on the other side as the small boats arrive
The gulls love the fresh weather
Oh, those narrow Cornish lanes
Like green tunnels for some of the way, as the trees grow over much of the road and intertwine in the middle
No road markings you say? That is because they are all mostly just one car's width;
they have regular passing places (this is one on the right-hand side),
but you do rather hope not to meet too many locals who take these lanes at a fast race track pace
The driver needs to literally keep on his toes all the time, especially when you have blind bends
Not for the faint hearted or novice drivers. But they are very pretty and very ancient
This is especially so in Spring, when the hedgerows are covered in primroses, wild violets and daffodils
and a myriad other spring flowers. The woods are full of bluebells too
and then to Mousehole (pronounced Mowz’l). The origins of its modern name, 'Mousehole', are unknown,
although it is suggested that it was derived from the Cornish word Moeshayle, meaning “young woman's brook”,
while others maintain it as simply being a reference to the original tiny harbour, or to a nearby sea cave,
which resembled a mouse hole
The building in the middle, with the windowed gallery, was previously a wonderful little hotel called The Lobster Pot
John and his family had several marvellous holidays there
The harbour at Mousehole
To get out of the rain, we decided that a cup of tea and a scone were called for
John knew of a favourite restaurant, but they had changed hands and image
Suddenly, we were transported back to wartime days at the Four Teas Café
and had to look at our Ration Books to see what we could order
Good old Coleman's Mustard
Marmite 'soldiers' for dipping in your boiled egg for tea would have been a luxury in rationing
Many British children are brought up with this for their tea, before their bath and bed at 6 in the evening
A coffee for John, green tea for Lynne and warm scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam
The outside of the café
Heading back to the car
Long mooring ropes, as there is quite a tide rise and fall
Another narrow lane and green tunnel
All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
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