Thursday 1 May 2014

Surf far, surf good...

Work took me down to Exeter and an over developed sense of adventure took us on to Sennen Cove.  It's an awfully long drive from Cumbria but the weather was stunning with the twinkling blue skies and stunning sandy beaches evoking idyllic childhood memories of old family holidays.

Steve on approach to Sennen Cove
Having gotten used to the tidal extremes of Morecambe Bay it seemed odd that the tide didn't really seem to go out here but that just meant I didn't have to walk too far for a paddle.  Well, when I say paddle I mean "roll up your jeans, we can paddle around those rocks without having to go back to the cliff path honest - oh well never mind I'm sure they'll dry soon"

Views from the cliff path to Lands End
Fuelled by an unseemly number of pasties and cream teas we headed for Lands End - the views are spectacular but the cliffs are suffering from a combined attack from tourist and mother nature (here's a pic from last winter's storms in case you missed them...) but they're made of tough stuff so I'm sure they'll survive!

Tough cliffs
If you're hiking in Cornwall be prepared for a challenge if you head inland.  The coastal path is magnificent but the interior paths are blocked, overgrown and largely unsignposted.  We gave up trying to find the paths halfway through our planned walk from Sennen to the Minack Theatre and stuck to the roads instead but regardless of the challenges the views were worth it.  Rowena Cade was a driven, and clearly very fit, woman who planned, built and financed the theatre during the course of her lifetime - my only regret is that I've never seen a show there.  One day...

Minack Theatre
Our last mission in Cornwall was to get up close & personal with the waves so we booked a session with Sennen Surfing Centre - they had their work cut out for them as I have a lousy sense of balance, even when there's no gin involved - but we had a fantastic time and I hummed the Hawaii Five-O theme tune throughout.  If you're ever down there look them up and give it a go - you'll definitely get your money's worth!

Da da da da daaa da, da da da da daaa....

Plundering the tourist leaflets at the campsite Steve decided that the most sensible thing to do en route to our next stop was to whiz along England's longest zipwire which flies high above the Eden Project - one of those "it seemed like a great idea at the time" moments.

The faces of fear...
It wasn't nearly as fast or scary as we expected but that could be because we're used to being strapped into tight harnesses - as a result of our visits to the Calvert Trust I hasten to add...  It was a great experience though and definitely worth a whiz if you're visiting the Eden Project.




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