Devon and Cornwall

After leaving the spa we decided we'd drive down to the South West. I didn't really think that through though did I! Lets drive for an hour north and then for four hours south the next day... MMM.. Ah well! It's all fun!

We Stayed at the Kitley House Hotel which I am sure is a beautiful location for weddings. In fact there was going to be a wedding there the day with left - with a dove release. I think the guy behind reception was relieved when I responded to this info byte with a look of digust and an "Oh god really?" He cheerfully replied by pointing out that there were sparrow hawk es near by. Poor doves! Anyway... i digress.

Kitley House Hotel is a beautiful old Manor house which was built by the Bastards. No, I'm not swearing or being mean, that really was their family name. Believe me LOF found this hilarious and took every opportunity to discuss what the Bastards had done or had been doing. Those Bastards did that!" etc... The Bastards built the house and then it has been passed down through many families (including a relation to the woman who wrote "Old Mother Hubbard" which was apparently based on the basement dwelling housekeeper at this very house) and eventually turned into a wedding money making machine.

Downstairs is lovely with large ballroom style lounges and restaurant areas. The bedrooms though have seen better days. Grafton did the whole antique furniture and gaudy bathrooms and it amused me but it did, kind of, work. At least they didn't leave you with a room with a broken towel rail and dusty radiators. (Lof took pictures of these... I have no idea why!) It was comfortable but the rooms did not match the loveliness of downstairs. It was a beautiful house though with lovely grounds and I enjoyed the fact that it was dog friendly so there were often little hounds about to coo over.

We didn't spend all that much time at the hotel anyway. We had far too much to see. The first place we went to was the Eden Project which I have decided is actually the Moch project! It was so exciting to see how a bunch of lovely people had taken an area of land that we had ruined with digging and mining and turned it into some thing so beautiful. Those people deserve a lot of praise and if you haven't been then I really thin you ought to!

I loved the symbolism of the whole place. It's like a beacon for the rest of us to work towards. I have also decided that we need a giant, symbolic seed at the entrance to the new academy. (no rude jokes please). lol

Ater we'd eaten local produce, watched a beer making demo, sampled some pasties, wandered around the bio mes and watched kids (and their very competitive Dads) make Dens in the Summer Survival section of the quarry we drove off to Torquay.

Newquay seems to be like a mini broad street with a beach behind it! Definitely schoolies heaven! It rained the whole time we were there but i did insist on sticking my toes in the sand!(The last sand I stepped on was in Adelaide!). A nice beach there with plenty of crazy people actually in the sea!!!

The next day we set of for Tintagel Castle. When we got there it was so windy they'd closed it and you couldn't go up. You could however walk on the hills on the right hand side of it. English Heritage are apparently more cautious about health and safety than the National Trust (who owned the bit on the right) we had a wander around Barras Nose and took loads of beautiful pictures of the waves crashing on the rocks.