Dunes

Recently we headed over to the Towans, a huge set of dunes near Hayle. Tewyn means sand dune in Cornish. The dunes boarder one of the most lovely beaches in Cornwall, Gwithian which is popular with surfers, boogie boarders, swimmers and rock-poolers. Luckily, with miles of sand there is plenty of room for everyone. If you look closely, you can just see Godrevy lighthouse in the distance. 

The dunes are quite high, and it's a fair slog to the top but totally worth it as the views are amazing. We met up with some friends who live nearby, who fortunately brought hot drinks with them when we needed to rest and refuel. 

There are lots of different size of dunes, but this is one of our favourites. 

It's incredibly steep, and the scale is impressive. This probably only shows half of it! We had a great time running down and then huffing and puffing our way back up to the top. It was the most fun we'd had in ages, with the added bonus of being a great way to get in some free exercise.

Coffee love

I couldn't get through the day without a big, fat hit of caffine. Normally, it's made at home but occasionally I treat myself to the real deal. Luckily, Cornwall is home to some really fabulous cafes that know how to make a great coffee and serve delicious home made food. 

More than that they do it with style. Funky cafes and bistros are opening up all the time that put the customer at the heart of what they do, they make you feel genuinely welcome and are always looking to innovate. 

The roll of honour is long, but here are just some of my favourites. Please check them out if you're visiting....

Picnic, Falmouth, Genki, St Agnes, Uneeka, Truro, Good Vibes, Falmouth, and Miss Peapods, Penryn. 

If you're a real coffee lover then look out for the Origin sign outside. It's a local Cornish company that sources and roasts its own coffee. It even insists on giving everyone who serves it a barista masterclass - ahh that's coffee love!

Stormy

Batten down the hatches, there's a big storm brewing. We had a power cut on Tuesday evening when the previous storm came over, and later found out we were one of the lucky ones. Six boats sank in Porthleven, houses were pounded and the main train link to Exeter is now in the sea. 

Let's keep our fingers crossed that everyone comes out of this one safely. 

Totally tropical

Today the sun shone, and after casting dubious looks at the sky and packing our wet weather gear just in case we headed off to a beautiful sub-tropical garden. Trebah Garden is nestled in a valley by the Helford river and enjoys its own sheltered micro-climate. Although we get a lot of rain here in the South West, we rarely experience frost so tropical plants and trees thrive here. 

I've recently started taking an interest in gardening, inspired by my fellow bloggers and so it's great to visit somewhere that has a similar soil and climate to see what grows well. I've spotted quite few of these plants happily growing in gardens near me, but I couldn't confidently tell you what they're called!

However, I have learned to spot Hellebores and was delighted to see one of the first signs of Spring together with snowdrops and primroses shyly poking through. 

We rampaged through a fortified playground, and took turns on the fastest zip wire ever. We weaved through bamboo groves, past 150 year old giant trees and down through shaded groves.  

Until at the bottom of the valley we stepped out onto the garden's very own private beach. 

My husband was feeling brave and donned a wetsuit for a quick dip, but we thought the water was a bit too chilly for anything more than a quick paddle and a race back for hot chocolates!

Happy new year!

Cornwall is the land of rainbows

This winter has been a season of real contrasts - ferocious storms one day and then glorious sun the next. 

We've been very lucky to escape any major flooding or storm damage where we live, I know some haven't been as fortunate.

 I hope everyone now has a more peaceful start to 2014.

Happy times

Isn't this a beautiful place? We stopped off in Gweek on the way home, it was early evening and the sun was dipping low behind the wooded hills. The tide was high and we enjoyed a cloudless sky with not even a breeze to make the water ripple.

This a working boat yard, but all was quiet as everyone had downed tools and was relaxing. We watched as a pair of swans drifted passed, pausing by the boats hoping someone might throw them some scraps from supper. 

Gweek is a small village on one of tributaries of the stunning Helford River with a pub, shop/ post office and a boat yard. It's been a port since Roman times and in the past has seen hundreds of small boats sailing up and down the creeks with cargos of oysters, copper ore, pilchards and limestone. It's also home to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary where they look after and rehabilitate sick, injured and stranded seals. 

Well could you resist? Sid's Fish and Chips has been visiting Gweek for years, he knows all the regulars and it only takes one visit for him to recognise you again. After working up an appetite on the rope swing, we took our take away and sat down on the bench overlooking the river. 

There followed the sound of happy munching and the relief of no washing up!

Last hurrah

I thought I'd share a picture of these beauties, there is a whole field of sunflowers nearby that just shouts 'summer' and looked fantastic in the early evening sunlight. You can definitely feel a nip in the air, especially in the mornings but just when I start thinking about packing away my summer clothes the afternoon brings bright sunshine and warmth.

September is traditionally the month when Cornwall relaxes, the visitors head home and as soon as school starts you can almost guarantee the weather will be dry and sunny! This is when I really appreciate just how lucky we are to live here, as we're able to head for the beach after school and enjoy having lots of space without tripping over someone else's bucket and spade.

This summer has been a real knock-out, the first proper one since we moved here over four years ago. I know it's what will keep me going in the winter when the mizzle descends. Until then I just want to enjoy its last hurrah for as long as possible!