Spoiler alert! ….. It’s not always sunny down here in Cornwall!
In fact, the weather can be rather rubbish at this time of year – rain with strong, bitingly cold wind, or what seems like endless mizzle. But instead of miserably looking out of the window, why not get outside and really experience it? Taste the fresh air!
That’s what a couple of friends and I did a few weeks back, when we took our vans to Whitsand Bay.
Day 1- The Arrival
Leaving our vans safely parked up at the Fort (just opposite Whitsand Bay), we quickly obeyed the call of the sea and took the steep pathway down to the beautiful white sands. I was in heaven! Twirling around, feeling the salty mist on my face, I remembered some happy times of my childhood – running around and clambering up the rocks to a big cave where I was sure treasure had been hidden!
Although I felt that I could stay on this beautiful beach forever, it was actually too cold to hang around for long, so we had a quick picnic perched on some handy boulders, then walked along the sands. With Elsie the dog delicately and sedately picking her way through the shallow water left by the last tide.
As the light began to change we climbed back up the path to an unexpected delight – a little cafe nestled on the cliffs – where we continued to enjoy the ocean view, but this time sheltered from the elements whilst drinking a lovely hot coffee and lots of happy chatter about what we would do the next day.
Hoping to have another good weather day lined up, we returned to our vans and settled in for the night
Aaagh! Expecting to sleep like logs, we instead found out how Dorothy felt in the Wizard of Oz! The sound of the wind and rain was horrendous, and we fully expected to be blown away. But our little vans behaved perfectly and we all woke in the morning, ready to do some more exploring.
Day 2 - Braving the Elements
Determined to enjoy ourselves ‘no matter what’ we donned full waterproofs, hats, gloves etc etc, and set off along the coastal path, heading east from Whitsand Bay towards the Tamar River and the border with Devon. After lots of uphills and downhills we reached Rame Head where the medieval chapel/lighthouse tempted us to the top of the very cold and windy peninsular.
With no respite from the stormy weather, we continued on around the coast to the picturesque twin villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. Here, we found shelter and hot soup in ‘The Bay’ – a very friendly restaurant right on the front of the little smugglers beach. Elsie, too, enjoyed a warm welcome, with her trail of wet pawprints across the otherwise pristine floor politely ignored by all.
Suitably refreshed, we wandered outside and spent some minutes being distracted by a man wandering back and forwards on the beach, gathering clumps of seaweed. Apparently it was destined for his compost heap, not to be made into soup or added to his sandwiches as we had imagined!
A quick chuckle at ourselves and we turned inland to follow the route back to Whitsand and our vans.
