Lovely azure blue sky to welcome in our final day in Cornwall. We were planning to walk to the station, but like all good intentions……we decided we needed a trip to CO-OP on our way home to replenish my water supplies and pick up some sandwich filler for tomorrow…so it was easier to take the car so we could go straight off. A repeat of the last couple of days occurred…I dropped the men at the station and took the car up the street next to the pub. By the time I had walked back John had bought the group ticket which worked out as £9.20 each for a return to Penzance. We sat waiting for the train in the sun.

It is a lovely stretch of line, taking about an hour from Par…..the beautiful rhododendrons shining purple along the line. The first stop from Par is St Austell, the nearest big town to Par. Following this is Truro. Truro is a cathedral city, being the only city in Cornwall it is Cornwall’s county town and the centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766. The people of Truro are called Truronians. From the train there is a great view of the cathedral.

Three train stops further on is the picturesque village of Hayle. The estuary and the beach area look more than a little inviting from the train.

The next station is St Erth. It is also a park and ride. This is a quaint but very busy station. Many disembark to take the branch line to the famous village of St Ives. We’ve done this many times , as St Ives is a village on a beautiful beach, with many fish and chip, cafes etc on the beach. A walk through the tiny shop fronted lanes takes you to the harbour, where boat trips depart and ice-cream vendors are kept occupied. The quaint lanes are home to many art, craft, beach wear, slightly hippie/surfer style shops…..we decided to give it a miss today, John breathed a sigh of relief as did his wallet !!! We continued on toward Penzance. The train runs along the sea front and there is a good view of St Michaels Mount. St Michael’s Mount is one of 43 unbridged tidal islands accessible by foot from mainland Britain. You can enjoy the walk across the causeway to reach the island at low tide, or if the tide is in, you can  take a short boat trip across. This iconic rocky island has a medical church and castle perched right on its top. ….the oldest of these buildings date back to the 12th Century. The Mount is still home to the St Aubyn family as well as a small community …it is jointly managed by the family and the National trust.

We disembarked in Penzance. The station is on the sea front, next to the bus station, fishing dock and the Tourist Information.

I visited the later, tourist information, and a very helpful lady explained about the sightseeing bus. It goes around the peninsula to Lands End and up the northern coast of Cornwall to St Ives before going inland to St Erths and back to Penzance the same route as the train. It takes 4 hours, you can get off at any of the view points but it’s 2 hours before the next bus comes. The price for a full day ticket is £9 per adult…..it was due to leave at 13.15. We ummmed and arrred about it but decided by the time we’d done it and got back to Par it would be a very long day…..so plan ‘B’ the lady told be about Mermaid boat trips. They do several fish or wildlife trips…we fancied the 2 hour wildlife trip which informed us that you could see seals, cormorants, dolphins and if you’re lucky whales. The kind lady in the Tourist Information pointed out where we had to go and off we went. After a short stroll we found the shop and the lovely lady rang through to see what time the trip was going….unfortunately it was full….never mind. We decided to do plan ‘C’ which was actually our original plan….we had a bacon butty from the bus station cafe …great place, it’s been there for years, used to be called the ‘Greasy Sausage’!! We sat outside and enjoyed our fat bacon butty in the sun, before wandering back to the station. We didn’t need to wait long for our train and we returned to Par….

Supper tonight was delicious fresh dressed crabs, freshly boiled new potatoes, tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, beetroot and celery & nut salad…it was truly scrumptious.

Tomorrow will see us packing up and heading north back up towards home, we’ll take it steadily stopping over night on the way.

.