Day 2 – Saturday 11th 2024 – Arriving in Cornwall

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We woke up in The Premier Inn Frome after all of us having a hot and sweaty night……don’t start me off about the legislation which prevents hotels from having windows which open to let air in…..grrrrr….anyway at 8.30 John had walked to Gregg’s Bakery and purchased 3 ‘bacon butties’ and we were all sat in our room eating them and drinking coffee……we don’t go to restaurants for breakfasts when we have a long drive ahead of us…we prefer a light bite and off we go.

We decided to stick to the ‘A’ roads as much as possible and only use the M5 to scoot around the edge of Exeter. It was a very scenic drive…we took the road towards Glastonbury before branching of to Bruton, small town famous for its Private Schools. It has two longstanding secondary schools- Kings School founded in 1519 and Sexey’s School founded in 1889. The later was named after Hugh Sexey who was born locally and attended Bruton Grammar School and was Royal Auditor to both Queen Elisabeth I and King James I. We off course passed the usual crude jokes with regard to the name of the school !!!. On entering the town one is struck by the splendour of St Mary’s Church which dominates the centre of the town.

Following this town we joined the A303 into Devon, and went on the infamous Honiton bypass. We then detoured off the A30 ……Devon and Cornwall don’t have motorways traversing their counties but the A30 is of a motorway standard in all ways except name.

Our detour took us into the village of Ottery St. Mary. Here we visited the garden centre. It’s well know to Dad who often visits it when staying with my sister who lives in Devon. We had a nice coffee and stretched our legs, before carrying on.

As we left the village a long convoy of assorted cars in all shapes and sizes.

We continued on through some typically Cornish lanes….very narrow, with passing spaces and high banked sides…the banks at this time of years are filled with beautiful wild flowers……so a very picturesque trip.

We stopped in Liskeard to pick up a picnic lunch and sat at the station to eat it. The station is always a pleasant place to be….the mainline trains arrive on the two main platforms with the branch line train to Looe departing from platform 3 which is at right angles and across the road from the main lines.
After lunch we continued to Par. We picked up the keys of the house from a prearranged point and found it easily enough (might have been easier if I hadn’t mixed up my 6 & 9 !!!!). The house is very nice, it could easily sleep 6 …..it consists of a lounge, dinning room, well equipped Kitchen, 2 bedrooms with King Size beds and one with twin beds and two bathrooms, a conservatory and a garden. I booked it through http://www.sykescottages.co.uk. This is a company we have often used to book holiday accommodation . It was £800 for the week. The welcome pack was very nice. We had arranged for a Tesco food and household goods delivery an hour after our arrival. So we are now all set for a very comfortable week.

Cornwall Staycation…..Day 1 – The Journey!!

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We are off for a weeks holiday in Cornwall, the southwesterly tip of England. It is one of our favourite holiday destinations when we are staying in our home country. Before the pandemic we just called it a holiday now we call it by the rather grandiose name of a ‘Staycation’ !

We set off from home this morning and drove across to my 93 year old Dads house to pick him up. We had an extra companion today as dad has purchased ‘Little Betty’ ( a fold up, pull along one piece mobility scooter), and she sat proudly next to him on the back seat. How we fitted the usual amount of luggage in as well as Little Betty is beyond me…but with a fair amount of pushing and shoving and a few choice words we finally shut all the doors and set off at 10.00 am.

We made good progress with very few hold-ups, on a road much travelled by us. Heading straight through Bicester and on to the A34 then turning to Swindon on the A420. There is a delightful restaurant and Motel called Mollies, on this road. A room would cost you about £75.00 per night….but I am ashamed to say we only usually stop to use their very plush facilities!!!
On reaching Swindon we joined the M4 west towards Bristol exiting at junction 17. From here we took the A350 signposted to Poole, bi-passing Chippenham and through Melksham towards Westbury. Dad likes going this way as he had 6 weeks training in Melksham when he was drafted to the RAF for his National Service in 1955 until 1957. We are always interested when Dad talks about his past….his actual main posting was at RAF Upwood, near Ramsey. We’ve taken him to visit this now derelict shell, which has been vandalised and graffitied all over….Anyway I digress……..When we got close to Westbury we wound our way down a farm track and parked up near the railway line….this is a spot we know well and have spent many a relaxing day with John photographing trains and Dad and myself enjoying the beauty of the unspoiled countryside around us…….we were actually here when I read on my iPad, the up to date news, that Boris Johnson was putting the country in lockdown……we had to race back to our hotel and pack up and drive the 3.5 hours journey home….again I digress… today we sat and had coffee and our sandwiches, enjoying watching my dearest husbands jubilation at photographing a few trains he hasn’t already seen this year.

I also decided to book us into a rather quirky hotel on our return journey. John and I had stayed at The School House and Restaurant at Wootton Bassett a few years ago and decided Dad really ought to share the experience…..I won’t tell you all about it now but I will say it really is a good stop over, lovely rooms, great food and superb hosts and I include the dog in that!!!! I tried phoning to make the reservation but had to leave a message……more on this in a minute or two……

We continued our trip on to Westbury Station, John likes it there as there are usually freight locos stabled up. Today was no exception. We dropped him off and he said he’d phone when he was ready to be picked up.

Dad and I drove around to a small Youth Sailing lake and watched the boats and enjoyed seeing the very young goslings. On returning to the drop off area of the station the phone rang and thinking it was John I answered in my best Policeman Plod voice “Hello! Hello! Hello!”. I was absolutely flabbergasted when a female voice laughingly replied “Hello! Hello! Hello!”, ….oh dear … I felt obliged to explain that I thought she was my husband calling to be picked up…..Dad was laughing his socks off…..needless to say it was the owner of the School House Hotel. Yes! I think she thought I was totally mad….but she took our booking £76.60 per night for a double room bed and breakfast, she also booked us a table in the restaurant. We will look forward to this as the last night of our holiday.

I had just finished my conversation with her and John walked out of the station saw us and once again we were on our way. This time only a few miles to Frome where we are staying overnight in The Premier Inn. Again we’ve stayed here several times before, it’s comfortable and a convenient stopover as Cornwall is really too far for us to drive in one go, it also has a “Beefeater” next to it and at £75.00 a night per room -room only, you can’t really go far wrong. A bit of a tip about Premier Inns if you have a request like us :- two ground floor rooms next to each other, you need to phone them directly and request it with your booking number, because if you fill it in on the special request form when you book it goes no further than Central reservations….. the actual hotel can’t see your online special requests….anyway, there was a lift and the receptionist did manage to get the rooms just one room apart so we were grateful…we were also grateful that she told us why our request hadn’t been honoured…this isn’t the first time Premier Inn hasn’t honoured our requests so at least now we know why….Nice rooms but be warned..no air conditioning and the windows only opens a couple of inches…..

Tomorrow we go to the house, in Par, Cornwall, which we have hired for the week …

Grand Cayman Island – Caribbean – BEEN THERE GOT THE T-SHIRT.

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The Cayman Islands, are British Overseas Territory covering  264-square-kilometre (102-square-mile). They comprise of 3 islands in the western Caribbean Sea. The island we have visited on a couple of occasions is Grand Cayman. It is the largest island and well known for its beach resorts and varied scuba diving and snorkelling sites.  The 2nd largest Cayman Island is Cayman Brac which is a popular place for deep-sea fishing excursions. Little Cayman, the smallest island, has interesting diverse wildlife, including endangered iguanas to seabirds such as red-footed boobies. The capital is George Town, on Grand Cayman.

Grand Cayman, the largest and most populous island, is about 22 miles (35 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) across at its widest, with a total area of 76 square miles (197 square km). 

We arrived by Princess cruise ship and tendered in to shore and embarked on our ships tour of the island. 

Our tour included a sightseeing trip around George Town.

We then visited the Turtle farm at Boatswain’s Beach. At this eco-sensitive attraction, there are 100 round pools containing turtles at different developmental stages. There are small baby turtles, a 600-pound giant turtle, and everything in between. All the turtles have been raised at the farm with the hope of increasing the population and preventing them from being hunted to extinction…….the sign at the Centre says …’ The Cayman Turtle Centre maintains a small population of Kemp’s Ridley’s, the most endangered sea turtle. In 1980, in response to fears that this critically endangered species could disappear completely from the wild and to ensure genetic preservation, yearlings were brought from Mexico to here to start a breeding colony. In 1984 the Cayman Turtle Centre became the first place in the world to successfully breed captive reared Kemp’s Ridley’s. In April 1999, 110 Kemp’s were sent back to Mexico to continue the cooperative research project which started in 1979’.

We had such fun learning about the turtles and we were taught how to hold them and how they really like their neck stroked…it was a very special couple of hours.

There were also some very photogenic lizards basking in the heat of the sun.

Our tour continued along Seven Mile Beach. The beautiful Seven Mile Beach lies along the Caribbean Sea and has white, soft sand and gentle waves. There are plenty of places to hire a sun-lounger and parasols and indulge in a nice cool drink. 

Our next stop was Hell. Hell is at the top of most visitors’ itineraries. Hell is where you can see the beautiful volcanic like spike rock formations.  This is what Hell says about the rock formations …..”The sharp grey coloured pinnacled surface of the Caymen formation dolostone referred to as phytokarst, ………..This erosion has left an eerie and desolate looking landscape that earned this location its highly appropriate name. “

There is also the famous post office from where you can mail a letter back home post marked from Hell…….which of course we did…however only 3 of the 5 we posted arrived in England and we had been home 4 weeks before they turned up !!!!!!

John spoilt me here and bought me a gold pendant with a circular ball of the dolostone in the middle. 

One of the islands delicacies is the famed rum cake, we stopped at the Tortuga Rum Cake Company for a tasty morsel.

What a wonderful visit to an interesting Island we had, had…

Our next trip to the Caymen Islands we decided to revisit the Turtle Centre and this time we went across the road to the Dolphin Sanctuary. All the dolphins have been  rescued and due to their medical needs they are very used to human interaction.  To fund their keep and further rescues they run Dolphin Experiences…. We were given life jackets and had been told to wear swimming costumes and swim shoes. We stood up to our chests  on a ledge in a very large area of water. There was a mother and calf and the mother came and greeted us all by shaking our hands, rising out of the water to a raised hand, kissing us and rubbing our cheeks. After our individual experience the mother returned to the other end of the area and proceeded to teach her calf how to leap and twist and turn out of the water…it was an amazing sight.

Another wonderful experience on Grand Cayman Island….we were sad to leave but it was only ‘au revoir’…until the next time. 

Prague – Czech Repubic – BEEN THERE GOT THE T-SHIRT

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We Flew from Luton airport into Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. Prague is the country’s capital city . The metropolitan area of Prague covers 192 square miles (496 square kilometres). It has a population of 1,328,000. Prague is bisected by the Vltava River. Nicknamed “the City of a Hundred Spires,” it’s known for its Old Town Square at the heart of its historic core, with colorful baroque buildings, Gothic churches and the medieval Astronomical Clock, which gives an animated hourly show. Completed in 1402 the famous pedestrian Charles Bridge is lined with statues of Catholic saints.

We had asked the hotel to pick us up from the airport which they did. The Hotel Rott is situated in The Little Square, which is the parallel square to the main old town square, just around the corner to the Famous Astronomical Clock, next to The Hard Rock Cafe. The buildings of Hotel Rott and the entire Little Square are located in the oldest inhabited part of Prague.  In 1232, the Old Town of Prague was granted municipal privileges. Virtually all the houses on the square have underground spaces, these were originally the ground floors of the early medieval houses. In The Hotel Rott this is where the breakfast is served, the main restaurant is on the ground floor. The hotel Rott has many quirky features. On entering the hotel our eyes were drawn to the old fashioned black metal cage lift, which transported us up onto the floor of our room. Our room was a pleasant double with an en-suite bathroom. Since our visit I believe the hotel has been refurbished ( the plumbing definitely needed it!!!) and a roof top bar has been added. It’s a reasonably priced hotel at about £135.00 per night for a double including breakfast (2024 prices).

We climbed wearily into bed, we had, had a late night flight and wanted to be fresh for sightseeing the next morning. After a continental breakfast which was generous in both quantity, quality and taste we set out to explore. Less than a 100 m away on the corner is the astronomical clock, a popular tourist sight.

Rounding the corner into the main old square we saw the hop-on-hop-off bus stop and we decided as we so often do to hop-on and use it to get our bearing’s as well as see the sights.

We visited the enchanting, hillside district of Malá Strana, with its hidden courtyards and gardens and breathtaking views of the Old Town back across the Vltava. It’s was probably worth hopping off at Malostranske Square and wandering through the district’s warren of winding cobbled streets. However it was far too cold and wet to wander about so we stayed on and discovered the world’s largest ancient castle complex: Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral! You can also see the 12th-century Strahov Monastery, with its incredibly beautiful Baroque library….but once again we stepped off took a few photos and stepped back on to continue our viewing of the Jewish Quarter, before returning to the Old Town Square. This time we were fortunate enough to hear and watch the Astronomical Clock strike on the hour.

During the next 3 days we had a mixed bag of weather. We meandered the cobbled streets in the evening…eating in some lovely traditional cellar restaurants. We stopped off in some of the unusual quirky shops, bought personalised embroidered adult bibs, hand blown glass ornaments and some other nik naks.

Day 2 saw us walking to Wenceslas Square …..slightly disappointed as it is situated surrounded by a busy road, McDonalds, Marks & Spencer’s and other very modern shops….when one’s preconceived expectation is that it would be like the Old Town Main Square.

We managed to get a bit lost on our way back, nothing new there then!!!

…eventually we wound our way down to the famous, 1402, pedestrian Charles Bridge which is lined with statues of Catholic saints. It was absolutely heaving with people, artists and street hawkers selling their goods…..we walked across and back because we felt we ought to not least of all because it was pictured on Johns T shirt which we had already purchased in Old Town.

Feeling a little jaded……..

……….we stopped for a light bite before strolling back to the Old Town Square where we took a horse and cart tour. This is my favourite form of transport and I must say that I was quite disappointed to hear that they were stopping this practice on 1st January 2023. There has been much controversy over this and I am uncertain as to whether permission for horse drawn carts has been reinstated or not…….however we had an hours ride around the Old Town at a very sedate pace, wrapped in a waterproof blanket.

After our Horse and carriage ride we returned to the hotel. I put my feet up and had a siesta, while John went to the main train station and enjoyed a few hours of his favourite hobby.

The following day we took the Tourist Train, around the roads of Prague, from the Old Square. It did much the same as the HOHO bus had….only this time the weather was slightly better and we did get off and on, particularly in district of Malá Strana and the castle and cathedral.

In the afternoon we took a short river cruise to see the sights from the water. Then later in the evening we wandered around enjoying the floodlight aesthetics of the area.

The following day the hotel transferred us back to the Airport……. Our 3 days and 4 nights were great….The right amount of time for seeing the cities sights…we went in October, it was both cold and wet but I don’t think this deterred us from doing and seeing what we wanted to.