UK 2023: Part 8

And so it comes to the final part of the UK summer of 2023!

We’re back in Liskeard, after 5 years, on our final pet sit of the year.

We revisited some places but rather wonderfully found some new ones too. As they say in all the best YouTube videos ‘watch to the end’ – it will be worth it!

BODIM TO PADSTOW:

We cycled to Padstow last time we were here but that’s when we were merely novices and only started from Wadebridge. This year we started in Bodmin – it added another 6 miles to the route so about double what we’d done previously.

It could have been a much longer trip if the incredibly helpful man we rented the bikes from hadn’t kindly paid our pay and display carpark fee. Something I realised we hadn’t done about 4 miles into the journey!

The route from Bodmin to Wadebridge seemed to fly by effortlessly. Oh right, that’s because it’s a gradual downhill slope, but that means coming back…eeek!!

It’s really a beautiful route along the Camel Trail, so called as it follows the River Camel, and well worth the effort it takes to reach Padstow.

When you reach the bridge you’re nearly at Padstow!

Padstow can be crowded but the harbour is lovely. There are lots of interesting shops in the town, some great places to get food (we didn’t have Rick Stein’s fish and chips this time) and a beautiful stretch of beach too if you can get that far after all that cycling. We didn’t!

And all you have to worry about is whether your legs arevgoing to make it all the way back to Bodmin!

PORT ISAAC:

We went to Port Isaac via Truro! But you don’t pass Truro when you drive from Liskeard to Port Isaac I hear you say! That is true, but I’m not sure the navigator knew that!! Huh hum! Needless to say it turned into rather a long journey!

To be honest, after all that driving we were pretty disappointed when we arrived at Port Isaac. It seemed to be just a large parking lot with a few overpriced cafes. We very nearly gave up and went home!

But if you take the path from the cliff-top car park along the coast you will soon find the most delightful coastal town. It was a gem! Phew, thank goodness we stayed!

Port Isaac recently became famous for being the home of Doc Martin – a British TV show starring Martin Clunes which ran for 10 seasons. The show no longer airs but in Port Isaac, it’s still loved!

We found a couple of nice places to get food. You can’t eat too much here though as in 1978 Temple Bar Alley entered the Guinness Book of Records being dubbed the world’s narrowest thoroughfare. Locals call it Squeeze-ee-belly Alley.

I enjoyed the shingle beach and rock pools more than anything. The pier, constructed during the reign of Henry VIII, was pretty cool too!

CALLINGTON:

We really only called into Callington to get petrol, but as we were here we took a stroll into the town. It’s only a small place with a few useful shops, but we loved all the murals!

LOOE:

And so to Looe! We loved it last time and it was still a favourite destination this time. Only 8 miles from Liskeard gave us ample opportunities to drive out there. We also walked to it from Talland once too.

I had to (again). Lou outside ‘In Leiu’ in Looe! (and guess what I really needed to find!)

The town is full of hustle and bustle with loads of eateries and cutsie craft shops.

The sandy beach is lovely, but that’s where everyone wants to hang out so we headed away from the sand towards the rocky areas.

Despite being busy there was always a quiet spot away from the crowds.

But the harbour is hard to beat, and at night it’s breathtaking!

MINIONS:

I’ve saved the best for last! How we didn’t find this place last time I’ll never know but this year we discovered Minions – and I don’t mean those little yellow fellas.

Minions is a small village on the eastern side of Bodmin Moor, which by the way is not a National Park but privately owned. The moorland is littered with relics of its mining past but nature has smoothed all the hard edges – it’s beautiful

We discovered it on an evening walk not expecting to be so blown away by the beauty! We so loved it we didn’t get back to the car until after dark – thank goodness for Google Maps and phone torches!

The scenery is utterly breathtaking, you can see for miles and the sky feels huge!

And to top it all off you have staggering rock formations and ‘The Cheesering’ (which disappointingly is not cheese). And this ride is for free folks!

The sunsets are pretty awesome too!

The car park and ‘The Cheesering’ are on one side of the road and Caradon Hill is on the other. Minions is the highest village in Cornwall so Caradon Hill is a rather good place for a transmitting station, which we could clearly see from the house in Liskeard. We walked to the top to check out the broadcasting mast – which is just shy of 240 metres tall! Impressive!

there were a lot of ponies and they did occasionally get spooked

On the way down we took the more scenic route passing old mines. We also bumped into a lady walking her dogs. She warned us to stay alert. Once she’d had to run and fling herself in a ditch to avoid the stampeding wild ponies! Oh right! Noted! (Her dogs survived unscathed btw!)

And as is usual, just when we’ve settled into a place it’s soon time to leave our trusty companions!

Our last day was long. Leaving the house as we found it took a lot of work and all before driving from Liskeard to Heathrow. We dropped off the rental car and checked into the Ibis Budget for our last night leaving just enough time to panic about overpacking and exceeding our luggage allowance. I always overpack!