We were back in Liskeard!
It had been 5 years since our last sit here and the house had changed. What used to be the garage was now part of a much bigger kitchen, and the cabin in the garden was fully functional (which had come in handy during the kitchen makeover)!


Also rather excitingly, the house had been twinned with a similar location in Malawi! Haha!



What hadn’t changed was the warm welcome from our hosts and the pets, Oz and James. If anything the cats had mellowed!
Despite having lived in the same house for years, and grown old together, it turned out the cats didn’t like each other. They tolerated each other, seeing them in the same room was a rare sight and could only mean two things; there was food or the presence of Mr. Snowman (the reason behind a very jealous triangle)!



James tended to favour Olly and Oz me, or at least that’s what I told Olly. It was obvious they both preferred me (chuckle, chuckle)!
So let me introduce you to the boys…
James: Sweet-natured (apart from around the aforementioned Mr. Snowman), laid-back, and liked his own space. He enjoyed posing for the camera, being brushed, and watching TV (and hedgehogs).












Oz: Unpredictable, needy, and affectionate when he felt like it! He was quickly bored of IT, jigsaw puzzles, reading, and particularly sudoku! But he really liked sitting in boxes.













Liskeard is a quaint place. It’s split between the main ancient high street and a small retail area out of town. We trod both paths many times!
Friendly Oughs Butchers in the high street gets an extra shout-out for helpful ‘days out’ suggestions!

We revisited some of the places from our 2018 visit, which I’ll keep fresh but brief, but many new ones too. If you’re interested, there’s more about the Liskeard area in my 2018 blog – UK 2018: Part 4 (and Part 5).
Cornwall was a full month of exploring and so to ensure I keep at least some of my audience, which I know is a very select few, I’ve split our time here into three parts – yes three!
FALMOUTH:
Our hosts were excited to share that, for a few days, the Tall Ships could be seen in Falmouth. We hadn’t visited Falmouth before so decided to take a look. We took the train but as Liskeard train station isn’t really within easy walking distance we were glad of the car. Daily station parking fees were reasonable too…if only we could work the ticket machine!
Maybe the poor weather kept people away but we were underwhelmed! Falmouth was obviously expecting a large number of arrivals but they just didn’t come! That meant no queueing!



There were only a few Tall Ships but they were magnificent. I would have loved to see them in their full splendor with sails unfurled.

The high street was charming and artsy, Cornwall’s MO!, but the harbour was the most interesting, and the choir was uplifting on a damp day!








TRURO:
Truro was another easy train ride away. The line has been there since 1859 so they’ve had a few years to fine-tune the journey! We found train tickets to be fairly reasonable when we used our Two-Together railcard which provided some good discounts. Only after a few journeys had we made up the cost of the railcard, £30, plus we saved on the price and the hassle of parking in the busy towns. There were some train strikes over the summer but the advance notice meant we just didn’t travel on those days.





Truro is Cornwall’s only city. One thing that defines a city is the presence of a cathedral and Truro has a beautiful one!






The city was vibrant with a good mix of ancient and new.









Truro is inland so it’s not near the sea if you were hoping for a paddle. Even the tide on the three rivers that run through Truro; the Kenwyn, the Allen, and the Truro River, was out on the day we visited!


FOWEY:
Fowey, pronounced Foy, was another re-visit and actually, we went to Fowey twice on this trip. Once in the car and once on foot.
It’s a small town set on the mouth of a river of the same name, the River Fowey. It has bucket loads of charm with its narrow streets and harbour areas. I bet it hasn’t changed much over the years.
It’s the perfect spot for a pasty brunch!



There are lots of parts to Fowey
There’s the artsy high street packed with places to buy food – watch out for those seagulls though, they’re relentless. One gave me a hard clout dive-bombing my pasty…twice! So brazen!









The harbour area








Not to mention the vast collection of interesting doors, windows, and gates.









And also the posh area that leads to Readymoney Cove, St Katherine’s Castle, and the coastal path to Menabilly.









One day we walked from Menabilly to Fowey and back again.





Getting to Menabilly, which feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere, was an adventure in itself. The roads are narrow even by Cornish standards and the parking was in a random field (luckily the sheep didn’t seem to mind sharing!) with an even more random system for paying. Love it!







It’s less than a six-mile round trip from Menabilly to Fowey, not including the browsing around in town, but the topography means they’re hard-won miles. The scenery fills your soul and there are some beautiful tranquil coves along the way. We even got a beginner’s intro to finding Lugworms! Now that really takes me back to my childhood!










I’ll leave it there for the first part of this Cornish Trilogy. Tune in next time for more adventures in Kernow, as the locals call it!
Fab photos and blog again Louise 😘
Thank you, Clare! It’s so lovely to see your comments! <3