LOL!!
Just untill I get the proper piccies!
Before I begin, please keep an eye on this entry for piccies, as at the present time I can't find my phone cable to upload pictures from my phone!!
So watch this space!!
Derek and I always find it most benifical to take a pre-Christmas, short break some where and this year we chose an isloted 1 bedroom cottage that had once been an engine house for a nearby tin mine. Beautifully restored by the National Trust as you will see in the photos I shall upload soon. But kept mostly in a very cosy, traditional style!
Decending, rather steeply and bumpily in our car, and about a mile from the tiny local village, we followed a tiny track, almost hidden by dense woods, only to drive slowly and steadily for another mile, still decending into the heart of the wood. There is a warning sign saying this is your last chance to turn around, about half a mile from the cottage. It was quite forboding realy, spooky and silent apart from startled birds flapping out of our way, and the rush of a bubbling stream. As we continued on I started to wonder if the cottage actually existed at all, as we seemed to be decending so very deep into this steep sided valley. Sure enough we came to a small clearing and our home for the next 3 nights at "Engine Cottage"...a tiny and yet delightful, squat building painted white with a lovely old "stable door" split style front door. I adored it at first sight, and totaly forgot about just how isloated and deep within the woods we were.
Sirius took an immiedate delight to the stable doors!
He has an odd habbit of stading on his hind legs to look over things, and the stable doors, he found were a wonderful oulet for doing this!!
Now because of the position of this cottage there is absolutly no TV or mobile phone reception, which makes you feel a bit cut off...but what a wonderful way to get away from it all!!!! Although I did think this was not a good place to be for someone suffering from heart problams or who might have a stroke, because the chances of getting any help, quickly, were miniscule! Also walking in the area was quite hazardus as many disused mine shafts still lay dangerously open, so walking with care was the order of the day. At night it was absolutly pitch black, and when I looked out of the bedrrom window one evening, I could see nothing but blackness, and hear nothing apart from the russtling trees and the distant hooting of a lonely owl...hastily I scambled back into our 6 foot wide bed and snuggled up with Sirius and a warming glass of Port!
Our days out included, Tintagel, St Austel, Looe, Jamacia Inn, Bodmin moor, Lands End, and other various quaint villages with brightly painted houses often in gaudy colours! I somehow managed to get ripped off on our visit to Tintagel as in a posh looking gift shop my eye caught sight of a "lord of the rings" ring with elvish writing on it. How delightful? I thought and asked about the cost....I nearly has a hissy fit when the shop manager said £240 for the gold ring!!! "we have silver rings that are only £26!" he offered, which was a bit more in my price range so I began to try them on..."they are real silver arn't they?" I had asked as I could not make out the inside mark on the ring. "Oh yes!" he promised...the reason I asked was because I can not wear anything that is not silver or pure gold, otherwise I turn green!!!!!!!!! Anyway I compleatly belived him and bought the ring only to discover the next morning it had turned my finger so green Percy Thrower would have been envious!!!!!! I was simply furious!!! and Tintagel was too far a drive to go back and complain, so I have had to keep the bloomin thing, and may well sell it on ebay as being a "fake" silver ring!..........it wasn't all bad though as I had a mooch around the shops in Poole only to come upon a "rock shop!" For those of you that don't know I have had a life long love affair with collecting rocks, minerals and semi precious stones, and at this shop I found a glittering lump of pure quartz with perfectly formed transparent crystals!!! It was a snip at £45!! and came home with me!! Also at the amazing Jamacia inn Derek and I had a tasty lunch and later a look around this wonderful place that had once featured on "most haunted". At the back was a huge gift shop and Derek bought me a stunning Austrian crystal blue drop necklace, which more than made up for the ring fiasco....and it dident make my neck go green!!
Sadly and all too quickly, our short break came to an end, and yesterday morning we packed in relative silence as both of us dident want to leave! The drive back seemed to last a million years (255 miles to be exact) but we stopped several times so Sirius could have a wee and water and we could have tea and sandwiches. We finally got back at 9pm, and were in bed, exhausted by 10pm!
On a sad note, this morning, Derek has been very ill and stayed in bed...I just hope he has not got this flu thing thats going about...?
At the moment, Sirius is keeping him company, but Mum is due to arrive for lunch shortly which will result in barks-ville from Sirius and will wake Derek up! Goodness I hope not.......we have a meeting with our builders next week and I need Derek to be well!
*puts on Nurses uniform*
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see you soon good people! x