Wednesday 21^st March 2018

After a night better than recent ones we awoke to another lovely day. We decided over breakfast to make the most of it and visit the ‘Eden Project’.

First though we needed to check out the site shower facilities. Unusually here the disabled shower is in the ladies loo – so I smuggled Nigel in (not tricky as there was no one else there) to help me as usual. The shower had a timed water button which was fun – had to press it again every 15 seconds or so to maintain the flow. OK when showering but a bugger when shampooing – OK for me though as I delegated button pressing to Nigel. By the time we were all done a couple of ladies had entered so I had to leave first and warn them that my carer was male – luckily they were fully dressed and didn’t mind.

We were packed up and left site at 10.00 – our journey to Eden was uneventful even though our SatNav did try sending us down some narrow roads – we ignored her and followed the well sign posted route.

The project is a brilliant setup – all the paths are tarmac (or some green equivalent) and they have made all areas wheelchair friendly. They have a lot of daffodil displays along the zig –zag entrance path and lots of educational posters to keep the young ones entertained.

It is a bit expensive to get in but you become a member for a year so can revisit as many times as you want.

We took lots of pics – there are two areas – first we visited the Mediterranean and then the larger Rainforest Dome. Both were very good with plenty to see and do. We spent a good 2.5 hours going around them.

We had lunch in the car park (well more like mid-afternoon snack really) and then travelled back to site. We say a thankyou every time we enter and leave the site by the single track access road – we’ve only met one small van so far and he reversed back to a passing place so we could proceed. Fingers crossed we stay lucky.

Nigel took me out to dinner –to the ‘Golden Guinea’ a lovely restaurant in Looe – got a Taxi down had fantastic food (we shared the Brie starter then I had the Sea Bass while Nigel had the seafood linguine) walked a short way to the ‘Salutation’ pub for a second spritzer. A proper old local with a log fire.

I’m not used to drink any more so I may have been a bit squiffy by the time we got back to Voyager but it did send me to sleep very quickly and for a long time.

All in all a great day.

Thursday 22^nd March 2018

I had a lie in this morning – Nigel was up bright and early – I didn’t even hear him get the laptop out of the cupboard above me – I must have had more wine than I thought.

We did all the usual stuff but included a good clean and vacuum of the van before loading up. We proceeded to Morrisons Liskard – did a good shop and then input the postcode for Lanhydrock House into the SatNav. When we were getting close she directed us down a road with a 7ft width restriction. We were surprised bearing in mind that she is aware of our weight and dimensions (over 8ft wide) – as we had already turned before seeing the sign we had to ignore her further instructions and find our way back to the main road – only one minor issue with a tractor but this time on the flat so we got away lightly.

We decided to abort and have a look around Lostwithial instead. We went into the car park (no height restriction – but also no space big enough for us) did a reverse turn in front of the Fire Station and left again. We hoped to find somewhere else but were out of the village before finding anything. We were wondering what to do when we saw a brown sign for Lanhydrock – so we followed it.

It is a National Trust site (I am a member which makes it easy & cheep) and they have made parking easy with not only designated parking areas for cars, disabled and coaches but three designated spaces for Motorhomes. There were very few vehicles when we arrived so all was good.

We had lunch in the car park before getting the scooters out and riding on the well signposted paths to the Reception area. We did the admin bit – flashing the membership card and getting a map of the estate and explanation of its designated wheelchair friendly recommended route. We pretty much do what we like but it is nice to know.

We didn’t go into the house but did do the gardens where most of the paths were accessible to us.

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Nigel went into the Church and took some photos for me to see later – and also into the shop for  few postcards (inside house shots) and fridge magnet for our collection. There were several very brave Robins that got very close (within a few inches of our scooters) looking for crumbs I guess – but it was lovely to see them.

As we completed the paths it was starting to get cold so we returned to Voyager and set forth to the camp site. Tonight I made the steak dinner (with fried onion & mushrooms Roast potatoes and veg) – not the same as eating out but I don’t think you would get better anywhere else.

 

Friday 23^rd March 2018

After a night of wind and rain the day has dawned bright but cold. We move sites again today but have decided to try a train ride before we leave the area.

The car park at Looe station was very small but Nigel was determined – he manoeuvred Betty into a space and unhitched – then parked Voyager in the next space. He thought we would have to pay for two vehicles (which is quite normal for us) but my Blue Badge meant we only needed one ticket the very friendly parking attendant informed us.

We had to wait about 40 minutes for the train but used this time to take some photos and do a bit of videoing.

The return fare to Liskard was £9.20 for the pair of us which I found reasonable. The trip was very good (would have been better if it was a steam train but hey ho) lots of scenic views. I took a lot more photos and Nigel did more video – he’s getting better at it – but needs more practice with the editing. We stayed on the train at Liskard and did the return journey after their normal five minute wait.

We hitched up Betty and set off for Tavistock stopping in a lay bye on the way for our lunch. Unfortunately I forgot to latch the crockery cupboard door before setting off again and when negotiating a steep hill my mug and a jug and glasses spilled out onto the floor. Typically the only breakage was my mug so no coffee for me tonight.

We also seem to be losing track of our provisions as when I made our gammon and chips meal I found we had no sweetcorn or peas – so unusually we had baked beans and tinned tomatoes with it – tasted OK though and still SW friendly.

While I was doing the cooking Nigel was going back and forth to the laundry doing another wash load – and it started raining again so tested the waterproofs again.

Saturday 24^th March 2018

More problems with the heating last night. Nigel found one of the hot air pipes off and the unit was blowing hot air at the wall that has the thermostat sensor on it. Nigel reckons the wall (wooden) heated up and stayed warm enough to turn the heating off. So the wall was warm but the room temperature dropped to 14 deg which is a bit chilly even under the duvet.

He thinks he has fixed it now by gluing a piece of rag around the pipe and jamming it back in the hole. Time will tell.

The day is cloudy and after another night of rain we decided to stay local – do a bit more shopping and exploring Tavistock – it’s somewhere I haven’t been before.

Morrisons was busy so we parked on the edge of the Garage forecourt while doing our little bit of shopping. They weren’t pleased – tannoyed us while we were at the till as they were due a tanker delivery.

We then went to where a sign said Coaches could park (we are about the same size and often use Coach Parks) but they had a notice specifically saying Motorhomes couldn’t park there. They did show a map to another Car Park where they were allowed so we went there. It was not that easy but we did manage to park over two bays (and payed for two) – had lunch (carpark again!) and then had an hour or so exploring the Town Centre on the scooters. Took a few photos as well as buying some new boots and a new whistling kettle as ours has gone silent. Also found some post cards and fridge magnets.

Back at the site for our meal we had lamb chops with veg (done perfect Nigel said).