Once again, I had the Veggie breakfast. This time without the avocado, it was much more to my palate.

After breakfast we checked out and dragged our luggage through the city centre to the car park. We loaded the car and then drove to Wells to visit the Cathedral to get another stamp in my Cathedral passport. We found the Cathedral was a lot busier than it had been on our previous visits. Even busier than it had been during an Easter visit.

Inside the Cathedral there were a lot of tourist groups making it difficult to see and enjoy the normally serene surroundings. I missed seeing the quire because, as I passed the first time, it was full of tourists so I decided to wait until I passed it on the other side. Unfortunately, when I got there the quire had been closed for choir practice.

During our visit the finishing touches to the Mythical Creatures adventure for children (of all ages) over the summer months was in its final stages of completion. Some of the mythical creatures were not hard to miss, we were greeted by one in the nave of the Cathedral. The creatures were drawn from works in the Cathedral’s chained library.

Our visit to Wells brought back happy memories of our stays in a lovely Wells B&B as well as regrets that our planned Easter visit in 2020 was cancelled due to Covid.

Later, we stopped at Gloucester services and were interested to note that the northbound side of the carriageway was not quite as good as the southbound side.

In Wells and Gloucester services we purchased food for both our Saturday and Sunday evening meals. So back home after unpacking bags we were able to enjoy ‘fine dining’; salmon with lemon and chive mayo, cubed potatoes and pea shoots. It was the second best meal of the week.

After a good night’s sleep in the extremely comfortable bed it was time to sample Hotel Indigo’s breakfast. As with the other Indigo hotels that we have stayed in there is a continental selection and a menu for cooked to order items. I chose the small vegetarian option which included crushed avocado. My instincts that this would not go with the other breakfast items were correct but at least I can say that I tried it.

Straight after breakfast we visited Exeter Cathedral and found it to have a lovely atmosphere. The Cathedral has lots of interesting features, far too many to take in on one visit. We also visited the treasury exhibition which is included as part of the ticket. Before leaving I purchased some books and an advent candle from the shop.

We walked to the quayside where we had lunch in the Riverside Café. We chose to eat inside due to the intense mid-day sunshine. I chose a toastie and Elderflower cordial to drink. It was served in an interesting way; the cordial was in a jug and served with bottled water. You could mix the drink exactly to your taste.

After lunch we visited the nearby Custom House which houses an exhibition of history of Custom House itself, smuggling and the quayside area of Exeter.

Back in town, Mr C dropped off his rucksack at the hotel before embarking on a shopping fix; Brook Tavener, Pro Cook and Lakeland. He bought a few shirts from Brook Tavener but couldn’t find ‘just the right’ gadget in either of the cookshops. We also visited Waterstones where I was able to pick up the latest book in a series that I am reading.

Back at the hotel we chilled out and freshened up for dinner. Again, we had a pre-dinner drink on the rooftop bar, although we weren’t able to secure a prime position for the best view. We dined in The Ivy which we had booked on our travels earlier in the day. I chose fish and chips, a first for me in the ivy. The service was attentive when we first arrived but became less attentive as the evening wore on. We even had to summon someone to pour the remainder of our wine (which is always kept in a cooler away from the table).

Walking back towards the hotel after the meal we could hear music through the open doors of the Cathedral from the Bowie concert that was taking place. We had intended to return to the Ship Inn for a nightcap but as we neared the venue extremely loud karaoke music was emanating from inside so we returned to the hotel instead and found it refreshing to fine the bar was open when it was supposed to be and didn’t shut earlier than stated. Even when the tills had been closed residents could order drinks to be billed to their room. Much more civilised than some of our other recent experiences.

On the quest for a smaller breakfast, I ordered only one Belgian waffle in preference to the usual two. This worked, I had just enough on my plate.

The warm and sunny weather was perfect for a visit to the nearby Lost Gardens of Heligan. We chose to do the woodland walk first which took us past famous sculptures and down to the recently installed leaping fox sculpture, Lowarnes (Cornish for Vixen). The sculpture is crafted from a 150-year-old Rhododendron which fell during Storm Darragh in December 2024. As the sculpture ages the red will fade silvery grey in much the same way as a vixen’s fur changes after becoming a mother.

We made our way to the café for a refreshing drink but whilst we were being served at the counter Mr C decided we might as well have lunch. I felt I had to rush to choose quickly rather than taking time to peruse the menu because I was conscious of holding up the queue. I chose a scone with clotted cream and jam; well, we were in Cornwall! With more time to look at the menu I would have chosen something savoury.

After lunch we walked round the formal gardens, along the way noting some of the memorials to men from the estate that had served in the first world war. With no-one to tend to the estate the gardens had been lost to brambles over the years. The gardens were restored in memory of those that tended the garden and estate before departing for the Great War, many of whom did not return.

Before returning to The Waterwheel we browsed around the shop and had another drink in the café.

Back at the Waterwheel we decided to walk through the gardens to the Holy Well. The pathway was blocked by a chain. We weren’t sure if we were on the correct path so we retraced our steps. Later we found out that we were on the right path and we should have negotiated the chain to continue on the walk. Maybe next time…

We chilled out in our room before dining in the Waterwheel. Afterwards we got chatting to another couple about Formula 1 and bucket list travel destinations until it was time to retire for the evening.

Hoping for a smaller breakfast, I ordered just a few items from the full cooked breakfast. This didn’t work as my plate was filled with extras of the items that I had ordered.

After breakfast we drove to Falmouth to visit the National Maritime Museum. The museum has displays of boats along with galleries displaying different aspects of seafaring history. There is also a temporary exhibition space which is currently housing an exhibition on surfing.

The building is partly built below sea level at high tide. You can walk to the lower levels to see the tide level which was at its lowest point when we visited. At high tides these levels are under water.

We finished our visit to the museum in time for lunch but there was not enough time left on our parking ticket to have lunch without moving the car. I was hoping for crab sandwiches which would have been available in the many cafes near the harbour.

Mr C did a quick Google search and found a recommended café, Lizard Shellfish at Lizard Point. As we were driving there Mr C realised that it was further than Google had suggested but the crab sandwiches were well worth the wait.

Next, we parked at the nearby Lizard Point to say that we had been to the most southern tip of England after visiting the most western point of England when were at Lands End.

We returned to the Waterwheel to freshen up before driving to Fowey where we knew there were lots of restaurants suitable for an evening meal. Fowey was also a bit further than expected so when we passed The Bell Inn we decided to stop there. We both had fish and chips, which were delicious.

After dining we continued driving to Fowey. By this time, it had started to rain and the car park was a little way from the bay so we decided not to stop.

We returned to the Waterwheel were we had a nightcap in lounge which was very quiet compared to previous evenings.

For breakfast I ordered the full English breakfast minus a few items, but it was still too big for me.

We visited Truro to visit the Cathedral so that I could tick off another Cathedral in my Pilgrim Passport. We arrived to find that children were practicing music in the crossing. There was a sign saying no photographs but we were told that photographs of the building were allowed, but not to photograph the students.

One of the school supervisors spotted cameras and rushed over to tell us that we mustn’t take photos of the students.

We found the Cathedral interesting but the only part of the Cathedral to have a calm and serene atmosphere was the south aisle, which is the only part of the original parish church that remains. The rest of the parish church, which had been rebuilt and remodelled more than once since the first Parish Church of St Mary was established in around 1259, was demolished in 1880 to make way for the new Cathedral when Truro was announced as a Cathedral city.

Later, after browsing in Waterstones and coming away empty handed, we visited Charlotte’s tearoom for lunch. It is a quaint old-fashioned tearoom. I was still full of breakfast so I chose a lighter albeit more indulgent option, warmed apple and almond cake.

Before leaving Truro, we visited Cornwall Museum & Art Gallery which houses an eclectic collection of artefacts, not all of which are connected to Cornwall. It also has temporary exhibition galleries, one of which is currently displaying, ‘Cornish Myths & Legends’. The theme tied in with some of the things we had seen in the Museum of Witchcraft & Magic.

On the way back to the car, we went into the shop formerly know as W H Smiths. I was looking for the next instalment of a series of books I am reading as I had earlier in Waterstones. Yes, I could order it online but is much more fun to go on a bookshop hunt. I didn’t find that book but I picked up a couple of other books (buy one get one for £1).

We returned to the billet to freshen up before dining in the restaurant. I chose scampi – the portion was enormous! Afterwards we sat in the bar area chatting to another couple.

We had a lovely breakfast sitting in the conservatory window and looking out on the garden. There was a small buffet selection and a choice of menu options that were cooked to order. I chose Belgian Waffles with fruit compote. They were delicious but the portion was enormous!

One of the reasons we chose to stay near St Austell is it was very near to the Eden project and that is where we headed straight after breakfast. We visited the Rainforest Biome first and, considering it is a rainforest climate, it was less humid inside than it had been outside for the past few days.

We finished exploring this Biome just in time for lunch, after which we visited the Mediterranean Biome. The plants in this environment were much more familiar to us. Next, we visited The Core building which houses the Invisible Worlds exhibition alongside other temporary exhibitions. The architecture of The Core is based on the structure of a sunflower, which is made of hundreds of seeds that combine to create something greater than the sum of their parts.

One of our favourite artworks in The Core was Infinity Blue. The sculpture almost reaches the roof. It pays homage to one of the smallest living beings, cyanobacteria. Inside the sculpture steam is produced and puffed out as rings. It was lovely to see children running around the sculpture trying to catch them.

By this time, after over 5 hours in the Eden project, we had run out of steam so we returned to the Waterwheel to chill out before dining in The Longstore in the nearby Charlestown. I chose lemon sole with Rosmary potatoes and Mr C chose steak. Both meals were delicious.

Afterwards we walked round Charlestown harbour before returning our billet for a nightcap in the bar.

The service at breakfast was not as efficient-much slower-than it had been the previous day. Several people were seeking out the waitress for their order to be taken only to be told to return to their table, someone would be along soon.

The waitress eventually came to take our order (after taking an order from others that had arrived later than us). I chose the blueberry pancake stack. It was delicious.

The temperature had dropped enough for us to follow the local history walk around Padstow. We stopped at St Petroc’s church where we heard the organ being tuned. Shortly after, we arrived at Prideaux Place just in time to join the guided tour at 12pm. When the tour had concluded we enjoyed mackerel pate whilst sitting outside overlooking the deer park.

We then resumed the Padstow walk which ended at the harbour. We continued to the nearby National Lobster Hatchery which we found fascinating. As we arrived, the lobsters and other marine life were being fed. It was fascinating to watch the lobster eat.

We returned to the town and had refreshments in the delightfully named Cherry Blossom café. We shared a cake and I had my usual Elderflower Presse and Mr C a cup of tea. We then returned to the billet to chill out with another cup of tea enjoying the view from our room.

Later we dined in Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant. The service from Olly was excellent but once again, as in Winchester earlier this year, we were left slightly underwhelmed by the food choices. I chose Indonesian fish stew which turned out to be one of the larger meals.

We have dined in Rick Stein’s before these two occasions and enjoyed what was on offer, but something has changed over the years.

We had a nightcap in the Old Ship Inn before retiring for the evening.

Breakfast and the associated service were excellent. There was a buffet selection and a menu offering cooked-to-order choices. I selected a child’s vegetarian breakfast.

Mr C wanted to tick off some of his bucket list items, so we headed to Land’s End via St Michaels Mount. We paused briefly at St Michaels Mount for Mr C to take some photos before continuing our journey to Land’s End.

Both places were a lot more commercialised than I remember from my previous visits. At Land’s End there were lots of tacky over-priced gift shops. You also have to pay a professional photographer to be able to get anywhere near the ‘famous’ signpost. What a rip off! The views, however are stunning and the breeze was a welcome relief given the 90F temperatures we were experiencing.

I got chatting to a couple whilst we were looking at a signboard of marine life that could be spotted off the coast. They were excited to tell me that they had encountered a seal whilst they had been paddleboarding nearby the previous day. One of them had also had a less pleasant experience, he had been stung by a jellyfish.

Before we left, Paddington Bear offered me a nibble of his marmalade sandwich. We decided not to have lunch at Land’s End and find somewhere on route to St Ives which was our next destination.

A signpost directed us to a lovely St Buryan farm shop where Mr C was able to sample a Cornish pasty and I, still being full of breakfast, chose an apricot slice.

When we arrived in St Ives, we hoped to visit The Tate St Ives but we found it impossible to find a parking space. By this time, it was getting too late to park further away and enjoy the gallery to its full. We chose to return to Padstow rather than wander around St Ives.

Back in Padstow the heat was still unbearable. We decided to cool off with a Mr Whippy, there was a mobile van parked up just outside the hotel. I was warned about the seagulls and as I was making my way to safety, and before Mr C had even paid, a seagull did a swoop-and-dive from behind, taking my flake and most of the ice-cream and leaving me with just a cone and a startled couple who were walking towards me.

As I turned back to Mr C the owner beckoned me back and very kindly gave me another ice-cream for free. This time Mr C and I both made it to safety without a repeat offence.

We sat and whiled away the rest of the afternoon in The Old Ship Inn before freshening up for dinner in The Jetty at The Harbour Hotel. We found that the hotel was not actually in the harbour where its sign is situated but on a steep slope above the harbour. When we eventually arrived at the hotel, I chose fish and chips. A thunder storm was brewing up over the sea bringing with it sharp gusts of wind (and later rain) leading the staff to tidy up the outside seating so that it didn’t get blown away. This led to a delay in our food being served, but when it arrived it was delicious.

After eating we decided not to chance our luck with the weather and returned to the hotel for a nightcap. The service in the bar was just as chaotic as it had been on our arrival the previous day.

The first destination of our holiday was Padstow. When we set off (on time), the temperature was 94F s0  we were glad of the car’s air conditioning. We stopped for lunch in Gloucester services where we sat inside after we decided it was too hot to sit outside. Later, we stopped at Exeter services for a leg stretch and another cooling drink.

Padstow, was positively cool at 81F. We parked the car and checked into our hotel, The Old Custom House, which was conveniently close to the car park. We arrived at the most inconvenient time; the hotel was experiencing a power cut. In fact, the whole of Padstow was experiencing a power cut. The power kept cutting in and out for the next half an hour or so.

We dumped our bags in the room and visited the hotel bar just as the power cut out again. The bar maid was in the process of telling us that she couldn’t serve us when the lady who had checked us in intervened and told her that we were residents and she could serve us. All she needed to do was bill it to our room number.

One glass of wine and a cool beer later, we were chilling out in the lounge which overlooks Padstow Harbour. Whilst we were driving to Padstow the restaurant we had booked to dine in that evening phoned to tell us they weren’t able to honour the booking as both of their Chefs were ill. The journey to Padstow had been a long one so, rather than look for somewhere else, we decided to dine in the hotel restaurant for convenience.

However, when we arrived for dinner most menu items  had sold out leaving us with the options of burgers or curry. We told the person serving us that this wouldn’t work and we left. We were able to find a table at the Harbour Inn which is next to The Old Custom House. The food was nice. I chose scampi. This was served with chips cooked in beef fat. I know that many people rave about this type of chips but I was not convinced the flavour worked with scampi. I found the flavour clashed and I think I would have felt the same way if I had ordered the fish instead.

After dining we had a leisurely walk around the harbour before enjoying a nightcap in The Old Ship Inn. We returned to the hotel to find it was buzzing as we sat relaxing in our room with a view over the harbour.

Just as I was settling into bed, I remembered that I had forgotten to pack my lovely new alarm clock that worked so well when we were in Winchester for Easter.