Cornwall

My family have been spending their summer holiday in this part of the world since I was about 5 years old - I can remember the first farm house we stayed in, nestled in golden fields with a downstairs bathroom.  Going down at New Year has only been a family tradition for the last three years or so but in my book doing something twice is enough for it to deserve to be called a tradition.  West Cornwall in December is probably not for you if you are after some winter sun, but it is one of those places that can be explored no matter what the weather or time of year - it always allows you to make new discoveries and tempts you back with the hint of more coyly held secrets.

We had four (yes, FOUR) dogs to keep us company.  Fitting four adults, one nine year old and five dogs into a tiny car was an interesting and muddy experience.

Luckily they slept a lot after their adventures...

...for about 20 minutes.  Then it was time to get up and go again, to seek out new horizons and interesting smells.

 
As a treat one morning we had a delicious brunch at Mackerel Sky Cafe in Penzance.   Sea air and a full English both rank highly on my list of favorite things - both together creates a triple word score combo bonus (if that's a real thing - I'm not a Scrabble player, my spelling isn't up to it.  It's good spelling, but it wobbles and the letters get in the wrong places).

In the land of daydreams and make-believe we bought a chapel that we saw for sale, did it up and made a beautiful home and a tidy profit.  In real life, it didn't have mains water or sewerage and we didnt have the money.  Sad times.

On New Year's Eve, we toasted marshmallows on the beach as 2013 was rung in and watched as a group of enthusiastic young-ens rushed into the sea, unable to wait any longer for their first swim.

“If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.”
―Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

 See you soon granite shore, don't forget us.