Wild Cornwall...

Back from our travels! Wild, windy and wet but truly great times. Going away at this time of year works for me. It feels like new year, as indeed it is for those of us in education. It's a chance to draw a line under everything and anything that happened since last September and take some time out before the madness ensues once more.

So how was it? Well after the long build up sorting trailers and packing we finally set off on the long journey stopping at the Cartgate picnic area for lunch as planned. We arrived to find that the others in our party had opted for the 'leave at the crack of dawn' start to their holiday and had already setup camp. Communal camping isn't for everyone and it is ultimately a trade off. You loose a certain amount of privacy and control but gain the company, the laughs and ultimately a shared experience. Our fellow happy campers were old friends from the Epsom/Ewell area. Wonderful people who we don't see very often but when we do, we feel as if we've not been apart. During the days we'd muck in together helping with each others kids, making mass-picnics, sharing cars and children's baths. In the evenings we took it in turns to cook for each other, sharing drinks and points of view on life.

We were camped Watergate Bay, a surfing mecca and a beautiful place. A short walk across the cliffs from the beach and a short drive from shops and civilisation. Our days consisted of trips to the beach, mooching around the campsite and trips out. One such trip out was to St Ives to take in some of the famous light. Again truly beautiful. Two years ago we went to Bude which didn't quite live up to my image of wild and wonderful Cornwall. Watergate Bay and surrounding, Porth, St Ives, Mawgan Porth etc were a different matter, totally mind blowing. The wind and rain seemed to add to the rugged charm and I was sad to leave. I know others struggle with bad weather and sand in your pants but for a reason I've not yet been able to put my finger on, I loved it.

After a nine hour drive through bank holiday traffic on the A303 we were home. After such a wonderful holiday I'm now left feeling melancholy and feeling distinctly Autumy! The mountains of washing and clearing up doesn't help, not to mention the odd pile of eager leaves by the side of the road. However the new term beckons and I shall put my mind to it... tomorrow!

Off we go again...

Looks good doesn't it! Well I guess we'll see how our holiday 'develops before us'! Part of me can't wait but there are so many things that could make or break our time away. There's the weather, the car, the rickety trailer, the site, the kids and the group dynamics. there's also the journey which I've been planning today with the high tech help of Dad's Sat-Nav, google the AA and the Somerset tourist info website! The Campsite is in Cornwall but in order to be well prepared I've found us a picnic site half way. Cartgate Picnic area off the 303 in fact!



Now that I have the journey sorter I feel slightly better and I can crack on with the rest of the preparation. Packing, checking, re-packing and loading. This time we don't have Dan's huge and luxurious trailer with roof rack. Instead I've borrowed Tim's which hasn't been used for some time. One tyre needed pumping up and will go down slowly, the lights didn't work, the key to the hitch-lock has long since disappeared and it's tiny. So a bit of DIY and elbow grease was needed to sort the lock and attach our old topbox. We've got the Dan's bike rack too so hopfully we'll be ok but who know's untill the boxes start being loaded. Bring on the adventure!

The Summer So Far...

My last post was smack bang in the middle of a four day residential with five lively lads. That was followed by a fun day in Camelsdale, six youth road show events and now an evening project in Petworth. All of which is just one half of my life. The other has been pretty hectic too with Noah constantly on the move and driving Naomi crazy in just the cutest way possible and the others remembering how to get on with each other. We also had a long weekend in the New Forest with Nyoms family. So pretty busy really.

The New forest trip was great fun. Even in the torrential rain which came just before we'd finished putting up our tent, I still had a childish grin on my face, just so pleased to be in the great outdoors. We were attacked by horses, paddled in rivers and enjoyed fish and chips around a camp fire and best of all I got some great 'Dad time'. This summer has made me think just how precious my boys are to me and how blessed I am to have them.

Right now we're getting ready to head off to Cornwall with the tent on ce more. There's plenty to do; sorting the trailer, packing, a hair cut, finishing work stuff, I just hope this holiday will match up to the last. Camping holidays always seem like a bit of a gamble. They can be magical or misery. We'll see!