Carefree in Cornwall

We're just back from a wonderfully relaxing week away in Cornwall. Hubby and I, our youngest daughter, and her bestest buddy stayed in a small, modern cottage in Fowey.

It was the perfect base for our holiday, as it was fairly central to the things we wanted to do, as well as having plenty of eateries and quaint little shops within a short walking distance.

I took around 350 photo, but don't worry, I won't bore you with them all! I'll just show a flavour of some of the days that we spent in this tranquil part of the world.

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We made new friends at a local bird sanctuary...

(As you can see, there were more than just birds!)

(Feeding the meerkats some juicy mealworms!)

Restormel Castle provided some ancient history...

A fabulous day was spent at the lost gardens of Heligan.

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We were able to include a stop-off at Mevagissey that day too.

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Whilst the girls went pony trekking one morning, hubby and I went for a walk across Bodmin Moor.

We spent the rest of the day together at Portscatho...

Yes, you know what I'm going to say now, don't you?!...

Of course I paid a visit to Christine at The Sea Garden!

I haven't been before, and Christine's lovely little shop did not disappoint. I didn't take any photos of inside the shop, as there were several customers browsing at the time, but I know you will be familiar with this little paradise, having seen posts such as this one on Christine's lovely blog.

There were so many treasures that I could have happily given a home to, but with limited space in the car, I had to be restrained!

I bought this old velvet covered box, a handmade notebook, some vintage Suffolk Puffs, fresh water pearls, a pincushion cake and a very old embroidered motif I aim to add to a bag.

The girls were happy too, as the shop is just a few steps from the beach, so they were able to while away several hours swimming and body-boarding.

Another day we went a little further afield (Too far, if I'm being honest, but we had already booked tickets for the girls to go to a matinee performance at the open-air theatre at Minack)

After dropping-off the girls, Hubby and I carried on to Lands End. We'd not been before, but having travelled so far down the tip of Cornwall, we thought it might be worth the effort. I personally wouldn't recommend it - its mostly tacky and commercial)

We enjoyed the view for a short time and then left.

Instead we spent the rest of the afternoon eating Cornish cream teas and walking the quaint harbour-side at Mousehole!

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Back to Fowey now, which we much preferred, and having spent a long day travelling down to the very tip of England the day before, we decided to enjoy a quieter day at base camp!

We did make the very short trip via ferry to Polruan on the other side of the estuary though...

Where, thankfully, it was very easy to discover a little shop that I had hoped to find! You may remember me mentioning Julia to you, on previous posts. Well, Julia is now up and running and opened her new shop in Easter this year.

The Cup and Saucer Vintage Emporium is on Polruan's main Fore Street. A treat for any vintage china lover!

Julia is currently working on a new website too, which can be seen here.

Again, as space in our car was very tight for travelling back home, I had to be very selective in what I bought. I thought I'd use the trinket pots to make a display with dried lavender in my own shop.

After saying our goodbyes to Julia, and promising to visit again, we made the return trip on the ferry, back to Fowey.

The girls had some fun at one of the secret coves!

Then it was time to fill our tums again :)

Our final day was spent at the Eden Project.

Its a very informative place to visit - so I'd recommend visiting their website if you'd like more information. Here are just a few shots from our visit.

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We made the climb to the top of the viewing platform inside the rain forest biome.

The view was spectacular, but it was extremely hot and humid, so it was suggested that visitors only spend two or three minutes there, before walking back down again.

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We really enjoyed the slower pace during our week away, but tomorrow its back to work again...

I know I'll be dreaming of Cornwall for a while yet...

Niki x