five get over excited

crackington haven is a tiny village on the north cornwall coast, around 8 miles from bude, and situated in a steep-sided valley. there is a small snack shop, a pub, and a telephone box. we (me plus sarah, john, rachel and paul) have just returned from nine nights in a beautiful thatched cottage, a one minute walk from the sea, or if you prefer, 55 seconds from thom yorke's house (we saw him - he had green wellies on but still looked every bit like a rock star). we (above personnel, plus rick), stayed in the same place last year, and therefore knew we would have a great time.

friday
we traveled down after work, and whilst everyone else unpacked and cooked pizza, rachel and i took our cars down to the pub car park, where we paid an unnecessary £10 each for one week's parking. later on, both paul and i had trouble with the medieval cork-screw, which tended to force the cork into the bottle, causing a backdraft of merlot.

saturday
today we went to bude, for a look at the shops, a walk in the (windy) beach, and a cup of coffee at the summer bay diner. the bude lido reminded me of an east berlin border installation.

the evening meal was cooked by john (we all took turns to cook - see below for full menu), and entertainment was provided by celebrity top trumps. After a few rounds played to the standard rules, we adopted different themes, such as 'with whom would you like to go out for a drink', and 'who is best at maths'.

sunday
today was the only poor weather day of the whole trip; not bad going for october. the weather has been topsy-turvy this summer anyway; crackington was affected by the same floods that devastated boscastle in august. the damage in our village was less severe - the other shop, a house, and the road bridge were covered by muddy waters. the footbridge to the beach was totally washed away, and a hastily-constructed 'temporary' bridge now stands in it's place...

we decided to stay in on this day with the sunday papers, a log fire, and sarah's sunday roast plus pudding extragaganza.

monday

the weather was better today, much better. we went to padstow, which should be renamed steinville, because it seems that every other shop is owned by rick stein, the fish chef. we went to the harbour, and enquired of a salty sea dog (in fact a man) if he would take us out in his boat, so that we could catch some mackerel. but we were informed that although mild conditions prevailed inland, out at sea gales were blowing. so we caught the ferry to rock, just across the bay. there, we walked along the golden sands, and enjoyed a coffee, but not before john had fun with his new kite.

back in rick-on-sea, we sampled the omnipresent one's fish and chips. yummy! i think today was when we intrudoced boggle to the procedings.

tuesday
paul suggested the lost gardens of heligan, so we went there to learn how they had become lost, and who found them again*. the gardens overlook near-by st austell, and extend to some 200 acres, so a full day is required if you plan to see everything. restoration is ongoing, but much of the original layout is completed to a degree that allows you to imagine what the place would have been like 100 years ago.

we had lunch in the potting shed, where we sheltered from the rain, and saw a ghost gardener. (having watched a beautiful mind the previous night, sarah and i weren't sure if she was real or imaginary).

wednesday
today, sarah's mum and dad came to lunch; they were on holiday, in rock. the rest of us went to bude to confirm that the shops were still there, and give sarah space to cook. in the evening we went to trebarwith strand, but the tide was in, so we went to the mill house inn for food. i have never heard anyone squeal in excitement over sea bass before (although it is something that i imagine rick stein does).

thursday
john drove us to port quin.

i so want to live in this tiny, tiny national trust owned village. look at the cottage, it couldn't be dripping with more quaintness if you poured quaint paint all over it. next along the coast is port isaac, a big village, on this day suffering from cornish country road rage which stressed out john. on the way home we passed the gaia energy centre, and called in. but it had closed down due to lack of visitors; all that remained was a discount book sale of the stock.

friday
another good weather day. sarah made coffee and walnut cake, and we took it, and coffee, on a walk to st genny's, where a church has stood since the 10th century. as we rested at the top of the big hill on the right, three inappropriately dressed (converse sneakers, leather jackets, skinny t's) youngish men walked passed us, and sarah and rachel speculated that they were rock stars. we looped round cleave (very steep hills), and walked back along the river. our third visit to bude was necessary in order for paul to gather ingredients for his meal. sunsets in crackington are usually spectacular, as this picture confirms:

the nights now were getting chillier; we were grateful for the log fire. we cracked open guess who, but decided to liven up the game by playing semiotic rules - that is rather than simply asking 'does your person have facial hair', you need to make judgements about the person, eg 'does your person recycle'. rachel was particularly good at this.

saturday
sarah and i wanted a non-car day. unfortunately, if you are familiar with rural buses in the uk, you will know that this is easier said than done. two routes serve crackington, one runs on tuesdays and fridays only, and service 594 runs four times each day (sundays excepted). we chose wadebridge; paul came with us, john and rachel drove to tintagel. we had only two hours in wadebridge, but i reckon that is more than enough. after a pasty, we split up; i walked a little way along the camel trail, to the A39 road bridge.

they were rock stars; paul spoke to one of them on the beach tonight. they were sent here by their manager, to get away from the distractions of the big city. rachel and sarah really wanted to invite them for tea.

sunday

subdued mood, as always, on the last day of the holiday. overcast skies matched feelings towards returning to work on monday morning.

menu**
friday
tea: pizza
saturday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: sandwiches
tea: garlic chicken with poor man's potatoes (john)
sunday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: sunday roast, apple and blackberry crumble (sarah)
tea: don't be silly, we were stuffed from lunch
monday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: fish and chips (rick stein)
tea: vegetable soup (sarah)
tuesday
breakfast: cooked breakfast
lunch: sandwiches
tea: cottage pie (me)
wednesday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: onion tart, wild rice salad (sarah)
tea: prawns, steak (mill house inn)
thursday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: pasty
tea: fish pie (rachel)
friday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: sandwiches
tea: lamb kebabs, trifle (paul)
saturday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: pasty
tea: avocado prawns (me), spaghetti and meatballs (sarah), apricot and chocolate pie (john)
sunday
breakfast: boiled eggs, toast
lunch: pasty

*the great war, tim smit
**subject to errors of memory