More Cornwall catch up.....

Believe it or not, we did actually have some lovely weather in Cornwall this year, albeit the first weekend. So in our excitement, we headed off to the beach bucket and spade in hand (plus windbreaks, blankets, tent, cool box, etc., etc., etc.!)

I really can't think of anywhere else in the country that is as beautiful as Porthtowan beach with the tide out and the sun shining. it really is beautful with lots of wonderful sand to walk along and admire the views.

Leah loved building sandcastles - and knocking them over - with her Grandad and splashing about in the sea with her Daddy. Even Evie had a paddle, but it was a little too cold for her little tootsies.

It really was lovely and I can't wait until our visit again next year. What made it better was that it was Richard's birthday, so he went for lunch in Blue bar leaving Anna, Evie and myself to relax - as you can see. She was soundo!

Horse and pony riding in Cornwall

Whilst we were away we visited a place called Dairyland, near Newquay, so the children had something to do other than look around places with us.

One of the activities they could do was to have a pony ride, so of course it was the first thing we did.

Leah was really excited even before getting on the pony....

....and even more so once she was in the saddle. She loved it! Teh pony was called Muffin and was very cute. Look at her excited little face!

She really enjoyed it.

And William did too!

A week later it was my turn and I went riding at Mount Pleasant riding stables in Porthtowan, just up the road from where we stay.

I rode a piebald mare called Phoebe who was very girly! She was a lovely ride and very comfortable too.

We rode over the cliffs over looking the beach and the views were breathtaking.

Say 'Cheese!'

Dorset part one - Lulworth castle and Weymouth

Here is the first of my posts with photos from Dorset, I didn't realise we had taken so many so have had to do it in several goes.

We visited Lulworth castle which was actually burnt down in 1929 so the interior has completey gone. It would have been a lovely hunting lodge inside, as the outside is so grand. It was a bit hair raising walking up to the top carrying Evie, and we were all pleased to get down!


There is a farm you can visit on site and we saw lots of lovely animals including..

...this wonderful peacock (as well as a dozen others)

some ponies,

and some cute and furry alpacas.

there was a cute little seat outside the farm and I had to try it out with Leah.

This is fun!

I was also a bit naughtly so got sent to the stocks. As you can see I was not amused!

Leah was having lots of fun running about and being cheeky, then fell over and grazed her knees.

She was not happy as you can see, bless her.

We had a day out in Weymouth at the end of the week and the weather was glorious. At the end of the promenade we found the mini fun fair and Leah had fun on the rides.

She liked the safari jeep the best.....

....and we even had a ride on a magical carousel.

Finally we had a stroll along the beach, although the sand was pretty hot. Poor Evie had to watch from her pushchair. She'll be able to join in soon!

I am still alive!

Sorry for not posting in ages, I find the time really flies away at the moment. I keep meaning to post the photos from our week in Dorset, as we had a lovely time and Leah loved it, especially all the ice cream.

We stayed in a place called West Bay, not far from Lyme Regis, and other than our pram breaking and having to find a shop open on a Sunday to replace it, we had a really good time.

We visited a place called Monkey World which Leah loved and really didn't want to leave!

I have also been finishing off some projects -

this sweater for Leah which I started in June 2009 (!) but luckily will fit her quite easily, as I was making a bigger size anyway. It has a lovely flower motif on the front, I just have to persuade Leah to wear it now.....


You can find the link to Ravelry here and see what the whole sweater should look like.

I have also made a couple of things for Evie,

this single buttoned cardigan in Snuggly Baby Bamboo Dk which comes up beautifully shiny before it is washed, and isn't too bad after.

I also made her this little Kimono made from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino which is another lovely yarn. I think this is a pattern I will be knitting for my niece when she is born later this year.

Cornwall part four - Lanhydrock

While we are away we always try to visit some National Trust houses and gardens, so this year we weny to Lanhydrock near Bodmin.

It really was a great house to visit and you could look in almost 50 rooms! That is a lot to see.

I'll leave you with some pictures.

Cornwall 2009 - Part three, St. Ives

Here we are are in St. Ives, one of our favourite places. We always visit at least once! If you can see the board in the photo advertising Ghost Walks, well we took part on one of those quite a few years ago and it was really good, but not very scary! More a tour around the back streets in the dark.

We had a nice lunch in the Seafood cafe and it was yummy! I had a really tasty fish stew with some delicious bread.

There were rib rides taking place from the harbour, so we took a photo of the people on their way out. rather them than me, I'm sure they got wet!

We took a walk along the harbour wall - I wonder what they can see? (see later pictures)

This is the view across the water to the other side of the harbour......

......and this is the other view where you can see Porthminster beach. it looks beautiful.

This is what they spied, a cheeky seal. I wonder if it is the same one I blogged about last year??

Cornwall part two - the cider farm and the beach

We visited the local cider farm to taste all the jams and chutneys and to see the animals.

There is 'Stumpy' the highland cow,

some cute pigmy goats,

and some pigglies!

In the afternoon we went to Porthtowan beach as Leah was dying to get into the sea. She just loved it!

What a shame the tide was coming in - as the beach is much more beautiful when you can see the glorious sands. This isn't too bad a view anyway.

Cornwall 2009 - part one - Pendennis Castle, Falmouth

We decided to take a trip into Falmouth on the first Sunday, to do a bit of shopping and to have a look around.

We picked up some pasties and sausage rolls to have for a picnic later that day. As we were going to visit Pendennis Castle we thought we'd have the picnic there (or 'picpic'as Leah calls it).

There wasn't much eating going on really.....

.....more messing about!

Here is a lovely photo of the Castle....

We carefully climbed up the spiral staircases to reach the battlements at the top. The views are fantastic from up there.

You can see across the Fal estuary to see St Mawes castle.....

.....what a stunning view of the sea- and lots of big boats moored up.

Leah and I didn't make it right to the top, mainly because I am the one who has to carry her up there! Instead we went back down and Rich took a picture of us from the top (zoomed in to the max!)

Back from our hols....

Sorry for not being about for the last two weeks or so, luckily we have been enjoying ourselves in sunny Cornwall!

Funnily enough we stayed in exactly the same place as Lissy Lou and the Two Little Boys so it is well worth popping by her blog to see what she was up to.

We have a new camera, so I have to get to grips with that before being able to post on some of our photos. Please be patient, as Richard is also planning a quiz this Saturday night, so he's been hogging the laptop in the evenings!

Finally some of my holiday snaps!

I am so sorry for not bloggging much lately, I juat have a lot going on at the moment. I wanted to share some photos of our holiday in South Devon at the beginning of June. We stayed in a small village just outside Salcome and had a lovely time.

We went to the beach a few times, especially Burgh Island which was beautiful. Leah loved it on the sand.....

....and splashing around in the water!

We also took a trip at the beginning of the week to the Miniature Pony Centre on Dartmoor, and although the weather wasn't that great Leah had a lovely time. She had a couple of pony rides and even though her face doesn't look like it, she really enjoyed herself!

I think it was more concentration than anything else! We had a great time and are all now loking forward to our trip to Cornwall in the middle of August!