Polperro, Looe, then Fowey

Whilst Polperro still has that special little charm, it smells of foul water and just feels damp and under invested, Looe had a spritely buzz to it, downed some ice cream on the harbour wall, then randomly visited Fowey, which was very nice, had a good level of investment to make it popular, but not so much to make it naff. Photo above is of course Polperro and after the abysmal picture quality of my old iPhone, I have to say that over the last couple of months found the iPhone 4 camera significantly better at rendering colour and getting good exposure... However, it's still a way to go to match my entry level DSLR !

Room with a view

Just arrived at the next place, nice view is a good start.

Pasty in Padstow

So there we were, outside Rick Stein's cafe in Padstow and i ask.... what do you fancy to eat Lesley ? Ermmm... I think I fancy a pasty to be honest !!!

It's warm today, but generally overcast... Heading off to our final destination later, it's about an hour from here, just north of Looe.

Coastline walk completed !

And it was well and truly worth it ! About 6-7km, 3hrs walking including 15 minutes in the pub 2/3rds of the way around and a killer of a 1 in 4 hill climb from the pub back to the place we are staying at. Both sat here in our underwear, drinking tea and waiting for each other to get up and run the bath ;-)

Lynton & Lynmouth

Had a few hours in the nearby towns, very pretty and generally unspoilt by the trappings of tourism. Shame that the coast is north facing, because it goes damn cold in the shade, especially with an inshore wind ;-) heading out for a walk along the cliffs and into one of the nearby valleys... The boots are out !

Easy tea tonight

After the high brow food of the last two nights, it's really nice to go back to basics here at the old rectory... Great rooms, lovely hosts, nice food....

The Old Rectory

Arrived about 5pm after a circuit that took us into the Brecon Beacons, down through the valleys, along the M4, across the Second Seven Crossing (the free way) then south via the M5 and back onto the A39 through Bridgwater, Minehead and finally Lynmouth - wow ! Lynmouth looks a little treasure, will be taking a look there in the morning ;-)

Another rich tea !

Phew, tonight... We both had an Amuse Bouche of Tempura Anchovy, with a tomato volute, I then had for starter quail done four ways including as a scotch egg ! Followed by venison and rounded off with a chocolate, hazelnut, salted caramel and apricot ;-) I also had a different wine for each course ! Hic !

Lesley had her fill of fish, with mackerel and White chocolate for a starter, skate with an exotic dressing and salad followed by a strawberry, rhubarb and Rose water sorbet !

Yay ! WiFi Signal !

Yeah OK, I'm missing a few photos, had a day out driving around the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean, had a couple of short walks, also a walk around Monmouth, which isn't a bad town, although is crying out for wider footways !

Working up to another amazing evening meal from James Sommerin... Link for ya !

BBC Food page on James Sommerin

Out of signal !

So, just got some signal, we arrived late at The Crown last night, took the slow drive down via Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Shrewsbury, Hereford etc.

Room is OK, wifi not working though, food wise, we both had an Amuse Bouche of a quails egg and crispy bacon on a small piece of broche, I then had Red Mullet and Scallop with a ginger and lime dressing, Lesley had lobster, with a cocoa foam and a lobster bisque, for our mains, I had lamb two ways, with smoked loin served with celeriac and some neck served with a herb crumble, Lesley had Pigeon, then for pud, we both had a lovely lemon, blackcurrent and mint creation... All washed down with lovely wine and served with intermediate courses !!!

Great meal !

See, sunshine in the lakes !

We have survived a whole day without rain in the lakes ! Is this a record ????

Mmmmm.... Scones !

Made it to the top, heading back down...

Great view from the top, shame I couldn't post up there ! Anyways, the route down was very precarious compared to the route up... Back at the Drunken Duck now, having afternoon tea and awaiting our scones ! Ah, this is the life ;-)

Walking we go...

Heading of for a gentle walk up Latterbarrow... Maps, check, walking gear, check, camera, check, Lesley ? Put that DS down, CHECK ;-)

Day Two

Mmmmm.... Great nights sleep, feeling very chilled this morning and looking forward to a gentle walk near Hawkshead... Plus a full English too ;-)

Day One !

Arrived at The Drunken Duck just before 7pm, quick wash and down for tea... Amuse Bouche of onion and thyme soup, we both tucked into some tasty crusty bread, then scallops, with crisp dried ham and pea purée, Lesley then had halibut, I had pork loin, with black pudding, anna potato and a port reduction and I alone finished off with a apple tart with vanilla ice cream and a very tasty £9.50 dessert wine... Yum !

A few days away

OK, for you nosy ones, here's where we are going...

Sat-Sun - The Drunken Duck Inn - Lake District
Wed-Thu - The Crown at Whitebrook - Monmouthshire < Doesn't open on iPad !
Fri-Sat - The Old Rectory - Exmoor National Park
Sun-Mon - The Well House - Cornwall

Well, we like our food !

A funny thing happend in the pub

Just bumped into Guy Ritchie... The place we are staying at is his local. He was all dressed up like the country gent, with pretty new girlfriend on one arm, fashion statement spaniel on a lead... Oi! Geezer, any tables for tonite yeah ?

A tad mixed

Lovely food tonight, excellent wine, but something didn't quite feel right with the place, the staff were great and attentive but the place seemed tired and in need of a boot up the bum to stop it being aloof... Anyways, laid out now chilling.

Arrived in the New Forest

Got here about 5pm, it's gone a bit muggy after a lovely sunny day out in Dorset. We have been to Lulworth Cove, Swanage, Sandbanks and Christchurch today, big news down here is a big new airport terminal... Ohhhh... Had a lovely bath and we are heading down for some food again ;-)

Nice and sunny

The view from the top towards Weymouth... Time for anice cream ;-)

Go west young man

Just got to Lulworth Cove... Going for a walk

Lamb again

Well who could blame me, lamb and mash, washed down with Rijoa, followed by baked cheesecake washed down with a lovely dessert wine.... Yum... Laid in bed now watching Great British Menu from last week ;-)

Portsmouth isn't so bad afterall

After the shock of old town centre we went down to the Historic Dockyard area, visited HMS Warrior, the adjoining museum and the low headroom HMS Victory, which was all very interesting... Jumped on the harbour tour boat which chugged around the Navy dockyards past UK and US warships then got dropped off at a second dock... Ooohhhh.... What's this, the area around the Spinicer Tower is lovely, loads of shops and resturants, nice streetscapes... Lovely...

Enjoying the shops in Rotherham... Erm, no it's Portsmouth

Odd place Portsmouth, grand entry via a motorway, nice open seafront areas, then you get into the centre and it's like a supersized Rotherham !!! Shocking ;-)

Taking it easy....

Back at the cottage now after dinner. I'm a bit tipsy after drinking almost a full bottle, but laid out watching telly now. Went for a drive this afternoon exploring around Goodwood, drove into the car park of Rolls Royce factory, had a nosy around Chichester too... Waiting to see what the weather brings tommorrow before we decide what to do....

It's so quiet here...

Very quiet down here, just been to Selsey Bill, which is famed from the Madness song, moving further west towards Portsmouth, the Coastal villages seem to get more wealthy and prettier the closer to Portsmouth.... Mmmmm... Suns lovely on my back, the cloulds are inland, we are getting sun from the seaward direction, where there are no cloulds.

Sunny Chichester harbour

Soaking up some sun whilst watching the boats bob up and down.

Breakfast

Mmmmm... Full English and the weather is looking good too. Off to the coast in a bit.

Lesley is on the vino

The lush ! She's hit the wine before 7pm !!!! She's ordered duck salad starter, turbot and crayfish main, I've gone for a beetroot and goats cheese tart and neck of lamb ;-) yummy

Arrived safe and sound, having a coffee

Just under four hours from Sheffield with a small mistake of taking the M3 instead of the A3, we soon got back on track and probably missed a massive traffic jam on the M25. Arrived in East Lavant about 4:15pm, it's 24 degrees, sunny and there is a nice cooling breeze... Yay, holiday !

Snow business of mine

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but what is it with people today who just panic when it snows ? Back in my youth, its a while back I know, most cars where rear wheel drive, most people drove around fine on the roads, most people didn't embed their car into a nearby wall.

Today, there seems to be a complete lack of respect for the snow and ice, I see people driving like there is nothing scary about driving on a slippery surface, I see drivers spinning their wheels in such a way they just polish the surface for the next car. Its not just about the rear wheel drive mob, its not unusual to see a big BMW or Porsche drive happily up a hill covered in snow, followed by a fidgitty little Corsa or Peugeot, wheels buzzing for all their might, before coming to a standstill halfway up and looking puzzled...

Roll on spring I say, I'm tired of the muppets !

Perhaps I should post more ?

Given it's been a couple of months since I last posted, I either have nothing to say, been very busy or just plain lazy !

What's new ? Well Christmas has been and gone, had a great set of prezzies this year, including a load of map type stuff, a coffee machine with milk froffer and something called a Sonos - a music streaming device

My back is up and down, but mostly having issues with my shoulder, which is annoying to say the least... The snow has played havok with my schemes on site and I feel a real arse walking acros the icy carpark in three inch steps - roll on summer !!!

Speaking of which, hope to get down south this spring, then get over to Italy again, by car... Really enjoyed it last year, so why not do it again !

Anyways, bedtime for me... Night !

1300 miles later

Whilst some might consider me mad, I'm quite pleased with what I have covered in the last three days. I've pushed my driving limits, visited places I've never been and fell in love with Skye again... The northern part of Skye that is, the southern bit still has the neon dancing girls ;-) Roll on the next roadtrip... I'll be taking Lesley next time though.