Nick was leaving Merton to travel back to London today, and we had decided to travel down to Lands End over the weekend. We walked down to visit Taw and Torridge workshop with Nick, before leaving Merton. Tony was getting the 1927 Rolls Royce ready for a wedding that afternoon and the cream Jaguar was booked for a 50th wedding celebration on Monday. Linda was putting the final touches of ribbons and artificial flowers to both cars. The vintage cars Tony has restored are quite something. The new shed under construction will house all the vintage vehicles, with new offices on a mezzanine level. Tony took over the business from his father 40 years ago and has built it to what it is today, with the help of his two children and son inlaw Chris.

By the time we returned Barbara had packed us a picnic lunch and had the washing started. It was sunny and it would be a good drying day. It was very kind of Barbara to do our washing whilst we went off tripping! Just before noon we said our goodbyes to Nick and headed towards Holsworthy and then onto Bude. We had hoped to have a look at the seaside town of Bude, particularly the beach, but we had no idea which way to go and there was traffic and people everywhere. Before we knew it we were on the road that took us along the coast. We stopped at Widemouth Bay, obviously a popular place. The beach was quite pebbly, only a little sand. Nothing like Clovelly though! There were plenty of people swimming and surfing. Most were in a wetsuit. It was hopeless to get a park, so we continued on to find somewhere more suitable.

Boscastle looked like it might be worth a look so we headed towards the coast on another of the narrow minor roads. The small village of Boscastle did look really interesting and well worth a look, but there was nowhere to park and lots of people and once again before we knew it we were through the village and going up the hill on a narrow road, with nowhere to turn around! We have since found out that Boscastle was severely flooded in torrential rain in 2004 and people had to be airlifted by helicopter. Boscastle is down in a hollow, a sheltered natural inlet, with an unspoilt fishing harbour village. It is one of Cornwall's area's of 'Outstanding Natural Beauty'. Maybe there will be another time for a visit!

We ended up eating our picnic lunch up on the top road, at a spot where Peter could pull over. There was a castle on a rise, across the fields, over on the coast. Think it was possibly Tintagel Castle. We continued down on the A39, through Wadebridge and then out to Newquay on the coast. Newquay is a huge holiday town. It has an International Airport, lots and lots of hotels and accommodation and plenty of beaches. The surf is usually good too, so we have been told. It was a warm afternoon, so plenty of people swimming, enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend. Our first stop was Lusty Glaze Beach and Adventure Centre. The rubber sit on raft that was being towed by a jet ski looked fun and the option to walk the tight-rope was alongside where we parked. We found our way into the city centre and then out to the end of the point. An ice-cream and a stretch of the legs was what was needed before we headed for Falmouth for the night.

Falmouth is the most south-westerly natural harbour in Great Britain and was often the first port for returning Royal Navy ships. There were Navy ships in the port. While Falmouth's maritime activity has declined greatly from its heyday, the docks are still a major contributor to the town's economy. It is the largest port in Cornwall. Falmouth is still a cargo port and the transfer of cargo also keep the port's facilities busy. The port is also popular with cruise ship operators.

Falmouth also has some history facts that are notable:  

•   In 1805 news of Britain's victory and Admiral Nelson's death at Trafalgar was landed here from the schooner Pickle and taken to London by stagecoach. 

•   On 2 October 1836 HMS Beagle anchored at Falmouth at the end of its noted survey voyage around the world. That evening, Charles Darwin left the ship and took the Mail coach to his family home at The Mount, Shrewsbury.

•   In 1839 Falmouth was the scene of the gold dust robbery when £47,600 worth of gold dust from Brazil was stolen on arrival at the port.

•   The Falmouth docks were developed in 1858.

We stayed at the Penmorvah Manor Hotel which was two mile from the city centre on Bickland Hill. It is an extended Victorian Manor House, with a stable courtyard, that was built in 1872 as a family country home. It is on 6 acres of peaceful gardens and woodland and has 27 bedrooms which includes two master bedrooms with valley and sea views. We went for the cheap internet option of 129 pounds for the night, which included breakfast.

After booking in we went into the city centre and in heading towards the harbour area, found ourselves driving down the narrow main shopping street. We walked the street after parking and there were loads of restaurants and interesting shops. I'm sure it was abuzz with holiday makers early in the day. I think we had actually picked the right time of day to be walking. We tried to book into a restaurant for dinner. Pete fancied a 'Seafood Platter'! But all were fully booked so we had to settle for Rick Stein's fish and chips on the harbour wall. Rick Stein is a pretty big name in Cornwall and his fish and chips were quite nice and very popular.

On the way back to the hotel we took the wrong exit on the roundabout and ended up on the wrong side of Bickland Hill. The SatNav took us home via 'No Man's Land Road'. It was definitely that and I'm so glad we didn't meet anyone else travelling it! The Cornish narrow roads are worse than Devon's, because you have granite rock to deal with on both sides at times!