May 19-26th 2023
Branch Holiday in West Pentire - Cornwall
HOWLERS visit Kernow for pasties and cream teas
Well, it had been a long time in the planning but on 19th May 12 members of HOWL travelled down to West Pentire to stay in the Manor House. There we met up with Colin and Valerie from Durham and North East Branch and a day later by Tony & Zoe.
*Sean invested in a protective helmet !
The first day was spent getting used to the rather low ceilings in the kitchen & dining room—if you were over 5’6 you needed to duck or grouse*. It is a beautiful house and can sleep upto 13 people, it has a large gravel car park which we all managed to negotiate without mishap.
In the evening the catering section sprung into action and produced spaghetti Bolognese, garlic bread and salad followed by apple pie and custard for 14 people ! As always Charles and Dan were invaluable in the kitchen.
On Saturday two separate groups headed for Padstow. Group A was led by John Flynn and Group B led by Jon Stone. Group B had planned on stopping off at Bedruthan Steps but were unaware it has been cunningly recently renamed as Carnewas—so we sailed on by and ended up stopping at Trevose Head instead. After this we headed on into Padstow where we all met up for a pastie.
John at Bedruthan
Legend tells that the steps were built by a giant named Bedruthan, who used them as stepping stones to traverse the bay.
Meanwhile at Trevose Head some of us were enjoying an icecream and spotted a seal as we walked along the cliffs.
Mine's a Clotted cream - what's yours?
Trevose Head
On Sunday most of us headed for The Cheesewring—a granite tor on the edge of Bodmin. The nearby village boasted the highest tearoom in Cornwall (also the post office) so we thought it rude not to commemorate this and stopped off for tea and cake. After this we walked up to the Cheesewring where most of us climbed up to the top and took many photos. Some great views from up there. We checked out the other café after this as it was definitely lunchtime. We had a fun evening with Music bingo on our phones !
In the meantime Tony Zoe and Dan were off to Healey's for some Cider tasting. Click to Read
The Cheesewring is a natural geological formation of granite slabs, formed by weathering over the course of hundreds of years.
A group of fit HOWLERS soon raced to the top like a band of mountain goats !
On Monday most of us went on a ride to Lands End travelling along the coastroad which was brilliant. This run was ably led by Tom. We visited Geevor Mine on the way and also Cape Cornwall (Worst car park ever-avoid !) and Sennen Cove .
Geevor Mine
We eventually reached Lands End and posed for the inevitable photo with the Lands End signpost.
Tuesday was a do what you want day so people went off on various adventures, In the evening some joined Jon in the pub next door for a pint and after we had a brilliant BBQ masterminded by Charles with a little help from the catering team. This was to celebrate Jon’s 70th birthday (see separate report)—it was a great way to celebrate. Dan kindly supplied the Colin the caterpillar cakes and provided the candles—obligatory at a HOWL members birthday.
Wednesday Jon and Steve H and Bill and Jude went to visit Simon Hammerton who lives near Lands End for a catch up. Simon was a member of HOWL in the early days and it was great to see him again.
In the evening we had dinner at the Bowgie Inn, next door to our house and then walked along the headland to catch the sunset.
We hadn't met up with Simon since the last century !
Watching the Sun go down
Thursday was a ride to Padstow via Bedruthan steps (aka Carnewas )and then a chill time on the beach and packing up ready for our journey home on Friday. Dinner that evening was Cornish pasties all round and finishing up all the leftovers.
All in all a great holiday - the Manor House is in a fabulous location although low ceilings are a bit hazardous to taller folk. It has a few pubs nearby and a beach just about 10 minutes walk.
Thanks to all those who came and especially to all those who led runs, helped provide food and cleared up afterwards. We did over 800 miles on some amazing roads.