Our Summer Holiday

You may or may not know but I've officially been on holiday for the last 2 weeks. We stayed home this year which I had mixed feelings about. I would have loved to have gone to Spain again but the weather wasn't too bad here and we've had plenty of warm, sunny days. We planned lots of local stuff to do. The first week we were mainly a Creation Fest in Wadebridge. Creation Fest is a Christian Music Festival and Bible Week. There were seminars, worship and teaching sessions, evening concerts and lots of youth stuff including skate boarding going on. We went three days and on the last day when we came out from the evening concert this was how the sky looked:

The first weekend of our holiday we went to Cotele House, a local National Trust property in the Tamar Valley.

We have visted this house lots of times but always enjoy it. The house is fairly small and the gardens are beautiful.

 Fowey is a local sea-side town. In recent years it has gone very upmarket. Its only 30 mins drive away but we don't go that often. Simon and I drove down there one evening. We strolled through the streets, popped in to a few shops that were still open.

 We had fish and chips on the quay. The views over the river and towards Polruan were beautiful.

 One of the gems in Fowey is the 'Grammar School Garden'. This is a small garden over looking the river filled with lots of flowers.

 Lostwithiel Castle is another local spot we never visit very often. In fact, I think I've only been once before. It's an English Heritage site. Simon gets English Heritage membership included in his civil service social club membership so we thought we'd check it out.

 The old ruins are beautiful and if you're into history and old castles then it's probably quite interesting. 

 You may be able to tell that this isn't my kind of thing.

 Sibleyback Lake is the lake were our boats are stored and Simon and Emily spends most Sundays there. Last Sunday we went up and walked around the lake before Simon and Em went kayakking and sailing while I did some knitting and met up with a friend in the coffee shop there.

 We've had a very dry summer and the water levels are lower than I've seen them in years.

 This area is normally filled with water.

 Thew view from my knitting chair.

 Did you see the latest 'Alice In Wonderland' film a few years ago? If you did then you may recognise this house. It's Antony House near Torpoint and it was used in the 'Alice' film.

 It's a beautiful, fairly small house (in stately homes terms) and the garden is beautiful. Again, we have been here several times before so we didn't spend ages. A quick walk through the house 

 And some time spent in the enchanting gardens.

 Before we got on the Torpoint Ferry across to Plymouth to collect my new bike (pics at the end of the post). Below is a photo taken from the ferry looking up the River Tamar towards the Tamar Bridge.

 Yesterday we headed down to West Cornwall and Marazion. We got there about lunch time and the weather was beautiful (it was drizzling when we left home and we nearly cancelled out trip).

First we headed out to St Michael's Mount which is another National Trust property we've visited reguarly but always enjoy.

The tide was in so we had to get the boat out to the mount. Emily came with us and it was great to have company. The girls don't often want to do stuff with us. We've hardly seen Vanessa this holiday as she's been working full-time.

 The views from the castle are stunning.

 Looking from the top of the castle down on the garden below.

 The harbour on the mount and view of Marazion.

 We've never been in the formal gardens before. We spent some time relaxing on the lawn over looking the sea then started to walk up the hill to the formal gardens but to be honest I'd had enough of hills so we turned back and headed back to Marazion. It was getting late and we had one more things we wanted to do before heading home.

 It's my birthday in a week and I decided I wanted a new bike. I used to love cycling and as a teenager I used to cycle everywhere despite living in a hilly area. Cornwall is very hilly too and I have ridden bikes on and off since I've lived here but for the last 10 years I've hardly used my bike. We bought my last bike when Vanessa was a baby (she's 18 now), so it was time for a new bike:

 My bike is Apollo Etienne which i bought from Halfords. It's a hybrid bike and I can sit upright on it. Bikes that make you lean forward aren't good for my neck/upper back. I need to be able to sit upright. I got a basket to carry my handbag, knitting and water bottle. I'm planning to get pannier bags too. I'm hoping I can use it to cycle in to town on days where I need to go to post office and don't have the car. It's flat and downhill going there which means it's uphill coming home. But I'll maily use it on cycle tracks. I'm planning to take it to Sibleyback Lake tomorrow so i can cycle while Simon and Em sail.

 There's a flat cycle path from Marazion in to Penzance. We didn't go all the way in to Penzance. Emily used my old bike. Perfect place to try out my new toy. I think Simon wants a new bike too now.

Officially I've still got 2 days left of my holiday but I'm planning to do some work today. I've got several patterns which I should have finished before the holiday but didn't. I've tried to sneak in a bit of work while we've been off but days out leave me exhausted most of the time. Because we've done a lot of walking, the pain levels have been a lot worse, which makes me more tired. I've got a busy week next week, catching up on e-mails and writing patterns for a new four piece collection due to be published by an American yarn company next year. I'd better get on with it.

What have you been up to this summer?