Tag: Cawsand

#1012 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

Earlier this week we had the hottest day of the summer. One giddy day of wall to wall sunshine and no clouds. Over-excited media broadcasters called it a mini heatwave. It was just one day!

Not that we didn’t get a bit giddy and go for an evening adventure in the camper van and a swim at a different beach to our regular one.

A beach that is only dog friendly after 6pm in the summer.  I suppose we imagined that we might be one of the few on the sand at 6.  Not so at all, it was packed and it was only the long shadows of later on that chased people away.

Cawsand Bay was buzzing with happy people. Yachts and motor boats moored, some playing music as they prepared supper in their galleys. Even the wasp- like jet ski’s  were silently bobbing on the waves just taking in the last heat of a lovely day.

However beautiful this spot is in summer we are far more regular visitors in the winter,when the dogs are welcome all day and we can be comforted by warm clothes and hot drinks. We should do this trip more often on summer evenings.

#269 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Family, SerendipityLeave a comment

Yesterday was a fine observation of how Covid has altered life. @theoldmortuary used to row gigs out of Cawsand, this coastal village  Until yesterday we had not been there for nearly three years but in the past we knew these waters very well. For the first time ever we arrived by ferry.

The plan was to spend about three hours on the beach doing the things that 3 year olds love. In reality so much more was achieved as Kayaks could be rented, and fabulous milk shakes ordered.

And the sea was warm enough for everyone to swim as much as they wanted. We are nearly at the end of our week of intense family time. It has been such a blast of fun and exploration but also a big lesson in how beautiful our surroundings are and how accessible everything is. Looking at life through the eyes of a child really is an education and a wake up call to enjoy the moment. After a day at the beach we went on a camping adventure. High up on a Devon hillside we looked west towards Cornwall and in particular at Cawsand where we had spent the day.

Camping for a three year old is very exciting and almost derailed the beach outing because of the levels of excitement the appearance of a small person  sleeping bag created. Lessons to be learned, do not reveal the trump card of the day until all other activities have been exhausted. We even practiced camping in a supermarket car park while provisions were purchased.

Driving skills were practiced.

But the ultimate goal was always the sleeping bag.

Not necessarily sleeping though!

Meteorological Spring/St David’s Day/ March 1st/ Inadequate footwear.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns

What to do on the first day of a new month having lived through the wettest February on record, in England and Wales.

The sun is shining and my feet scamper past both the wellies and converse and look optimistically at my twinkly golden Birkenstocks.

Let me just say the ladies (my feet) have not prepared for this. They are blue white and toenails have not been painted. The last time they were truly out was Christmas Day when waterproof Birkenstocks facilitate our traditional paddle.

I allow my feet their moment in the March sun and wearing wholly inadequate footwear we set off for the twin coastal villages of Kingsand and Cawsand .In honesty this past month of wellie wearing has inflamed my big toe joints, this horrible sensation also encourages wilful and inappropriate nakedness of the foot.

The poor choice of footwear immediately identifies itself when I want to take photos of fields of Daffodils on the way. Each field is surrounded by slithery red mud.

With my trusty wellies on I would have easily gathered arty shots of budding daffodils, stretching towards the horizon for this blog . Luckily sunshine and geology will give us a pop of colour that inspires as much as daffodils.

The sea wall at Kingsand is a thing of vibrant beauty on a spring morning. This whole area of the Tamar estuary is alive with geological colour.

March 1st had other plans for my poor feet , by coincidence a friend of ours was on a cliff watching the weather from inside a cosy bar. Moments before we were hit with a soaking deluge she sent us this picture not knowing we were less than a mile away.

Whitesand Bay ©Melinda Waugh

Luckily we were very close to The Devonport Inn.

Good chips, beer and seats indoors solved the problem of inadequate footwear.

Saturday Walking at Kingsand and Cawsand

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Food ( but this is not a food blog), Home Towns, Travels4 Comments

Kingsand and Cawsand are coastal villages in the ‘forgotten’ corner of South East Cornwall. Every bit as beautiful as other, more famous, villages in Cornwall they remain largely undiscovered . They were a big part of our lives when we rowed for the local gig racing team. Our walk on Saturday took on a familiar pattern. The beaches are available for dog walking now the summer season is over. This was our primary reason for going as well as a birthday lunch. Gig rowing reared its head, or more accurately its bum almost the minute we arrived in the village. We stopped just by the Rame Gig sheds and a familiar voice shouted out. ” Look who it is, we were only talking about you a week or two ago when we were at Port Isaac ” We stopped gig rowing ten years ago so it must have been something memorable. ” We were at Port Isaac and talked about the time you had terrible trouble with your bum” Not for us the glamour of a memorable race, cleaving through heaving surf, oh no, memorable because a nasty blister gained in a 23 mile London River Race had impacted, in all senses of the word, on a performance more than ten years ago at Port Isaac. Obviously this was all said with love and humour. After hugging sweaty rowers fresh from a training session we moved on to the first of the days beaches.

http://www.ramegigclub.com/

Cawsand beach, where the Rame gigs are launched.

Hugo and Lola love this beach, twenty minutes of scampering and eliminating and they are ready for a walk. Quickly up The Bound past the gig shed with no further mention of bottoms.

Rame Gig shed

We followed Garrett Street keeping the Sea to our right. Beautiful coastal cottages line the street as we climbed a gentle hill.

This lovely gateway gives the perfect opportunity to look back over Cawsand.

Our destination today is The Devonport Inn on The Cleave , Kingsand. This portion of the Cornish coast overlooks Plymouth Sound. Devonport is the location of Plymouths Naval Dockyard it is also the name of one of the original towns that were merged to create modern Plymouth.

http://visitrame.org.uk/

We were a little early for our booked table so the dogs got another scampering session on the second beach of the day.

Now this is not a food blog but today’s destination was chosen because the food served at The Devonport Inn is fabulous. We had Skate Wings and mussels both served with super chunky chips deep fried in beef dripping. All properly lovely. The Devonport Inn is an unfussy but really comfy place to enjoy food and drink.

http://www.devonportinn.com

A cosy corner

Replete with good food and conversation we retraced our steps towards Cawsand, one more beautiful sunshine shot to complete our afternoon.