Devon & Cornwall

Our first attempt to tour these counties was in March 2020 just before the first coronavirus lockdown. Although this was a last minute replacement from a tour to Ireland we had planned. We had a feeling that travel would be restricted, so we changed our destination to make it easier and quicker to return home.

March 2020 – Heading West into Devon

The Coronavirus is now causing concern and we took the decision to defer our Irish tour. Instead we have decided to visit the west country and visit the many photogenic locations in Devon and Cornwall.

We will isolate ourselves in the motorhome and venture out early morning for sunrise and try to keep our distant from other people in the evening. If the situation changes, we can return home with relative ease.

Hopefully the weather continues to improve and I’ll be able to share some other nice photos with you in the next few weeks.

18th March 2020: Took a little longer than planned to get the motor-home packed before setting off today. We emptied our freezer and fridge at home and somehow crammed it into a smaller space. So we are ready to remain isolated (or at least as much as we can).

First Stop – Monkton Wyld near Lyme Regis

We set off for the Charmouth Camping and Caravanning club site at Monkton Wyld Farm, Scotts Ln, Charmouth DT6 6DB. Which we have since revisited and can recommend.

After lunch we headed off to Lyme Regis for a stroll along the Cobb – not as deserted as we thought it would be, although the town was deserted as we drove through it.

We plan to stay a few days before heading west down the southern coastline and include some of Dartmoor on the way. We’ll work our way back up the northern coast, but doubt we’ll cover it all this trip.

20th March: Yesterday was a drizzly day, but we did manage an isolated walk near Monkton Wyld with the dogs. They didn’t go hungry as they found a carrot in a horse field – finders, keepers:-

West Bay

Today the weather improved and we headed off towards West Bay – parking at Eype and walking over the cliff and down to West Bay:-

West Bay did have a few folk wandering around, with many eating their fish and chips outside on the many benches around the harbour – this gave us a good idea for eating out in the future.

We continued westward along the beach hoping the light would improve later when we returned to West Bay:-

We will return to this area again in the future – January perhaps to look for better light on these subjects. Tomorrow we move on to the next location and the weather is also looking to improve.

Coastline around Ladram

21st March: We left Monkton Wyld Caravan park, which was absolutely brilliant and headed southwest to Ladram Bay Holiday Park where we were greeted with huge thanks for actually turning up! When we booked, we took one of the last pitches, but when we arrived apparently 35 people failed to turn up without even letting the campsite know, so there was plenty of space, but this site is still considerably busier than the last.

We chose this site for the potential of coastal cliffside photographs with large rock formations just offshore. The photos below are not particularly brilliant, but do give a clue to what we may be able to capture tomorrow:-

Headed east from here towards Sidmouth into a very strong breeze (the clue is in the waves). But the wind wasn’t quite strong enough to get the human kite into the air :-

Downhill from here into Sidmouth to search out a coffee.

Clearly from the last photo, the waves hitting the beach can be forceful to completely bury the beach railings.

Tomorrow, the sun should be out, so we’ll try for a sunrise. . . .

22nd March at 0530: Fortunately the location was only 300 metres away from our motor-home, and the night sky was already slightly red, so looking forward to the morning on the beach.

**oh dearest – the sun is over there . . .**

Only kidding, this was one we made earlier . . .

A late check on the tide showed it was receding, so our footsteps could be retraced.

The high tide was a concern when we first got to the beach as the waves nearly reached the footstep line. But the receding tide did allow us to pass to capture the other view. . .

Using 6 and 10 stop filters to blur the raging sea.

Moving back to where we started we took this before heading back for breakfast.

Great cloud formation helped with this image.

After breakfast we then hiked off to Budleigh Salterton which was a round trip of 9 miles. Like yesterday, we passed many people all willing to keep a safe distance with the next couple which made us feel safe. We found a bird hide which gave Vanessa an opportunity to try out her new telephoto. . .

Budleigh Salterton in contrast to Sidmouth yesterday was closed – so it looks as though businesses are following government guidelines – yes, it was Sunday, but all the usually tourist shops and pubs were shut.

On the return journey we discovered that our current campsite was closing tomorrow (following guidance from the Caravan and Camping Club). Fortunately this was our last day here, but it did make us rethink our plans.

What should we do, is it still safe to continue travelling?

Some of the planned sites we had booked are also closing, but others remain open. Our motorhome is 50 metres from the next and we are very isolated once back on-board. The government advice is still to exercise and keep a safe distance from others – exactly what we’ve been doing and plan to continue. Our next site is remaining open, but doesn’t have many bookings, so we thought we would continue tomorrow to the next destination.

Back home our son’s girlfriend was a nurse in Southampton hospital, so I think we also need to make sure we give her as much chance to stay free of the virus as possible.

So hopefully there will be more to follow this update – at least at 0600, we don’t see anyone else around!

An Early Return Home due to COVID

23rd March: Following the latest government advice, we have decided to return home tomorrow, but we are staying in the motor home on our front drive – it’s really important that our son’s girlfriend (who will isolate with our son) can continue with her work without worrying about the potential infection concerns for us two aged crony’s. So we’ll have to juggle the cars tomorrow around at home.

Start Point

So for our final day today we visited ‘Start Point’ lighthouse with a much shorter (2 mile) walk – which seemed to be a welcome change for the two dogs who are currently snoring on our sofa. A small selection of photos below.

So our short trip comes to an end, but we shouldn’t be too downhearted as there are far worse issues in the world at present and our first priority must be ours and everyone’s good health.

Returned to Devon in 2021 to continue our Tour

14th October 2021: We drove down to the same area where we returned from when Boris started the first lock down in 2020. It’s been a difficult time for most of us, but we were kept busy with many home projects and supporting mother, brother and son’s house move. Each requiring much DIY – which was why we needed this holiday……

We arrived at Slapton Sands for 3 days and immediately planned our first trip out the next morning for a sunrise.

Coast between Start Point Lighthouse and Soar Mill Cove

15th October: 6 O’clock am, sat in the dark waiting for the sun, but as so often, it didn’t quite pan out that way. But we managed to get a few shots for our efforts.

As we left Start Point, we could see heavy mist all around the coastline, so we headed to Bantham to take the dogs for a walk and took a few snaps for the album.

Bantham

We spend the rest of the day back at the motorhome and later headed to Dartmouth for lunch and a traditional cornish pasty.

In the afternoon we headed off to Ayrmer Cove, but we weren’t sure if it was going to be a good location for sunset, so we walked a further 25 minutes west to Wyscombe beach which had far more potential.

Wyscombe Beach

So we ended our first day on a high. But then faced a 35 minute walk back to the car under torchlight.

16th October: After first checking and seeing the distant cloud cover on the eastern horizon, we decided on a later start. We headed toward Salcombe for a dog walk around Snapes Point and then headed into Salcombe for a drink.

Soar Mill Cove

Later heading off towards Soar Mill Cove for another sunset – but this time we faced away from the sun….

17th October: Once again the morning weather was a disappointment with too much cloud cover, so we had a lazy morning start and enjoyed breakfast at a reasonable hour before preparing the motorhome for our journey into Cornwall.

Cornwall

Our camp site is deserted – we are the only campers in residence (until tomorrow). We are 15 minutes from Lizard point but our first stop was to Kynance Cove which resulted in some good photos which unfortunately left us no time to move on to Lizard point.

Kynance Cove

Evening sun over our right shoulder casting long shadows across a milky sea – formed by using a 6 stop ND filter. For the non-photographers, that is a dark filter which significantly limits the light reaching the camera, so a long exposure is required which blurs the water.

Vanessa on the headland in the distance setting up her camera gear,

This cove gave us plenty of photographic material and if we had more time in the area we could have explored it some more. Unfortunately it looks like rain tomorrow, so that will have to wait for another day.

Most Southerly Point in UK – Lizard Point

19th October: We’ve had a good start on our travels so far and managed to visit each of our planned photo locations at least once. We were lucky to get good weather when we arrived in the Lizard vicinity and quickly headed off to Kynance cove (see previous blog), but we didn’t have time for the Lizard peninsula. Unfortunately yesterday the whole day was a wash out with heavy fog everywhere, so we took the day off and visited some relatives.

Today, the morning was overcast but dry, so we headed off to the Lizard peninsula before sunrise, but the poor conditions prevailed leaving us to make the most of a grey day…..

Taken with a ‘Little Stopper’ filter (6 stop ND to reduce the light) which increases the exposure time to blur the water. Converting this to Black & White I think improves the impact, but that’s my opinion. You can make up your own mind….

It was very blustery, so we had to use a higher sensor speed than we preferred to keep the shutter speed up to limit the impact of camera vibration due to the wind.

After this we headed off for a bacon and egg roll for breakfast and a cup of tea at the most southerly Café in the UK.

Heading Further West

Returning to the motorhome we then headed off to a location very close to Lands End and settled in for the rest of today and probably tomorrow due to the very heavy rain and strong wind forecast. Hopefully Thursday will be better.

20th October: Last night was definitely damp and windy which made a good job of cleaning the outside of the motorhome. But I was somewhat surprised to see areas of clear sky this morning. Checking the forecast again it looked like we had until 1300 to get out before the next deluge was due.

Marazion and St. Michael’s Mount

We headed for Marazion, which apparently should always be referred to as ‘The Ancient Market Town of Marazion’ – either way we wanted to look around the beach area surrounding St Michael’s Mount to look for the best sunrise locations for tomorrow morning (as the forecast looks good).

The bright sunlight was going to be an issue when we arrived at 10 am, but Vanessa set up her camera and together we tried to identify a reasonable shot (avoiding all the people on the causeway).

We noticed a very intensely coloured double rainbow immediately to our right – a warning of an imminent shower, so we sheltered in the car until it passed and tried again…

Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have more opportunity to photograph it with better light at sunrise. So we packed up and headed off to Porthcurno bay to grab a few shots from Logan’s rock.

We had 1 hour here before the heavy rain was due to arrive, but it was a good location with more sunrise potential, so if we get another opportunity we may well try it again.

During all of our photo sessions we have two very patient individuals that so far are without mention……

Our 2 cocker spaniels, Holly and Misty.

21st October: Last night was a bit of a bumpy ride in the motorhome with strong winds which helped rock us off to sleep. We heard on the news today that a Tornado passed within 30 miles of us.

We set off for St Michael’s mount for another sunrise, but again disappointed as it clouded over just before sun up. We waited patiently and it rained again over Penzance, which helped produce this shot…

On our way back to the car we spotted some surfers nearby; so we decided to try a bit of sport photography…

Mousehole

At 10:20 is was definitely time for our breakfast, so we headed over to Mousehole for tea and bacon. The harbour was dry as the tide was out, so we ventured down amongst the boats for a few more snaps

Godrevy Point

Weather was still good, so we headed off to the north Cornish coast to Godrevy Lighthouse which proved to be a great location but with a damp end to the day.

We were on a dry rock at least 6 metres above sea level, but 2 seconds after this photo, Vanessa captured this image….

We weren’t quick enough to avoid a huge wave which saturated us and the cameras. Clothes are in the wash, Vanessa’s camera appears OK, but mine seems to be struggling to auto focus. So it’ll be in for repair when we get home.

22nd October: After the drenching yesterday, we managed to dry off all our clothes and camera gear. Unfortunately my camera was still faulty, so I used my spare EOS 5D mk2. It was nowhere near as easy to use as the mk3, but at least I could take photos today. [update: it didn’t survive and was too costly to repair!]

Lands End

We already discovered that the Lands End car parking was £7 for any period – not good when we only wanted 30 minutes. So we travelled to Sennen Cove and parked there free of charge on double yellow lines (allowed after 30th September) and walked for 30 minutes to reach Lands End

We weren’t too impressed with the sights at Lands End, but clearly the attraction for most is to stand at the furthest point west of England.

We headed back to Sennen Cove for lunch and popped into a café for coffee and share a slice of cake. Then set off for the disused tin mines around Botallack

Tin Mines around Botallack

I’ve seen many photos of this location in magazines and always wanted to visit it. The views did not disappoint, but the cliffs didn’t look too stable, especially considering the heavy rain we had a few days ago, so we stayed back from the edge in several spots. But I think we still managed to grab a few good shots.

In the past I would have got down on the ground and hung over the edge, but not this time.

There are disused engine houses all over this area but you need to tread with caution as some have very deep pits close by with inadequate sized grates covering then – a slim person could easily fall beneath.

Finally the overcast sky was showing some signs it may colour up at sunset, so we looked for a suitable spot and waited…….

Unfortunately, this was as good as we got, so a disappointing end to another enjoyable day. Turning around from here our last photos were looking towards the Pendeen lighthouse.

23rd October: Grey but dry, and still no sunrise…. this is frustrating, but does allow madam a longer lie in. If the sky looked promising I would have dragged her out of bed. So a slow start and then headed off to Porth Nanven, a small cove with large boulders.

Porth Nanven

There was a little challenge getting down to the beach across the many boulders, especially for Misty, but she is 12 years old now….. but even she made it quicker than wifey.

Whilst taking this next shot I noticed a red blemish in the photo…

This may clear up the mystery….

She was told to stay put on the other side of the beach whilst I clambered over the rocks for the photo.

Someone on the campsite recommended we visited Cape Cornwall which was only 5 minutes away, so we thought we’d take a look….

We were not impressed, but here is a quick panorama from the summit of the peninsula.

After this we headed off to St Ives – only reason being we hadn’t been there before and just fancied a walk around the town and some lunch. No photos as it was crawling with tourists and we decided to leave the cameras is the car.

Hopefully tomorrow, we might see some sunshine in the afternoon and may revisit Godrevy Lighthouse and hope we stay dry this time.

Revisiting Godrevy Point and St. Michael’s Mount

24th October: Finally we had some blue sky today, so headed out to Godrevy point to walk around the peninsula. Firstly forgetting it was Sunday, the area was going to be busy, so we parked at the eastern side of the peninsula and walked anti-clockwise back to the lighthouse.

**For this shot I hung over the edge of the cliff.**

Walking around the peninsula we took only a few photos as the conditions were not as good as a few days before. The tide was out and it was more difficult to find a suitable location.

With no other obvious viewpoints, we headed off to St Michael’s mount.

There we had some good surf and windsurfers, but waited in the car whilst we enjoyed a coffee. As soon as we got to the beach, all the windsurfers had packed away.

But with no clouds in the sky we thought this wouldn’t be a great sunset location, so we decided to head back to Godrevy.

Which was a good decision……

A few more clouds would have been great, but it was a great evening to finish our Cornwall trip. Tomorrow we head back to Devon.

Returning to Devon

25th October: We’ve completed the first part of our journey east towards Hampshire with a 2 day stop over near Newton Abbot. The weather was bright and sunny when we arrived at 1400, so we quickly had a late lunch and headed off into Dartmoor.

Dartmoor

We headed into the western end of Dartmoor where there were a few tors reasonably close to the road. There were light showers around, but the sky showed some good potential for some evening sunshine.

Rain cloud disappearing behind the rocks

**This one involved a little climb to the top of a rock.**

**Used a 10 stop filter to blur the clouds**

**Last shot of the day before the sun went down behind the clouds.**

Forecast tomorrow is for a grey day, so we’ll probably wander into Newton Abbot but may venture back into Dartmoor later. It is our last full day before we return home on Wednesday.

26th October: The forecast remained consistent and grey and so we spent the morning visiting Newton Abbot and then Teignmouth hoping it may brighten up. But no such luck so we headed out for a woodland location where the weather conditions may have helped us.

Wistman’s Wood

Parking near the Two Bridges Hotel we walked north for 1.5 miles to Wistman’s wood. Most of the way it seemed like we were walking in the clouds. The damp mist never ended until we entered the woods which gave us a little shelter.

Quite challenging walking through this wood as it’s floor is covered in boulders.

I took the original and processed it with Silver Efex Pro then combined the resulting B&W with the original in Photoshop to produce the treated version.

The weather wasn’t improving so we headed back towards the car. Misty took a leap across a muddy patch of ground and instantly submerged up to her neck. We quickly rescued her, but her undercarriage was discoloured and wet.

We returned to the car with two very wet and dirty dogs. Vanessa was also filthy as she slipped up and sat in a muddy patch and I was just damp. All looking forwards to getting back to base.

A Return to Cornwall in October 2025

During our last tour of Cornwall back in 2020, we managed to follow the coastline westwards from Dorset along the south coast and ended near Lands End. This trip was a continuation of that tour for 10 days along the Cornish north coast. We have two camp sites booked, the first near St Ives and the second near Tintagel.

We arrived at the St Ives location yesterday afternoon after a trouble-free drive from Southampton. The weather looked promising for a sunset during most of the trip down so a brief outing back to Godrevy point was planned. We got the cameras ready and managed a few photos as the sun disappeared behind some low cloud on the horizon. But as photographers, we get used to these setbacks.

The following day we had a lunch appointment with one of our relations, so we decided to take a morning walk from the campsite over the sand dunes and down to the beach. However, before this trip we’ve been very concerned with the health of our 14 year old dog, Holly, as 2 weeks ago she suffered an episode of Vertigo with eyes flickering around and completely unable to walk as her balance was completely compromised. The vet advised this might take a 5 or 6 days for her to recover, but then after not eating for 3 days, she’s been quite weak and shorter walks have been planned to ease her back into better health.

Walking back to Godrevy Point

The walk through the sand dunes was about 1.5 miles and Holly managed this with a few short carries on some uphill sections. There were loads of wind surfers on the beach but this time we didn’t take our cameras. On the return journey Holly hitched a lift in a special animal ruck sack that we bought 2nd hand.

After lunch the wind had picked up significantly so we returned to Godrevy Point to capture a few stormy sea images. It wasn’t as rough as we had hoped, but here’s a few shots.

Weather forecast deteriorates tomorrow, so we’ll have to see if we get more opportunities with the camera.

Storm Amy keeps us under cover (mostly)

As anticipated, the day started wet and windy and continued for most of the day, so we both resorted to reading our books.

Trevaunance Cove

After lunch we had a small window of opportunity to get out for some air, so we headed of to Trevaunance Cove for a view along the coast.

Luckily where we were standing was completely sheltered from the wind which also meant the sea was relatively calm in the bay. We had hoped for more significant waves. At least it meant Vanessa was safe from being blow into the sea.

As you can see, it was a very grey day with absolutely no decent light. So I tried to make something of the images in post processing, but it wasn’t really a successful day but we did manage to stay dry.

At the end of a bad day we retired for a coffee and cake at a nearby surfers café.

Let’s hope tomorrow gives us more opportunities.

A wonderful stormy day – worth waiting for

Last night wasn’t great as the motorhome was rocking all night and we had a sick dog. So I needed to take her out 6 times during the night. In the morning the repetitive rain showers subsided and was replaced by sandblasting with the sand blown over from the nearby dunes.

Porthleven

The forecast improved during the morning so we set off to a small fishing port on the south coast – Porthleven. We had to dodge a few short showers in between taking photos of the port.

Two oldies having a chat before lunch with the town hall and terraced houses in the background. We fancied a coffee and a piece of cake for lunch so headed back to a nearby café, but on arrival a lady on the next table was eating a bacon butty – so guess what we ordered…

A Return to the Tin Mines at Botallack

The actual plan for the day was to end up at the Botallack tin mines for the late afternoon and evening light. We visited this location back in 2021 and I always wanted to capture it again in better light. Compare the 2 images below and conditions were definitely better the second time around.

The sea was very rough and together with the late afternoon, early evening light we had a much better series of images.

I wasn’t expecting infrared to be successful, but I thought I’d try anyway.

Tomorrow we head to our next campsite.

Up the coast to Tintagel

After a great bacon and egg breakfast, we headed up the coast to Tintagel and what a view from the camp site.

As you can see the weather today was clear and dry, so we decided to get out and headed to Boscastle.

Boscastle

The last visit here was 2 years ago on a very grey day, so hopefully we would get more interesting photos.

We headed back for a coffee, but forgot it was Sunday and everywhere shuts early, so instead we headed north for Bude.

Bude

Well we were very surprised with the sea state when we arrived and headed to a viewpoint on the Levee.

There were 3 fishermen on the rock which joined to the mainland via a breakwater, which couldn’t be crossed safely at high tide. This image was taken at high tide.

Finally a long exposure image to calm down the sea state, which produces quite a pleasing image.

The really good news was that Holly has continued to improve, so hopefully if the weather remains good, we’ll be out again.

Excursion across the border into North Devon

Waking this morning the forecast looked good and the scene in front of our motorhome confirmed the day ahead looked good.

Our intention was to visit the Blackchurch Rock, but I realised while on the road that it would have required a 2.5 mile walk from the car. This was too much for Holly to manage, so we went onto our second planned destination at Clovelly

Clovelly

The history of this harbour village dates back to William the Conqueror, King of England and today remains privately owned. It is well worth a visit, but you need to be warned – it’s a steep walk down and a more challenging walk back.

The path down to the harbour is on cobblestones, so only visit during dry weather as I suspect it might be slippery in the wet.

Eventually the harbour comes into view…

The journey down through the houses was almost as steep as the remainder looks to reach the harbour. The building on the left is a hotel, so a welcome watering hole while we contemplate the return trip.

Fortunately for the unadventurous there is an alternative and easier way back to the top – behind the hotel is a road and for £3.75 you can get a lift in a Land Rover back to the top. So Vanessa took Holly back in the Land Rover which saved me the challenge of carrying her (Holly that is). I wanted to take a few more photos, so opted to walk back up the hill. My smart watch informed me I’d travelled up 47 flights of stairs.

Of interest, these houses are lived in and the residents have to transport groceries etc from the upper carpark to their houses. We noticed many sledges lying around and the clue to their use is in this photo.

After the Everest climb back to the reception hall I met Vanessa in the café to enjoy a well deserved cream tea.

The entrance ticket includes entry to the gardens nearby, but we found these unimpressive. On the walk through the woods we came across a few fungi.

Hartland Quay

Leaving Clovelly, we headed over to Hartland Quay which was a location we visited about 20 years ago when I was photographing with slide film. The additional trip to the Clovelly gardens meant that we missed an opportunity of a lower tide, which would have been more ideal.

We decided to stay here to catch the late afternoon sun and then retired the the adjacent pub for a very tasty curry and chicken and chorizo pasta bake.

Cliff Walk from the Campsite to the east

This morning we left our camera bags behind and travelled light with a single camera and lens. We walked east along the coast towards the Ladies Window which was about a mile away. The path wasn’t too difficult although I still carried Holly across the difficult patches.

The view east from the cliffs was towards Boscastle with Vanessa enjoying the view.

On the return journey Vanessa spotted a large caterpillar so we spent a little time trying to photograph it.

Haven’t a clue, what variety of moth this may be, but the caterpillar was about 6cm long.

So back to the motorhome for lunch and then off in the car to revisit a couple of coves. Port Isaac where Doc Martin was filmed was the first which we visited and photographed 2 years ago.

Port Quin

Then headed to Port Quin just missing a group of canoeists who were packing away. But took this image in the late evening sunlight.

After this we headed off for some shopping and then return back to the motorhome. Tomorrow we will visit the Castle at Tintagel.

A Grey Day at Tintagel Castle

This morning we woke up to drizzle which lasted all morning, but we already had on-line tickets for Tintagel Castle so we set off in the car. The castle is roughly level with the village of Tintagel, but you have to walk down a steep path before a climb back to enter the castle.

You enter the castle across a relatively new foot bridge (designed and manufactured by our son’s company in Southampton.

The views from the rock are pretty good and would have been better with a little sunlight. But we had to make the best of what we are presented with.

There isn’t a great deal on the rock to see, but the views are OK. Here’s a few of those images.

We walked down some pretty steep steps which takes us to the beach and café which was made more scary as I had to carry Holly as well. The café was worth the visit and the cakes were superb – highly recommended. Fortunately there was a minibus ride back up the hill, so we took the opportunity and paid the £2 each, but it didn’t take us up the steepest part of the hill. So we still had a struggle for the last 150m – so be warned. Don’t go down if you have real health issues.

Practicing our Bird Photography

From here we returned to the motorhome to collect our long lenses to head out for some bird photography (as the weather hadn’t improved much).

We were hoping for some shots of the Peregrine Falcons which are in the area as well as buzzards, but what we saw was totally different.

Images show male and female Stonechats.

The three images above are of the same Robin.

Another Day on the Devon Coast

We are now into our last few days, so headed west to the Bedruthan Steps which we last visited 2 years ago on a high tide. Today the tide would be out and so we hoped for some different images, although the forecast was not hopeful for any sunshine.

Bedruthan Steps

We arrived at the National Trust carpark (free for members) just before 12, so thought we’d have a coffee and some lunch. The menu board listed bacon butties available before 11:45. Time on my watch was 11:46, so I dashed in and ordered 2 and thankfully they accepted the order; lunch was sorted.

The weather hadn’t improved, but at least it was still dry, so we headed down the path towards the beach. Unfortunately the access to the beach was closed due to dangerous rock falls.

The sun did appear briefly as we walked along the cliff and the water had a Mediterranean turquoise colour which would have made this image much better. These rocks did make we feel that Black & White would look good, so I had a go at changing another image:-

We continued along the cliff, but the view from the other end wasn’t as good. Vanessa meanwhile was wandering around with a long lens looking for bird images. We arrived back at the café 3 hours after we left it and stopped for more refreshments. The cream tea was wonderful!

Trevose Head

From here we headed off to Trevose Head to photograph the lighthouse across Stincking Cove. There is another National Trust carpark at the top of the hill adjacent to the lighthouse, so not too far to walk this time.

Luckily, there was a glimmer of sunshine in this image, but most of the time it remained overcast. So I thought I’d try another B&W conversion.

We’d tethered Holly to my camera bag whilst Vanessa and I wandered across the rocks for the best view of the cove and lighthouse. We soon heard her crying as her eye sight is poor and she couldn’t see us, plus with her being old and deaf it was too stressful, so I packed away my camera and sat with her while Vanessa continued. Just my luck, the early evening sun appeared, so I took out the camera and quickly grabbed a few handheld shots from where I stood.

It looks OK, but Vanessa was in a better position and this was her viewpoint.

Time to head back for our evening meal. Hopefully we’ll have a little more sunshine tomorrow.

The Last Two Beaches on our List

When we set out on this recent short break of 10 days we had a list of locations to visit. These were the last two on that list, but first Vanessa wanted to try to capture a few more birds. So before lunch we went out to try our luck again.

Crackington Haven

After lunch we headed off to Trebarwith Strand, but a very quick survey of the beach revealed that low tide wasn’t going to work and a high tide could provide some dramatic images, so we would return later.

So we headed off Crackington Haven which would have also been good at high tide, but as we can’t be in two places at once we captured what we could with the conditions available.

After a coffee we returned back to the motorhome to give Holly her dinner and start to prepare the motorhome for tomorrow’s journey home. The plan was to head back to Trebarwith and hope we get a sunset this time (as luck hasn’t been with us during this trip).

Trebarwith Strand

As we expected the conditions were much better and the incoming tide was making for some great images.

Finally the sun appeared on the horizon, but not enough to give us the warm light we wanted.

You have to look carefully, but there was a narrow gap in the clouds for the sun to peak through. However, we were happy with the results we got today and headed off for our own evening meal.

Tomorrow we head home, so this will be the last post until our next trip.