On to Cornwall

We had a wonderful night's sleep at Bob and Jeanne's and woke up to a beautiful day in Exeter. This is the view out of our window.

After we packed, we drove over to the hotel where Rob and Joanie Dingman were staying along with Dave Shirley, and then we all went out to a large English breakfast: eggs, "bacon", large shitake-style mushrooms, stewed tomatoes, and, of course, baked beans. (Doesn't everyone eat baked beans for breakfast?)

After breakfast, Bob and Jeanne drove us to the train station, stopping first at the hotel we reserved for next Tuesday, right before we leave for Paris. At the Exeter St. Davids station, we bought tickets for Bodmin Parkway and waited on the platform for about 20 minutes before the next train came through.

The ride to Bodmin Parkway took about an hour and a half. At the small Bodmin station, we waited about 20 minutes once again for the 555 bus to Wadebridge which is about 10 miles away down the Camel River. Around 2PM we got dropped off in downtown Wadebridge.

Both of us were feeling a little faint, so rather than heading for our B&B, we stopped off at a pastie shop and shared a small steak pastie. Once that was taken care of, we found the Tourist Information office and picked up our map, and then headed up the street to the Brookdale B&B (which is only about 2 blocks from the center of town.)

Our room actually has two bedrooms and is the top floor of an old three-story house. Instead of taking a nap, though, we decided to head out for a bike ride down the Camel river to the town of Padstow (about 6 miles away). While it looked like it might rain a little this afternoon, Weather.com told us it would be raining pretty steadily for the next three days, so if we wanted to ride, we'd better do it now.

Getting the bikes was pretty easy. We picked them up right at the beginning of the Camel trail, about a block south of the center of town. They were pretty inexpensive, too; 9 pounds each because we only had them half a day. The trail is paved or fine gravel, and it was a wonderful ride.

I tried to take a picture of us both, so you could get an idea of the ride. Later on, we met a nice couple who took a picture of both of us, without the pain of riding one-handed.

The town of Padstow is right at the mouth of the Camel River, and it was really, really crowded. We walked around town a bit.

The weather kept looking more and more threatening.

We walked up to the top of the hill overlooking the town and found an old church (at least 2 centuries old), that is currently being shared by the Anglicans and the Catholics in town. On the end of the church is this old cross and inscription:

This ancient cross, found in the grounds of Prideaux Place,
Erected Here to the Memory of
Charles Prideaux Brune
Who Died April 28th, 1833, Aged 75
Frances Prideaux Brune, his Wife
Who Died March 28, 1831, Aged 65
Anna Maria Prideaux Brune, their Daughter
Who Died February 9, 1831, Aged 36

(Their remains rest in the vault beneath)
And the trumpets shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.

You can't help but wonder about their story. The daughter (apparently never married) dies in February and the wife dies two months later.

The clouds were growing more and more threatening, so we headed back into town. We also wanted to have the bikes back in Wadebridge before 7:00 PM. On the way, we saw this building I liked because it was so colorful.

 Before we took off, though, we stopped at one of the places on the harbor for some fuel. We shared an order of Fish and Chips along with a Greek salad. (Kathy swears that there was nothing Greek about the salad. I felt it was more of a homage.)

While we were in the restaurant, it started to rain really hard. We finished up our food, pulled on our rain-coats and headed back up river to Wadebridge (about 6 miles). After only a few minutes, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Although the path was wet with some puddles, it wasn't muddy at all, so the ride was easy and really pretty.

When we got back in town, there were a group of swans bedding down on a grassy island in the middle of the river, and a rainbow over the town that Kathy insisted ended at the Royal Cornwall Showgrounds where CreationFest is going to start tomorrow.

I actually thought it ended in a different direction, but just to make sure we hiked up the main street to the Showgrounds. And hiked. And hiked. If you have a car, the Showgrounds are right next to Wadebridge; if you're walking, they are not that close.

When we finally got there (about 8:30), we walked around and looked at the preparations for a bit. Then, just as we were getting ready to leave, it started raining in earnest (thunder and lightening too). Since we had our umbrellas in addition to our coats, I was willing to walk back, but a young man named Jesse had mercy on us and offered us a ride.