January and Early February 2020

The first three weeks of January 2020 were fairly quiet as Annie’s recovery from her knee operation continued. At the end of the month we set off for a week in Yorkshire at Westgate Cottage in Pickering (our third stay in the cottage). Although we had accepted that we would not be able to do a lot of walking, we did manage the Grosmont to Goathland walk along the bed of the old railway. We were concerned about the hill at the start and end of the walk but Annie managed it very well. We visited the Eden Camp Museum at Malton. Based in an old Italian prisoner of war camp, the museum was a treasure trove of stories and artefacts from the Second World War. We also had our usual bus trip to Whitby for lunch at the Magpie – as enjoyable as ever and met friends in York for lunch.

We were having a great week until the phone kept ringing with an automatic message to say that our burglar alarm had been activated. Although neighbours had checked the house for us and we were able to reset the alarm remotely, there was obviously a recurring fault. As a result we travelled home two days early.

So instead of walking in Yorkshire, we found ourselves walking around Eastleach to find carpets of snowdrops – is it Spring?

The next week we set off for 4 nights in Cornwall. We had lunch with long time Fairford friends Pam and Dave Nelmes on Thursday in Falmouth and, on Friday, made a nostalgic visit to Mevagissey. As proof of Annie’s ongoing recovery we climbed the long flight of steps from the breakwater to the top of the cliff overlooking the harbour and town.

Following our usual practice, we each enjoyed eating a hot pasty sitting beside the harbour after which we visited Trelissick for a walk around the house and gardens. The sight and smell of freshly mown grass and the camellias, daffodils and other spring plants certainly gave the impression that Spring had sprung.

A vision to be shattered 48 hours later with the arrival of Storm Ciara and its 75mph winds and torrential rain.

Although the storm meant that we headed straight home on the Sunday we had a brilliant Friday evening and Saturday with James, Hannah, Rosie and Ptolemy based in a cottage near Perranwell a few miles from Truro (a step up from the Premier Inn we stayed in for the first couple of nights).
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The weather on Saturday was sunny but cold and windy. We travelled over the King Harry Chain Ferry to visit Pendower beach where we thoroughly enjoyed the sand, rock pools and flying the kite. After a bracing morning we headed to Falmouth for a pleasant lunch in an Italian restaurant. The evening was spent looking after the children whilst James and Hannah went to meet friends. We had a great time looking after Rosie and Ptolemy!

We thoroughly enjoyed our four days in Cornwall especially as the fault on the house alarm has been fixed!