the roseland return

This week we returned to the Cornish fishing village of Portscatho, in the Roseland Peninsula, where we had the most superb week's holiday last summer. Whilst the weather wasn't quite as kind to us this time round, we still had a wonderful time filled with non-stop adventure, play and laughter, like never before. 

Admittedly there wasn't too much laughter as we tried to pitch out tent in a thunderstorm (clearly we'd lost our sense of humour at that early point) but the rain clouds eventually parted and treated us to lots of sunny spells for the rest of our stay.

The vast majority of our time was spent crouched over rock pools, bobbing about in the waves and feasting on naughty Cornish treats. We also took the little ferry from St Mawes over to the bustling port of Falmouth to rummage for hidden treasure in the brimming second hand shops.

Back at the camp site, the girls marauded around squealing with delight, surrounded by an army of small friends with bubbles, balls, wooden swords and kites. The fields were also home to a small flock of sheep, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs- the camp site lady would ring a hand bell in the morning at feeding time and the children all came running, desperate to help out!

We met a couple who had recently returned from paddling around the entire British coast in a sea kayak for 4 ½  months. The children were mesmerised by their tales of sleeping in bivy bags in car parks, not to mention the revelation that they only packed 5 pairs of underwear for their entire excursion! 

Needless to say, this encounter did nothing to stave off my ever-growing canoe obsession; I haven't quite convinced Steve of circumnavigating the British Isles just yet, but I think I might have him signed up to paddle the length of the Kennet and Avon Canal sometime soonish...

Once the girls were tucked up, Steve and I snuggled up in blankets, drinking cider, playing scrabble and treating ourselves to my dad's delicious blackberry vodka, which I had been saving for our holidays. I think it must have affected my usually impressive scrabble-playing skills as I lost every single game we played. I'm still sulking about it, but I will win back my scrabble crown at Christmas!

And now we're back home, preparing for the new school term, signs that the summer is drawing to its close. This evening has felt very autumnal indeed- we've been tucked up around the wood burner, watching 'Match of the Day' on the television!

I'll be trying to catch up with all your blogs over the next few days- what have I missed? x