Cornwall - arriving

Continuing Tuesday's activities and resuming the drive at Exeter. From the Cathedral we eventually found the way out of the city and on to Newquay in Cornwall. In hindsight that was perhaps not the best of choices as the town was packed with summer holiday visitors, especially "schoolies" celebrating the end of school. The nearby hostel was a source of considerable noise until the early hours!

After checking in we drove north to the fishing town of Padstow, well known as the heart of Rick Stein's group of seafood restaurants. Despite the many visitors it was still an attractive place.  For the return journey we took the pretty back lanes which wound around between fields and villages along the coast, presenting us with a series of changing views. 

Years ago the term "Great Western" refered to the Great Western Railway which served the area. Now the Great Western is a restaurant on the hilltop at Newquay   It not only serves wonderful food but has perhaps the finest coastal views in the area. Seen from here our first sunset in Cornwall was quite impressive. On one side were the little coastal inlets. On the other was a sweeping beach with a curious mix of old and new - on the upper slopes were the modern  apartments and along the beach were the old-fashioned bathing boxes (private change rooms to preserve modesty!).