Nov
2016

Penryn to Flushing dogwalk

categories: Food & Drink, On Tour, Poppy

Our little break in Cornwall feels like it was months ago, such is the pace of life at the moment. While we were there, we decided on having brunch at the Muddy Beach restaurant in Penryn and Phil found a nice little walk for us to do beforehand, that we can do more of another time. We didn’t do the whole Penryn to Flushing walk, but we did a good chunk of it. The bit we did was okay, though I’m thinking we didn’t get to the best bit. Plus I’ve heard that Flushing is quite dog friendly so am keen to explore it next time.

Penryn to Flushing dogwalkPenryn dogwalkPenryn cemetryPenryn cemetry door

To get to the walk, you have to walk along the main road. You take a sneaky little path just before the church to head down to the coast path. You then walk along, under the cover of trees, catching glimpses of the estuary. It’s a little bit like a secret world! After a while you head out from the trees to walk along at the bottom of a field, which had an electric fence. I always worry about walking Poppy next to these, not that she’s ever hurt herself on them, but I’m not a fan. This bit doesn’t last for long, until you can head down onto the river bed and get to walk among the reeds if the tide is out. That’s where we turned round and headed back, as we’d planned to have brunch at Muddy Beach. And we weren’t disappointed!

Muddy Beach vegan breakfast

We had visited Muddy Beach years ago in it’s previous incarnation as Miss Peapod’s. Phil did a bit of a google to check out their vegan offerings and dog friendly potential. They have plenty of outside seating, which is perfect for dogs, but they also have a section inside which is the perfect area for dogs. Not only do they offer a veggie breakfast, but they also did a vegan breakfast, which was delicious. It was hearty, healthy and satisfying. While I was ordering, I also noticed that they had a vegan cake on offer, along with the regular fair and one or two non-dairy milks. We will definitely be going back there next time we’re in Penryn.

The Walk: The part of the walk we did was okay, some bits were much better than others. As the tide was out, we were able to walk down on the coast and Poppy loved walking among the reeds. Next time we go there, I’d like to walk the whole way to Flushing, as it’s not far. The walk through the cemetery was quite creepy! Make sure you wear good walking boots!
Cost: Completely free, unless you’re paying for parking.
Car Park: We parked at Exchequer Quay car park and paid £3.20 for three hours, which was plenty of time.
Refreshments: Muddy Beach restaurant is well worth a visit. It has plenty of seating, both inside and out, and has a special dog friendly area.
Toilets: There are some public loos in the car park.

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Nov
2016

TV Recommendations – October

categories: What I've been Watching

The last few months have been terribly busy. Fortunately, there’s been plenty on TV to help me relax and switch off. It’s been an interesting few months in tv land, with the devastating news that GBBO will never be the same again; the sadness that Nashville has been cancelled and as yet, not picked up by another TV company (though I’m hoping that I’ve simply just missed out on some fantastic news here) and the great news that a one off series of The Gilmore Girls will appear on Netflix later this month. In the meantime, I’ve been watching some pretty decent TV.

october tv recommendations

[The Fall – BBC Two || Fear the Walking Dead – iTunes

|| Poldark – BBC One || Marco Polo – Netflix]

I was eagerly awaiting the third and final series of The Fall. It’s one of the more dark and disturbing crime dramas I’ve seen but it is also one of the most gripping. Gillian Anderson is fantastic as Stella, who is calm and collected in the face of what can only be described as pure evil. While the start of this final series took a slower pace, it was still gripping enough, right up until the explosive final episode. If you missed the first two series, you won’t regret catching up on them.

While I am a huge Walking Dead fan, I also enjoy the spin off series, Fear the Walking Dead. While it’s not as good as the original, it’s still pretty good and certainly fills the gap between seasons. However, this series took a long time to get going. There was a point when I was kind of hoping everyone would get eaten by walkers, just so that something was happening. It did pick up about half way through and the action continued all the way to the end. I’m looking forward to the next season, I just hope it doesn’t take so long to get going again.

It’s no secret that Cornwall is my favourite place to go and this is partly why I love Poldark. I did get behind on watching it this time, so downloaded most of the episodes to my iPad and took it on holiday to Cornwall with us. Again, this was another series that seemed to go quite slowly to begin with but it has picked up recently with everything going on! Almost every character has got something major going on, whether it’s to do with mines or marriage, it’s a busy series.

Watching Marco Polo was not my choice. Phil wanted to watch it, and I was work most evenings, it doesn’t really matter what’s on. While I was (very) skeptical at first, it definitely grew on me, very quickly. We binge watched both series in a short space of time. It has a Vikings feel about it, so how historically accurate it is, I don’t know! But it’s worth a watch if you’re short of something.


Nov
2016

The Cornish Vegan, Truro

categories: Food & Drink, On Tour, Reviews

Despite having visited Cornwall a number of times, I had never been to Truro. Since the opening of The Cornish Vegan, we had a reason to visit this time. We had a bit of a mooch about Truro beforehand. Phil wanted to go to a vinyl shop and I wanted to have a wander around. We had a look in a few shops, there’s a great mix of high street and independent shops in Truro, and we picked up a few things for the house.

Truro Truro Cathedral

I had seen people talking about The Cornish Vegan on Twitter and it was recommended by a number of vegans online so I was desperate to go there. I wasn’t disappointed. There was loads of choice and it all looked delicious. The people on the table next to us had lasagne and a salad, which I was tempted by, but in the end I opted for the BBQ Jackfruit, as I’d never had jackfruit before.

The Cornish Vegan BBQ jackfruit The Cornish vegan brownie

The jackfruit was delicious. The BBQ sauce, which is made by the restaurant was really tasty and it made for an excellent burger. The coleslaw was light, fresh and crispy too. Service was excellent and Poppy was made welcome too, by getting her own bowl of water and as many vegan dog treats as she could eat, which turned out to be quite a few! I really wanted a brownie with some ice cream, but by this time, Poppy made it clear that she was ready to leave so I got a brownie to go. It was immense! It was the best vegan brownie I’ve had since becoming vegan. If you go to The Cornish Vegan, get one!

Poppydog in Lush

I can’t blame Poppy. She had been an absolute star while we shopped and mooched about. She was able to come into most shops with us, including Lush, where she got a lot of attention! It’s so great to be able to take her into shops and cafes, even if she does want to eat everything in there!

We’ll definitely be going back to The Cornish Vegan next time we’re in the area. I’d love to sample one of their Sunday roasts as they look epic!


Oct
2016

Half Term Holiday in Cadgwith

categories: On Tour

Well hello, dear blog reader. It’s been a while. My new teaching job is keeping me very busy, so a half term holiday in Cadgwith Cove, Cornwall was very welcome indeed. We didn’t plan an awful lot, as we all needed a relaxing break, with lots of rest, as the first half term of the school year has been brutal! We stayed at Rene’s Cottage, booked through Cadgwith Cove Cottages, as we have done for most of our holidays in Cadgwith, though this was our first time staying at Rene’s.

Rene's Cottage

Rene’s Cottage is adorable. It has a small, well equipped kitchen, not that we used it much, save for cooking some jacket potatoes and pizza! The lounge boasts a wood burning stove, a small TV and wifi. You can sit and watch people walking up and down the hill, which happened regularly, as Cadgwith has a fantastic inn, which draws people in after a coastal walk. Upstairs is a lovely bathroom (much better than ours at home!) and it has a generous corner bath, which is perfect for soaking in with a Lush bath bomb after getting soaked to the skin in a heavy downpour. True story. The bedroom sleeps two and has one of the comfiest beds I’ve ever slept on in a holiday let.

Rene's Cottage fish Rene's Cottage lounge Cadgwith

Rene’s Cottage is an old fisherman’s cottage, complete with a traditional thatch roof. The walls are incredibly thick, meaning that it keeps cool in the summer and holds the heat from the wood burner in the winter. We took wood and kindling with us so that we could make the most of the wood burner and it was lovely curling up on the sofa, watching Fear the Walking Dead, in front of a roaring fire. On the Sunday, there was quite a strong wind blowing about the cove and it was really snug and cosy in the cottage. While walking about the Lizard, we were talking about how we always stay in Cadgwith and whether we would stay in any of the other surrounding areas. I have to say that I love staying in Cadgwith. There’s just something about it. When I booked Rene’s, I didn’t realise that it didn’t have a garden and worried that it might be difficult with Poppy. It wasn’t at all, in fact, it was quite lovely getting up to take her on a morning loo walk before breakfast around the cove, seeing what was going on.

Cadgwith boats Cadgwith Houses Cadgwith fishing gear Cadgwith cove

The cove is very picturesque and is a great base to explore the Lizard and surrounding areas. The history of the place fascinates me, as does the fishing industry that still goes on today, despite the changes to fishing. Watching the men go out in the morning, whether they are in the larger fishing boats or just going out on their own, is to watch history. Cadgwith is one of the last fishing coves in Cornwall and this is evident everywhere. The whole cove is littered with lobster pots, some of which are now home to a few nesting birds! I love being about when the boats come back after a day on the water and they’re unloading their catch. The cove comes alive with activity. Obviously, as a vegan, I don’t eat fish, but if you are going to eat fish, then it should be caught in the way that the Cadgwith fisherman catch theirs. It has minimal impact on the environment and is one of the most sustainable types of fishing we have.

Cadgwith

During our stay, we managed to spot a pod of dolphins out in the sea, not far from the cliffs, while we were standing up on the Todden. I’d never seen dolphins in the wild before so I was really pleased we were able to watch them. We will definitely be back at Cadgwith at some point in the near future. There really is no where else like it.