340 miles door to door… seven hours (including stops to collect a teenager from a sleepover and obligatory leg stretching, Costa coffee buying and loo breaks) in the car with an over-excited dog. All made well worth while when we saw the view from the living room window of our home for the next few days.
Shot with HTC One (camera phone)
The two storey property is an upside down house (the kids’ description) with the bedrooms downstairs and the living room on the first floor, to maximise the view down to the Helford River. I couldn’t wait to explore and after a quick cup of tea Nic, Ferb and I headed out. Our offspring stayed true to type and plugged in and logged on. Part of me wants to nag them into getting out into the fresh air and the rest of me hankers after a quiet, moan free walk with my husband.
Well, he didn’t moan once(!) , even when I dropped my jumper in the river, trying to get a photo of the dog. The sun dappled garden led onto a steep meadow led down to a private beach. Ferb can smell water from a mile off and hurtled down the hill so fast his back legs almost overtook the front – we don’t have hills in Cheshire and I think it took him by surprise! As we strolled along at a more leisurely and safer pace we took in the beautiful view along the Helford River, watching boats sailing on the surprisingly deep green water out into the estuary.
Calamansac Sail Loft down to Helford River. Camera: Canon 5D MKII, Tamron 24-700mm
We knew we were about to round a corner and see the beach from the splashing noises, as Ferb had arrived well before us. If dogs could grin from ear to ear he would. He is an Italian Water Dog (Lagotto Romagnolo) and was born to swim. We pottered about on the shore line, not exactly a beach for sunbathing but great for exploring. It wasn’t long before Nic held up an oyster shell and a short while later we came across a sign stating it was an oyster bed.
Calamansac Beach Canon 5D MII, Tamron 24-70mm lens
There’s so much more I could say about the fabulous location of the Sail Loft where we are staying but I’m here for a week (staying on after the kids have gone home), so I’ll save it for another blog. After the long journey we were all starving and we’d heard that the food was good at the nearby Port Navas Yacht Club. We weren’t disappointed, although a little surprised and delighted to see that the restaurant was a small, unassuming building right on the river. Half a dozen tables for diners and a snug area in the bar, with views along the deep green river. Children were crabbing right outside the restaurant door and sailing dinghies up and down the river, until they were called in for their meal.
Port Navas Yacht Club. Fujifilm X10 compact camera
We had one of the most enjoyable evenings for a long time, with delicious food (succulent hake and haddock with a salmon sauce for me, fish and chips for Nic, chicken stir fry and scampi for Abii and Sam) with excellent live music from a group of local musicians. Their numbers grew over the course of the evening, starting with two guitarists and joined by a penny whistle, bongo(?) drums and some others we couldn’t name – a melodica?! The atmosphere inside the little bar and restaurant was great, lively, friendly and more than a bit merry. With the music increasing in tempo as it grew later we were sorry to leave, but with some very steep and narrow tracks to negotiate, we reluctantly headed home.
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