Another year older ...

So, July this year saw good old pops turn 61. To celebrate the Hooper clan met up with the Watkinson clan for a trip to Canons Ashby.

It was a beautiful day, really sunny and we all had a lovely time eating scones, drinking tea and abosrbing all that wonderful history.

After we had gone round the inside of the house we went outside to the gardens and spent several hours rolling around on the lawn with the gal.

Anyway, here is our day out:

Untitled from Emma Hooper on Vimeo.

Kicking back for a week ...

Well, we're back! And we're much rested thanks to a brilliant week in Cornwall. The holiday was just blissful. Right down there in the strand, with my family and friends just chilling and relaxing. :D Wonderful ...

We set off at quarter to six in the morning, having got up at about 4.30am. Thankfully we had packed the car up the night before with everything but a few bags for the back seat, so we were able to get up, washed, dressed and out of the door pretty smartish for us!

The journey down was nice and carefree and we stopped at the services on the way down. The practically single track, side of cliff typical Cornish coastal road down to Trebarwith Strand proved to be a little bit more nerve wracking in the Jag to what it was in my old Polo but we managed it!

We had made good time and were sat in the car park at the strand at 11.30 am so we poddled up to The Port William pub to have some lunch before the cottage was free from the cleaners at 3.30pm

The house proved to be relatively nice. The linen etc was nice and clean and it was brilliantly close to both the beach, the hippy shop and the pub ... winner on all fronts I feel! The carpets were a little grubby in some places so Kez did tend to get dirty feet and knees in the evening when she was toddling round on the floor, but as she could be put into beach  clothes, and those clothes could be washed at the cottage each day, it wasn't a problem really.

Mum and dad arrived shortly after us, so we toddled to the pub again (I know, terrible shame!) to have dinner and a few more bevvies before sinking into our beds

 Tuesday was a big day for Mamma and Pops as they had their tea party with the Queen at Bucks Palace this day. So they got dressed up in the best rags and got the train from Bodmin into London.

Chance and I decided that the ideal way to spend our day would be with a walk into Tintagel. Ok, before you all hear Chance exclaim loudly in the distance, it was my idea. I admit it. And next time I have the same idea Chance is more than welcome to shoot me. 

It was, quite possibly, one of the worst non-relaxing ideas I have ever come up with! In my defence, when we used to stay in Kittiwake Cottage at Gull Rock (up top of cliff) it wasn't a bad walk at all. I used to go in along the cliff path. Beautiful. I would usually stop off at Tintagel Church on the way into Tintagel and then return the same way. I know, however, that the cliff paths are going to be a no-no for a couple of years now until Kezia is older, as they can be so very treacherous. So I thought we would do the road route - of which there are two options. A short and but very, very steep narrow road, or the longer road which was, according to me, longer but not as steep.
 
That in itself was not a lie - but Oh My God was it loooooong. The continual up, on a bumpy road surface with the sun roasting us ... it just would not end. And when we got to the top of the road I remembered that we then had to ascend steeply anyway, so in effect the route that I had oh so knowledgably chosen was all together longer, steeper, harder and far less practical. Winner!

There were no paths, so we had to hike down a country road with pushchair. Just as we were getting ready to think about giving up and retracing our footsteps (we had been going for over 2 hours at this point) when we met one of the nicest sights I had seen in a long time; a sign that said Tintagel was now only three quarters of a mile away! Nothing spurred Chance and I into action like the thought of a sit down and a cream tea ,so we practically raced the last part (which was finally paved) and fell into a local tea room like Laurence of Arabia and his companion after their long desert ordeal ... It was tough times people!

Mamma and pops came home in the evening with David ( they had rather bravely travelled down with him from London in his white van) and we all poddled off to bed after a quick catch up, as we were all fairly shattered!

Then there was the day of the England v Slovenia game, so I drove the boys into Tintagel so that they could watch the game in a pub with a few beers. Meanwhile, Kez and I found a lovely bench on the cliff top next to King Arthur's Castle and we sat and had a lovely lil time together. We spoke about the sea gulls, and the cows and then the cows digestive system as one had a wee in the field behind us, followed by another one doing a slightly heavier job! Ya gotta love the country!

The rest of the holiday we pretty much spent around Trebarwith Strand and on the beach.

 

 The first trip to the beach she spent quite a lot of time eating the sand ... until she decided that it really was as yucky as we all kept saying it was.

She had a little crawl on the sand and then a little walk. There was lots of seaweed in the sand, which she avoided completely. She didn't touch it and decide that it wasn't for her. She just wouldn't go near it at all and diligently crawled in a round circle each time she came across some!


Mamma took Kezia for her first look at the sea whilst I took Chance to a more secluded part of the beach which has caves. You used to be able to get to it by scrabbling down a cliff path, but since my youth that path has fallen into the sea and the only way you can get to it now is by going through the rocks at low tide.

Each time we took Kezia to the beach she grew more and more in confidence and by the Sunday she was waddling off after other children ( a young pair of boys who were running around playing football proved to be of particular interest for a while ) and taking mamma for long walks in the rock pools and in the sea.

She didn't worry about the cold water at all and was soon up to her armpits! Definitely a water baby! She chatted all the way through the holiday, often shrieking in pleasure whilst on the beach ... Her first beach holiday was most definitely a success!

Linked below are most of the piccies from our holiday. There are a lot there though - just to warn you!

But before you go, I will share two of the best photos that were taken that holiday ...

Kezia's footprints in the sand:

Holidays pics:

Untitled from Emma Hooper on Vimeo.