The Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of five inhabited islands and numerous other small rocky islets about 28 miles off the southwesternmost tip of England. The sea is remarkably blue (at least on a sunny day) and the sand is very white, giving it an almost Caribbean feel, especially as there are lots of palm trees.

A day trip to the Isles of Scilly

We flew by a little plane from Land’s End Airport to the Isles of Scilly.

The Eden Project

We were impressed by the Eden Project, plants and gardens housed in a disused china clay pit near St. Austell. The complex includes two giant, transparent domes that house plant species from around the world. The first emulates a tropical environment, housed in the world’s largest greenhouse, and it is VERY hot, although not quite as hot as in parts of Britain recently, like our garden when Debbie's dad was cutting the hedge! This was the closest we are likely to get to the Ecuadorian jungle (sorry Kay!).

The second dome emulates a warm temperate, Mediterranean-type environment, so reminded us a bit of Cyprus.

Bump at Land's End

Debbie is getting bigger every day. The bump seemed to enjoy its trip to England's most westerly point.

Land's End

On Sunday we enjoyed a trip to Land’s End, the most westerly tip of the English (but not British) mainland. We started at Sennen Cove and walked the mile or so along the South West Coast Path to Land’s End, which is a bit of a theme park, but still worth a visit.

The Birdhouse

Whilst in Mousehole, we stayed in "The Birdhouse", a wonderful old cottage in the town with spectacular sea views from the upstairs balcony.

Mousehole

We had a week staying in Mousehole (pronounced Mouz'l), a fishing village on the south west Cornish coast near Penzance and Newlyn and only a few miles from Land's End.

A traumatic and defining event in the recent history of the village was the Penlee lifeboat disaster of December 19, 1981, in which the lifeboat and its entire crew, all based in Mousehole, were lost during an attempted rescue in hurricane-force winds. Mousehole is known for its Christmas illuminations, created each year to raise money for charity. Since 1981, every December 19 the lights have been turned off in memory of the victims of the lifeboat disaster. Tom Bawcocks Eve is a unique celebration held on December 23 each year to celebrate the ending of a famine in the 16th century by local resident Tom Bawcock. This festival is the inspiration behind the book “The Mousehole Cat” by Antonia Barber.

Dartmoor

We celebrated with a "take-away" cream tea at Postbridge, a hamlet in the heart of Dartmoor, best known for its ancient "clapper" bridge. The bridge is very nice. Not so sure about the cream tea.

Incidentally, the best cream tea we had on our holiday (and we sampled quite a few) was at Loy's Cove in Cornwall, a few miles down the coast from Mousehole. The cream tea there was excellent, and particularly welcome after our hike along the very overgrown South West Coastal Path from nearby Lamorna.

A trip to Devon and Cornwall

We have just arrived back from a lovely week in Devon and Cornwall. We had a day on Dartmoor to start with and Debbie was very excited to see some wild ponies.

20 week scan

An ultrasound photo of our baby at 20 weeks 6 days.

Half way through the pregancy and Debbie is now getting steadily bigger, and she can regularly feel the baby moving around. Mark has felt it too!