Tractor rides and a new arrival

We chose Pennance mill after reading about it in Volkworld Camper & Bus Magazine. Its a small campsite based on a farm near Falmouth. The owner (Alan) is a VW fan and the magazine held their event here last year (and have another one planned after we will have returned to Sheffield). They even have a mill wheel and tractor rides each day. There isn't exactly a fixed time but the kids soon learn what it means when the tractor horn sounds.

We signed in and got set up then headed straight out to Falmouth for fish and chips by the harbour. We thought we'd splash out so we popped in to Stein's Fish and Chip shop. A lovely fish and chip supper eaten outside overlooking the harbour and we we ready to call it a day.

We spent the next day on the beach at Swanpool enjoying the sunny weather. It was til hot fairly late into the evening as the sun was starting to go down. On Monday we took a trip to Pendennis castle intending to spend time looking around the historic castle, but spent most of the day watching "Terrible Toby" and "Marauding Millie" learning to be pirates in the "Pirate Academy" A lovely day sat in the sun watching the children have fun, even if it wasn't quite as cultural as planned.

The next day didn't quite run to plan; we headed down to Penzance to see St Micheal's mount. We had a lovely lunch in the sun overlooking the bay but a tantrum meant we didn't make it across. We also had an unexpected trip to Truro A&E after Millie thought that the washing tablets (we thought had been well hidden) looked tasty. Fortunately the tablets turned out to be very mild and Millie was given a clean bill of health.

The next day was too hot so we retreated into the air-conditioned sanctuary of the Maritime Museum in Falmouth. The museum was really interesting and the Kids had a great time. Both really liked playing at Air/Sea Rescue in the Sea King IV. Toby was entranced with and exhibit about a man who was trapped upside down in his yacht whilst Millie would not be removed from a Jet Ski. It was still incredibly hot in the evening so we spent it sat on the beach at Swanpool. (still in just shorts at 1920!).

The next day we headed for Maenporth and even got to swim in the sea with Millie. Toby had a try at body boarding and I towed Millie on the board in her "zippy super suit".

One last tractor ride and the news that George's baby (Niamh) had been born finished our time at Pennance Mill. Time to head back towards Sheffield via the next campsite.  

False starts and meet ups

So it's the summer holidays and time to take advantage of working as a teacher. This year we were determined to get away early and make the most of the summer. Added to this George (Vanessa's sister) is due to give birth in the first week so we had the perfect excuse to head for Cornwall.

So it's the first day of the holidays (slightly early for me as I'm not working Friday) all packed up ready to leave everything in the van, kids transferred in pyjamas without a hitch. We were even leaving on time. Our plan to get away early to make the most of the holidays was gong swimmingly.

Well it was until the gear stick fell off.

We'd been thinking the gear change was a little sloppy, it was even a little difficult to get into second. However old VWs are famous for a porridge like gear change experience so we didn't give it much thought. That is until our plan started to go wrong.

So our holiday plan was looking a little less good with the van stuck in the middle of the road and the rain starting. About to call the RAC for the shortest recovery on record I thought I'd have a quick look to see if there was anything I could do. A quick browse through the Bentley manual and a poke about revealed that two bolts hold the whole thing together and they had worked loose. So after a swift tighten up Maisie was back on the road.

A little later than planed but on the way we discovered the joy of a gear change that works. Surprisingly (or not when you think about it) the newly tightened nuts make the gear change much more effective.

After a much less eventful journey we arrived at the camp site in Landrake (Dolbeare Park). We were due to be in one place but as there were already two VWs on site they moved us to make an impromptu VW show on site.

After a quick chat with the people next to us who had hired their van and helping them understand some of the joys (foibles) of driving an aircooled classic we headed for the park to meet up with George and Kev.

The kids had a great time playing with cousin Jamie and asking questions about the baby in Auntie George's tummy. This healthy outdoor fun was followed by the slightly less healthy activity of a meal out at pizza hut.

After a great night and making use of the very clean facilities we had a lovely breakfast with George and Kev whilst the Children played. After saying our goodbyes and promising to come back as soon as the new baby arrived we headed for the next campsite further into Cornwall.