The magic of Fowey

I spent this weekend enjoying the special charm that is Fowey, Cornwall and the Daphne du Maurier Festival. This was my fourth time to visit Fowey for the festival. I went first in 2007 for the centenary conference as part of the research for my MA dissertation. On that occasion I stayed in the beautiful Fowey Hotel, as everywhere else was booked out. It was a wonderful experience and has become a very special place to me.

This year time was rather limited so we only booked one event on the Sunday and spent the Saturday wandering the town and its surroundings. I just adore the shops and cafes. We had tea and cake at the delightful Dwelling House and did a spot of shopping in the local craft shops. I found myself lusting after pretty teapots and teacups, something that seems to be leading to a bit of an obsession... I also bought my copy of The Doll, which I've been looking forward to having for some time. Dinner was a bit disappointing unfortunately. When I visited in 2008 with my good friend Sarah we stumbled upon a great restaurant called The Other Place. Last year Rik and I had a delicious meal there too, so we decided to book again for this year. Unfortunately they seem to be going through some sort of transition phase and now only serve fish & chips or burgers. As we wandered back through town though we had a sneaky listen outside the church to the Mevagissey male voice choir, which more than made up for it!

Sunday afternoon was spent on the My Cousin Rachel guided walk. We saw some beautiful countryside and had sections of the book read to us by our guide on the way.

We finished up with an extravagant cream tea at Coombe Farm.

All in all a very pleasant afternoon!

Highlights of the weekend:

• Tea at the Dwelling House
• Being recognised in the book shop as a du Maurier fan!
• Buying new pottery
• Meeting the churchyard cat again
• Our lovely b&b, Artist's House and its proprietor

Our new purchases...          

Cornwall and a spot of shopping

Now that I have returned to the world of work and reality (at least temporarily) I thought I would reflect back on what was a wonderfully work-free and reality-free month. I worked a total of 9 days in the month of April and thoroughly enjoyed the other 21. I am only working two days this week as I am accompanying students on a residential to Torquay on Thursday, but it does still feel like today ushered in a return to normality.

I've already covered most of the month of April in my last two posts, so thought I would talk about how I spent the Royal Wedding long weekend. Firstly I have to admit that I got completely sucked into the fairytale world of the royals; castles, princes, jewels, dresses... 

I had no intentions of watching the wedding, but found myself wikipedia-ing the royal family the night before (never a good sign for an Irish person). I was thus reliably informed on all matters royal (for instance I knew all the options for Kate's title post-marriage and the fact that only five members of the royal family have obtained university degrees). The following morning I ended up watching live on the BBC website as the wonder unfolded. I only watched for an hour but have to admit I welled up on more than one occasion. The Middleton ladies' dresses were beautiful! And her Dad looked so proud. Then at 11.30am it was off to Cornwall.

En route to Padstow we paid a visit to Lanhydrock. The house is the most beautiful National Trust property that I've visited, with parts dating back to the 17th century. The Long Gallery (below - please excuse poor camera work) is stunning - in particular the plasterwork ceiling. There was a young guy playing the piano at the far end and it transported me to a world of the past and helped fuel my royal daydream. Following a cream tea and walk in the gardens it was off to Padstow.

The 'Obby 'Oss festival happens in Padstow on May Day every year, but we were cleverly avoiding that and went to enjoy the peace and quiet of Padstow Touring Park. I still haven't gotten my Rick Stein fish and chips, but did have a tasty pasty and chocolate crepe. I love listening to rain falling, but I think it is even better when you are in a caravan/mobile home on holidays. I managed to get through some more of my latest Carnegie book, Prisoner of the Inquisition, but am still not quite finished.

Yesterday I was feeling a little extravagant, having just been paid last week, so decided to do a little shopping in Exeter. Considering I was once a massive spendthrift I think I have been really good in the last year. My main purchase was this glorious bag:

I've been looking for a brown leather satchel for some time and this fit the bill. It is may be a little smaller than my ideal but other than that it is great. It was £69 in M&S, but luckily there was 20% off and my lovely Mom had given me a gift voucher, so it only cost me £14. The day was topped off with lunch at Wagamama and tea and cake in Boston's. All together a very pleasant end to a very pleasant month (even if yesterday was May). Back to Cornwall again in less than two weeks for the Du Maurier festival. Excitement...