Day 7 Friday 22/10 Cyder Farm, New Quay, Perranporth, Shag, Pasties, St Agnes, Beach, Caves, Mussels, Lost, Tin Mine, Underwater Challenge, American Buffet, Longest Pool Game, Bingo

Today was effectively the last day of our holiday. We’re motoring home and planning a stop on the way tomorrow but today is really the last hurrah. We didn‘t have a clear plan of action, other than a visit to Healy’s Cyder Farm where the previously mentioned Rattler

cider is fermented, I don’t think brewed is the correct term for cider making. We headed for Healy’s first and were there before lunchtime. I was surprised when everything, including the tasting, was free, I’d had gotten acclimatised by now to paying through the nose for everything, but soon discerned their cunning plan. “Yes thank you I would like to try a free taste of…” Subsequently spent £30 on buying bottles of my free tastes…sneaky Healy’s very very sneaky. The matured ciders which are bottled are treated as wines and were outstanding; we bought a bottle to have with our Christmas dinner this year. (photo of cyder buys here)


Leaving the cyder farm we headed, along the coast road, toward New Quay. We weren’t planning a long visit just a quick drive through to see what it was like. Before going into the town itself we stopped at the end of the coast road, parked up and walked a little way up a hill to get a good view of the bay. It was spectacular as the town, unlike many others, sits above the sea on the cliff tops. This probably explains why it has such a reputation for “Tomb Stoning” where drunken men, usually but not always drunken young men, leap from these cliffs and into the sea below; a significant number are killed or find they’ve joined the “in a wheelchair for life” club. It’s a very popular spot for teenagers from all over the country who’ve just finished their exams. Teenagers, Cliffs and Booze a recipe made in Hell.

We never did manage to make it down to the cliffs as New Quay has an incredibly maze like system of roads. We ended up going round in circles and eventually gave up and abandoned this plan. Even then we weren’t in the clear and we still managed to end up dead ended twice more before we got clear of the place. The Town’s slogan should be: “Visit New Quay You’ll Never Want  Be Able to Leave”.

As we made our way down the coast our first port of call was a little town called Perranporth. It was so “touristy” but in a nice way. I bought myself a back scratcher, was offered “A Shag for a Tenner”, inspected the local off license stock of Cornish beers and ciders and ate the tastiest pasty of the whole holiday. We’d park in the road as we refused to pay £3.50 for a hours parking so we were on the clock. We walked down to the beach while eating said pasties before returning to the car. Deb and I both agreed that the next time we visit it might be nice if we could get into a Time-Share nearby.

After this we drove onto St. Agnes then through and down to the bay. Christ I’d liked to have lived there; (INSERT PHOTOS) it was beautiful and, additionally, if you liked mussels you could eat for free because the rocks along the shore line were in-crusted with the little buggers!

While I scouted out a vantage point from which to take photos the other went onto the beach and soon they were little more than dots in the distance. Eventually I did make my way down and joined them there. Nat decided to content himself with drawing in the sand but as usual Hannah was irresistibly drawn to the sea and its accompanying wetness.

After Hannah had played chase with the waves enough we crossed the beach to take a look at the caves in the cliff face. Nat and Hannah, of course, had to climb up into them and got wetter still.

After a little while we made our way back to the car and moved on. Yet again we got lost and it took a while to get our bearings back; still no GPS signal, Damn You To Hell You Cyder Witches! Eventually we were back on track and headed for home. On the way we stopped to look at a tin mine steam engine at a national trust site but lacked sufficient funds to take a trip around the full site.

Back at the Coach House we grabbed our swimming gear and headed for the pool for one last swim. While there I challenged the kids to try to swim the length of the pool underwater; the both succeeded to do so. We left the pool and went back to our rooms for a little while before returning to the main complex to experience the American Hot Buffet evening. Food was great but the kids tried to pile too much food, at one go, onto their plates and ended up unnecessarily wasting some. The homemade burgers were particularly heroic; thick, juicy and very very tasty.

Anyone who’d wanted to play a game of pool was in for a long wait that evening because Nat and Hannah got to the table first and played what must rank as one of the longest games ever. After we’d finished we returned again to our rooms but not for long. There was going to be bingo in the bar at nine so, leaving
Deb at home, the kids and I went back to play. We’d only enough money left to play the first game. We didn’t win and so returned to Deb shortly afterward.

After that it was a question of getting the packing finished so we could get an early start the next morning. That night there was a torrential rain storm that put an end to our planned early start! However we weren’t to know and eventually the majority of the packing was done and only morning essentials were left out. Deb and the kids went to bed but I stayed up to watch the TV and do a little reading. I think I fell asleep on the sofa as I don’t recall going to bed. I did go out a few times to take a look at the storm. The rain was bucketing down if you put your head out passed the door frame you’d be soaked in a second.