Category: Holidays (Page 4 of 11)

Azores 11 & 12 & 13.6.25

14 June 2025 / admin

A change of pace now – the holiday was booked as two halves with an initial busy period and the a couple of quieter days at the end at what was hoped would be a sunny and warm location just along the coast from Ponta Delgada at Lagoa.

To put it mildly it was not in our usual price bracket but we hoped for a couple of days of indulgence.

We stayed in the first hotel in the morning and took a light lunch as the weather was not as good as the previous couple of days. Then a taxi to our destination.

It is a boutique hotel (nine rooms) and on being shown around I suppose the most striking aspect was the need to book the use of the jacuzzi. I accept that I would not want to share with others – but with that number of rooms booking it was a little much. We were also given a mobile phone so that we can contact the hotel team at any time (they are not on site overnight) and I can see the H&S side as positive – but do we really need another mobile phone? I largely left it in the bedroom until it woke us overnight as the battery went flat.

I have been known to arrive in a bedroom and sit down on the bed and ask politely if I need to unpack or not and probably should have done that. There is no door to the bathroom area – merely net-like curtains to pull across. I recall a hotel room in India where there was a glass wall between bathroom and bedroom – but that at least had a blind which could be lowered to obscure the indecencies – here there was no real separation which given the potential smells as well as sounds was unwelcome. Somehow I suspect we are not the target market.

For a boutique hotel room I would like a comfortable sofa or similar to lie along and read a book – there are two rather hard units in corners which are neither long enough on which to lie or short enough to provide a back rest whilst feet are on the floor. During the day it lacks natural light. At night some of the windows are unobscured so to my mind it is too light – almost impossible to conceive mentally but here physically obvious. There is a small window to the outside street with no blind and it is largely the only natural light. So we have a room which is too dark in the day and too light at night and with no comfortable seating.

If we had been outside throughout our stay as we were largely on the Thursday on the sunbeds then the room might have been less irksome but on Friday as it rained all day it was more oppressive and containing. The weather no-one can control but it was not possible to be comfortable.

We ate in the hotel on both Wednesday and Friday nights. Our first choices on the first night were the items we really wanted and the food is excellent. However our second choices on the Friday evening were good in terms of the quality of the items – we both had a deconstructed curry – but I am not sure the execution quite matched the underlying product quality.

On the Thursday evening we went out to find a local restaurant but the external visage of the two we found were not ideal. We dined in the second (given that there were only the two to find) and in reality the hotel needs the support of some slightly better restaurants – Jackie’s shrimp curry here was a somewhat odd pink colour and the shrimps were undercooked.

It will not be receiving a rave review, but I will not name it as that is a little unfair.

Azores 10.6.25

11 June 2025 / admin

Catamaran 10.6.25

When we walked along the Marina earlier in the week we noted various ways of going whale watching and the larger boats are catamarans (there are also rib boats but they are far too small for Jackie) and we booked an afternoon trip for today on one of the cats as the sea looks pretty flat and the weather looks good for the Tuesday.

Last time we went whale watching off of Boston poor Jackie was bedevilled with sea sickness until the return journey and so far this week the sea has looked calm and there are no obvious strong winds and so it proved as we headed out along the south coast of the island in an eastwards direction. This means we pass Lagoa where we are staying for the rest of the week – but we are far enough out to be unable to identify details apart from a very tall white building – some sort of vertical store.

After today’s trip I reach the conclusion that there is an ongoing problem with whale watching – it depends where they are and in terms of visibility. In terms of time we spend about an hour to reach an area where the crew hope we will see something – but nothing much emerges except a fin or two. Visible but not long enough to get a decent photo. So we move to another location and there are underwater shapes – where are informed there are a number of dolphins just under the surface – perhaps it is just too warm to come up today – who knows.

Distant fin 10.6.25

So there is an imbalance of time spent travelling and watching on one hand and even when there if they do not want to come out to play you do not see very much!

It is then an hour back to port – and in my personal view the risk / reward ratio did not work today – but at least Jackie was not ill as it remained smooth in both directions. We stayed in the cabin as that moves around less and consequently is less likely to cause upset.

After a drink on our return we walk around looking at the various restaurants but we had already decided we are having an Indian today as a change from the local cuisine which otherwise becomes a little boring as it is similar in most places. It was recommended by some Americans in the hotel bar earlier in the week but it as a welcome change.

Azores 9.6.25

10 June 2025 / admin

Underground Cooking 9.6.25

Today we had a pre-booked excursion with Pure Azores to explore the Eastern side of the island with our trip largely centred around Furnas which is a town in a collapsed volcano crater which is in the centre of the area. The crater remains very warm as we shall encounter but has not been active for a long time.

Collected on time and with a small number of other travellers our driver is also the guide for the day – but as the roads are not overly hectic keeping up a running discourse is not that difficult for Joao who looks after us very well throughout the day – and he has been doing this for about 6 years as tourism to the island has grown.

Furnas Lake 9.6.25

Our first stopping point is high up over the lake which has formed in the collapsed crater below our stopping point and which has a wonderful view over the wider area – mainly the lake of course but also the surrounding area and the village of Furnas.

We then descend to lake level and observe the location where the local restaurants use the heat in the ground to mass cook meats for lunch and we even see one container being lowered into the ground which will be fully cooked some 8 hours later, so to be ready for our lunch someone was lowering them into the ground about 4am this morning – a very odd working day!

Elsewhere in the town there are five different types of water – varying temperatures and varying flavours which are running out from the rocks.

It is possible to bathe in the waters – we had not pursued this option but one of the group did being dropped off and then collected in time for lunch – the restaurant puts a huge plate of mixed meats – mainly pork and local sausages plus some chicken and a limited amount of beef into which we all dig. It does not all get consumed and we see many others departing with doggy boxes of leftovers – not something which we can consider unfortunately.

Waterfall 9.6.25

Our trip then visits a number of beauty spots – a garden with waterfalls and subsequently a view over part of the northern length of the island’s coast. It all confirms that it is a lovely island and we are well looked after during the day.

We return to our hotel and decide on a bar snack this evening – which goes moderately well until we need to pay at which point the staff disappear. It is odd the way that staff have not quite got the approach to customer service perfect – good in patches is my view.

Azores 8.6.25

9 June 2025 / admin

City Gates 8.6.25

Following breakfast we head out to have a wander around the centre of Ponta Delgada and rather than ignore it I will admit that we followed the guidance of Kitty at:

https://kittymeetsworld.com/short-walking-tour-ponta-delgada/

Although not arriving by cruise liner (unlike Kitty) our hotel is at the Eastern end of the docks / marina area overlooking a collection of restaurants which has been built in the bay so we have a little way to walk to the City Gates along the front, where the described tour commences.

The isle of Sao Miguel was uninhabited when a small fishing village was established at Santa Clara in around 1444 and is the largest island of the Azores island group which consists of nine islands – which are spread quite widely. The weather is close to mediterranean but with warmer winters due to the Gulf Stream and generally higher rainfall leading to the obviously green and lush pastures supporting around 30000 cows (with a slight preponderance of bull beef cattle over milk production). There are more cows than people on the island.

The City Gates now stand some way back from the waterfront, as post WWII a huge area in front of the gates all along the front was reclaimed to form a dual carriageway road and significant new building construction (no doubt at premium prices). The older buildings are therefore set a little way back from the current edge of the port and westwards from the Town Gates a large area has been pedestrianised and it is easy largely flat walking so we have no need to hurry as we pass the Gates, Churches, Town Hall and a sanctuary before finally reaching the fort. Along the way we note some interesting restaurants and a fado establishment but we are unable it enjoy the music on this visit.

In the corner of Campo de São Francisco we note a smart looking hotel Vila Galé and so we now have a small number of reasons for a potential return visit to the island. There is also a Dotto train, although we completely fail to find the ticket selling cabin, even though it supposed to be bright green.

WW1 Memorial 8.6.25

After visiting the first war memorial at the fort we return towards our hotel along the front largely at the lower level where we pass some more restaurants and some floating “units” like caravans which are a little different. We reach a busy bar and restaurant in time for drink and a spot of lunch.

Close to the Airport 8.6.25

And we know we are very close to the airport!

In the evening we eat in the Balcony restaurant in the hotel – it is both convenient and we were sure of it being available on the Monday evening. This was good and it is good not to be on the diet that we are at home.

Azores 7.6.25

8 June 2025 / admin

Steak at Michel’s 7.6.25

When we visited Madeira a couple of years ago we asked where they went for holidays and the answer was the Azores and it was also where they sourced beef as it was the best. So it was added to the holiday list.

We arrived at T5 having pod parked some 90 minutes before we can bag drop! Slightly excessive. Then the trauma commences – the bag drop scanner requires bar code facing upwards. However the security scanner requires the barcode facing down. Come on system designers please be consistent. Today we are not scanning boarding cards at the baggage check – the equipment was there but is unused and turned off, last time through we did have this extra scan (why was it needed, why is not needed?). Today take nothing out of your bag, previously take phones and ipads out – they had to be separate! Enough to confuse all old people! Why keep changing the processes?

However there is real trauma the other side of the body scanner. Somehow Jackie’s cardigan jumps out of the tray and becomes entangled in the rollers on the air side of the scanner backing up the numerous trays behind, including mine which I suspect is actually within the scanner itself.

I hate not to have visibility of my bag for any length of time and this drags on as the initial prodding has no effect. Then we are told the stopped trays are being put on an adjacent conveyor, but mine does not appear. Panic levels rising all round and a proper engineer is eventually summoned.

Three staff are needed to release the cardigan unharmed. Jackie is relieved. However when it comes through my bag is shunted sideways and needs to be given an extremely thorough swabbing including the book, camera, ipad, and so on. Eventually I can put my belt on and repack my bag!

T5 has the wonderful shuttles (which were less than wonderful when we return at the end of the week) to the B and C gates but today we are required to descend to ground level and take a bus, then walk on the tarmac and climb steps to G-TTNG to obtain access, back to the fifties everyone! Once on board Air Traffic Control have us sat around doing nothing for nearly half an hour.

Nearly four hours later we arrive in Ponta Delgada and walk across the tarmac into arrivals and then a taxi to the Grand Hotel which overlords the harbour and our sixth floor room has a pleasant view over the marina area.

For dinner tonight we are booked at 7pm at Michel’s which is walking distance from the hotel. And so it seems are large numbers of other guests for the restaurant. Although we are about the third party seated something goes seriously wrong and it is some 35 minutes or more before our order is taken – they still insist on phone use for reading the menu – a practice which I do not appreciate. In consequence before the waiter did comes we feel seriously out of sorts. I also get the impression that the food was a sitting around for a while as it could have been usefully warmer. Maybe we were unlucky, what we did have tasted excellent. I had the limpets to start and misjudging the temperature I burn my lower lip – entirely my own fault and yet I am glad I have tried them. The relatively poor service was annoying as the food was definitely very good.

We return to the hotel before it gets dark – in general I believe the place is safe – but better than being out in the dark in a strange town.

Cornwall 11.5.25

12 May 2025 / admin

Pencarrow House

Jamaica Inn will only accept bookings for two nights at weekends so we delayed our return home to Monday morning and needed to find another destination today – which turned out to be Pencarrow House.

On the way there using the A389 I find that the somewhat surprise find of rail embedded in the road between Bodmin and Dunmere where the L&SWR line used to cross the road which I first encountered in 2013 remain in situ. I gather from online resources that the same applies on other minor road crossings in the Camel Valley. Regrettably it all closed long before I could ever visit it.

Arriving by the advertised route (and ignoring the sat nav instructions) requires the car to pass through the site of an Iron Age Hillfort – so it has been an area which has been inhabited for many centuries prior to the house being built. It is possible to walk through the extensive grounds to see the Fort – but when we arrived it was raining and when we had finished the tour of the house it felt that it might rain again – although it did not actually do so but was enough to discourage a lengthy walk. Reportedly there are peacocks in the grounds but we did not see them today.

Pencarrow House, unlike most of the locations visited on this holiday, is not National Trust owned and it remains used to a limited extent by the Molesworth-St Aubyn family and so the arrangements are slightly different. We are met at the front of the property by the guide who then discourses for over an hour as she leads us around the open rooms of the house to show off the family heirlooms which remain in situ. No internal photographs are permitted as it remains private property due to insurance limitations.

Unlike most properties the front door does not open onto a magnificent hall as one might expect – it actually leads into the library – and we are assured that at some point the books have been read, many of them being State papers as family members were local MPs and similar. Why the library? We only find this out at the end of the tour when we are in what was once the hall.

One of the owners had the former front of the house laid down as an Italian Garden and visiting coaches and horses were regularly disturbing the beauty of this which led to a new front entrance into the library being constructed to prevent the garden from suffering damage and needing regular repair.

Colour at Pencarrow

Some of the stories told as we go around the house relate to relatively recent generations of the family. For example there is on display a Meissen Duck and the daughter accompanying tours used to remark that there were no mice visible, so some mice were added in a model which hides behind the duck and is brought out just in case she visits and asks after her “Mice and Duck” – much in the same way we were told a story about a Loch Ness Monster at the Castle of Mey. A couple of the other stories revolve around a rambunctious Labrador and his ability to behave unpredictably. A light lunch is taken in the tea room.

We return to Jamaica Inn for the evening meal and the following (Monday) morning we head off home. A30, A303, M3. Jackie doing just about half of the driving as far as Podmore and then I did the second half. It is one of the few long distance trips we have made over the years where we managed it in the time predicted by the AA route planner.

Cornwall 10.5.25

11 May 2025 / admin

Gallos Tintagel

Much was made a few years ago when they opened a bridge to replace the long lost land link to the ruins of Tintagel Castle. I visited Tintagel a long time ago and vaguely recall the many steps up and down to obtain access, although I could not recall the finer details – and it was a long time ago. I just understood it was now much easier.

I recall having to park in the village – that has not changed. What I did not recall was an initial steep slope down (which apparently is often covered by vehicular transport but that is not happening at present as the trackway is unsafe – so there is no alternative to walking). There is then a further long stretch to the land side of the new bridge which is uphill but not as steep.

The historic route was to continue downwards from the midway point down to the exhibition centre which is almost down at sea level and then to walk up the numerous steps to the point where the bridge now reaches across from the mainland. Indeed people can still use the old route if they wish. So whilst the bridge makes it much easier than it was Tintagel is not the easiest to access for those less mobile than the average (which is where I suspect I fall these days).

I wander around the site and take a picture of Gallos – a bronze sculpture situated on the furthermost cliff. Gallos means power. It is inspired by the Arthurian legends although the castle itself considers that it was the summer home for the kings of Dumnonia. Dumnonia is a Latinised name for the local Celtic kingdom which probably existed between the 4th and 8th Centuries AD (so commencing around the time the Romans withdrew from England). The tribe emanated from Devon but spread across Cornwall in one direction and parts of Somerset in the other direction.

However the return to the modern village is very tiring and we are in need of sustenance and I am pleased to say that one of the local pubs provided an excellent sandwich and a decent half of bitter.

Stairs to upstairs room Old Post Office

Across the road from the pub is the Tintagel Old Post Office which is preserved less because of its link to the Post Office but far more to do with the internal arrangements and construction – internally there is an explanation of how the building developed over the centuries which although only a few moments in the telling was probably a long period of discovery. The stairs to one of the upstairs room are a real challenge and demonstrative of a somewhat historic view of health and safety.

We then head across part of Bodmin Moor to find Jamaica Inn – which these days is just a little off the A30 itself – but was of course once the staging point between Launceston and Bodmin.

It is also the setting of a famous novel by Daphne du Maurier – Jamaica Inn – a gothic telling of a story of Cornish wreckers and the impact on the local community which Jackie and I have both read in advance of the holiday (well I finished it earlier in the week). Unlike so much modern television it has a beginning, a middle and an end all of them in the expected order which is unlike so much story telling these days.

We are in the Daphne du Maurier suite the best in the building – which is stunning and has magnificent views over Bodmin Moor and of the A30 – which never seems overly busy, although I remember the slow crawl past the Inn when the A30 was an ordinary road.

Dinner here is a different style to many we have had this week – generous portions and well done – even if the kitchen and staffing appears to have capacity problems. Main users of the facilities are bikers staying over as we seen them when we arrive in early afternoon and then dining in the restaurant when we go down in the evening. Even here as elsewhere the food is delivered to the table at a decent temperature – rather than nearly cold which is how it sometimes arrive in London.

Cornwall 9.5.25

10 May 2025 / admin

Trerice 9.5.25

Today we stay relatively local wandering over to Trerice, another National Trust property, in the morning. It is only a few miles from the caravan park and this time we pick up signs very quickly along the way, so no getting lost. The house was owned for a long time by the Arundell family, subsequently passing to the Wentworth family who were (again) effectively absentee landlords. In 1802 the ownership passed to the family which lived at Killerton which we visited last Saturday – so there were a lot of links between these various West Country families.

Trerice declined under the absentee landlords and in 1915 the estate was sold up with the house being acquired by Cornwall County Council who sold it onto the National Trust in 1953. The Elton family were tenants at the time and remained in place with John Elton paying for the repair of the roof and the rebuilding of the fallen North Wing which was turned into a private family home separate to the older part of the building used by the National Trust.

The tenancy eventually came to an end and then the rooms in the North Wing were preserved as they would have looked in the 1950’s following the reconstruction and so the house has two distinct periods and of course the latter period is now real history being some seventy years ago – with items such as radios and furniture from that period.

Mowhay Trerice

Following our walk round the house, we then walk around a small part of the garden – the sciatica is annoying again. This includes an area called the Mowhay – essentially the storage area – and farmyard which they admit cannot be easily re-created and so a modern approach has been taken with a vegetable garden with modern vegetables and a grass maze – which made more sense on the photo above than on the ground on the day we visite.

We return to the caravan as we have to pack and we can also enjoy the sunny afternoon as well as finishing up some of the food acquired for our stay. Not so much the alcohol as we are going out again this evening. Packing is two part – those clothes needed for a couple of nights at our next destination and the rest into the suitcase for the trip back. As seems common on holidays these days that includes quite a bit of clothing which has not been worn. This time around caused by the warm weather so that the clothes for colder weather have simply not been needed.

Our destination this evening is the Headland Hotel in Newquay which has been a desired destination for some years. The inside is inevitably a little old fashioned – it is a huge place and in consequence the dining room is large. They have a tasting menu alongside the a la carte and the quality is excellent and the price is significantly less than some of the other restaurants we have visited. We have another good meal and then we are treated to a superb sunset as we are looking westwards from the lounge / bar area. It is a lovely clear evening and we can enjoy a coffee as the sun sets. However having presented the bill the staff then disappear and it takes some time to attract attention to actually pay it!

Cornwall 8.5.25

9 May 2025 / admin

Godolphin Wisteria

We are off along the A30 again this morning (I have covered this road more than any other in the country this year) until we follow the sat nav turning off to find Godolphin House – and once again we are on a mad trail around some narrow roads. The relationship between the Tiguan’s sat nav and the best route to a destination appears to be completely coincidental as we often seem to be heading in the wrong direction. Once we get close to the destination there are no brown signs (from our arrival direction) to aid final arrival (just like the Helston Railway a couple of days ago) and I make use of the phone only to find the blue spot (us) is moving away from the red dot (the house) when I set off. We turn around and spot a brown sign! Hooray.

The main reason for the limited signage is the limited opening time. The National Trust opens the house to the public for the first week of each month (but it worth checking specific dates as it changes) and for the rest of the month it is a rather exclusive (and I suspect expensive) holiday rental, not on AirBnB as far as I am aware.

The walk from the car park is particularly pleasant as the bluebells are in full bloom and provide a bright display as we progress along the path.

Being so far west it is not a surprise to find that once the family became prosperous they were largely absent landlords renting the house to tenant farmers who used the (now lost) Great Hall for their animals. The stonework of the Great Hall was then re-used to construct more suitable buildings for the animals and feed stores at the rear of the site known as shippons. Due to this much of the interior of the house was lost or damaged and therefore when acquired by the National Trust it made no sense to undertake a potential restatement of what was there historically and so they undertook the adaptation to valuable holiday accommodation. We get to see a very modern kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms now housed within the building.

These days many of the room guides are generally far more loquacious than I recall from historic visits to historic houses and at this location Jackie has been indicating that she believes it to be haunted. So when one of the room guides tells stories of potential ghosts which have been seen Jackie accepts that whilst the lady concerned may not have died on site she, or someone, certainly haunts the surroundings. Her hairs have been prickling ever since we entered the house and she soon determines that there is no way we will ever hire this for a place to stay.

Class 150 St Ives

Our dinner destination is Porthminster Beach Café which is the at the next beach along from Carbis Bay where we were yesterday. Behind the Café is the branch line to St Ives and we use the station car park at St Ives for parking – having become entangled in a set of road works just outside the station car park. A pair of GWR Class 150 units trundle in and out of the station regularly (and it is almost a year since I was here to traverse the line from Penzance).

The Café has a daily specials menu as well as the ongoing menu online and this rescues the choice somewhat as there is a rather large tomahawk steak on the specials which Jackie and I share as we have eaten mainly fish so far this week. Oddly unlike some of our other meals we feel really stuffed after consuming this. Again the food is excellent and we have dined well throughout the week.

Travelling home later than normal is somewhat distressing as the A30 is closed – just as it becomes a dual carriageway leaving Penzance and we follow the yellow diversion signs – which seem hard to spot in a couple of cases and then lead to a very strange point in the middle of nowhere going through a tunnel at Carn Brea under the railway line. Something went wrong somewhere and I think one of the signs either pointed in the wrong direction or there were two separate diversions in place and somehow I accidentally followed the wrong one. We do eventually get back onto the A30 and find our way back to base.

Cornwall 7.5.25

8 May 2025 / admin

Ugly Butterfly menu

Today is another planned gentler day. The original intention was to alternate such days but a change in plans meant that we have two together, although we are driving further than we did yesterday. Adam Handling has worked with the Carbis Bay Estate to develop another restaurant on the beachfront – the Ugly Butterfly.

We amble down the A30 as we have allowed plenty of time and as we drive around the water’s edge in Hayle I find a garage and can fill up the car with petrol – we have used quite a bit of a tank of petrol – but we are not quite half way through the trip – so a further fill up will be needed to ensure we get home.

Once we reach Beach Road in Carbis Bay I pass the public car park and given that it is a long way above the beach and indeed above our destination I am very glad that we can park close to the restaurant. We find the road terminates at the hotel entrance and there is parking adjacent to the restaurant but no obvious spaces so we swing up and park in the hotel car park. They confirm that is acceptable to park there and we walk down the steps to the restaurant.

We have an initial drink in the bar and find that the Maitre d’ today was at the Tartan Fox when we were there earlier in the week. Within the dining room we are centrally placed over-looking the beach. The sun is shining and it is much warmer than anticipated and we can watch the people and more especially the dogs on the beach romping around.

Both the bar and dining room have been beautifully decorated and are a pleasure to sit in for some hours as we work our way through the 7 course menu. Unusually it is hard to determine which was the best course as it was all excellent and I am torn. The crab may have been the best – but then that would imply that the duck or scallop or cod was less than perfect and that would not be right. Apart from the scallop and the rhubarb everything was sourced from within Cornwall and so the magic food miles were low – although so far from home ours were not.

Ugly Butterfly treats

It is a long lazy afternoon as the diners come and go around us. As we leave through the bar others are simply having fish and chips and enjoying the view over the beach as we have been doing alongside our meal. (Photographs copyright Jackie Whitbread).

We eventually head back up the A30 returning to our caravan where we can again enjoy some sunshine.