Falmouth Maritime Museum 12.12.25
11 December
The dear old A303 and then the A30 are covered today as we head to Hembal Manor, an excellent house for a family or similar party. There are nine of us in total congregating for a pre-Christmas “Christmas” just outside St Austell.
The outward journey is the easiest ever drive on the A303 and as it is dark and grey I decide to drive the entire distance. Not recommended is the Ilminster service area – despite the actually quite good refreshments from Greggs – the toilets need attention! Also on the downhill three lane section I am identified as having achieved 72mph in the Tiguan (I would question if it is capable of such speeds so must have been a following wind). Oddly had I allowed Jackie to drive she would have been behind the wheel on this section.
The Tiguan is also noted for not having a satnav worth using and it so proved again today as the only route it can find into the destination is along a road in need of much repair and which I miss at the first attempt as the road swings left and it does NOT tell me to turn right at the appropriate junction. Another car coming to the party uses the same route in as I cannot find the road in from the other end (and I have been here before)!
12 December
Today two of us go to visit the Maritime Museum down in Falmouth and I can heartily recommend it. Not huge but an amazing collection of different styles of boats from across the world each with a little story to tell. It also has great views from the top over the adjacent Falmouth Sound and the bibbly bobbly boats (many of which are out of the water at this time of the year).
Heligan Light trail 12.12.25
In the afternoon we drive down to the Lost Gardens of Heligan for the light trail in the grounds. All excellent and it probably seemed further to walk than was actually the case. The annoying thing was that for some reason we were parked away from the main car park which added to the distance covered for no obvious reason.
Dinner was booked for the Tartan Fox at Carvynick Holiday Park. However the satnav decided it would take us to Carvinnik Farm – which is close to Mevagissey on the south coast of Cornwall and the Tartan Fox is close to Newquay. Whoops. We get there eventually and I decide stern words are needed with the satnav system when we get home.
13 December
Cloud Bridge Eden Project 13.12.25
Also close to Hembal Manor is the Eden Project and this is visited in day time. Since my last visit the entrance has changed dramatically and the parking seems to be a long way away from the entrance. The two domes themselves are little changed although in the main dome all of the vegetation has reached maturity and is impressive. In the Mediterranean dome it was largely freshly planted on my previous visit and is now mature. This is probably not the best time of year to visit this dome.
Up in the air 13.12.25
Not for the faint hearted is a many step climb to the very top of the dome which would have been beyond me – but a number of the party managed it.
Other areas have been added – externally there has been a lot of planting and further landscaping. A pair of zip wires stretch across the entire site (although are seeing little use this afternoon) and another major area has been added (Core) which is purposed at the moment to provide entertainment for children.
It remains an amazing development and again there are lights in the evening – but we decided not to do a second extravaganza.
14 December
We spend most of the day watching television apart from a lunchtime excursion to the Polgooth Inn where I enjoyed a turkey roast (well it is all part of Christmas this year) and a gentle drive back to the Manor. Two of our party left us this morning so it was first farewells as they departed. We then watched a selection of Christmas and other movies. We tried the Polar Express which has been such a success in recent years but neither of us like the story line and decide after about 30 minutes to revert to other content – an episode of a comedy programme which Jackie has been enjoying was shown so that we know all about liking circuses!
15 December
Time to brave the A30 and the A303 back home. The journey is punctuated by two main events. Firstly a stop at The Hub a small but very welcoming restaurant at Tintinhull where we had excellent coffees and carrot cake and could not stop for one of their grander offerings. Heartily recommended and one to remember.
Less welcome was the traffic jam on a single track section (but we were on a dual carriageway) following an accident. For a while we only move as cars use a cut through to return on the other carriageway but the diversion was lengthy trip through some villages but it is uncertain if it would have been quicker than staying with the queue which we did.