Today we decided to start of at the Bassset Monument this was because we could see it from our cottage!! We headed up, luckily there is a road to the top! the Monument was impressive and the views all around were stunning, it also gave us good sightings of the heavy showers which were coming in off the coast, we had to nip back to the car on one occasion to avoid a drenching and on one occasion we didn't make it, but soon dried out in the wind!!!!
 |
| The Basset Monument, dark and moody |
 |
| 30 seconds later,The Basset Monument, light and sunny! |
 |
| Looks like a ruined castle, is actually a restaurant owned by the family of a famous actress whose name I can't remember, seemed a strange location at the end of a very bumpy track |
 |
| Another shower coming in |
 |
| Relics of the industrial past litter the countryside |
It was, possibly down to the howling wind, largely birdless up there so we headed towards the coast, this time the North Coast near Newquay, though we ended up fortuitously at Crantoch, from where we explored Vugga Cove, Pentire Point and PollyJoke Beach!! All of which were extremely picturesque places. I managed to squeeze in a Seawatch off the point with lots of Manxies and Gannets going through, almost convinced myself I'd had a Sabines but it was a juvenile Kittiwake!! We had a couple of showers, but mainly, though windy,the Sun shone most of the time!!
 |
| Crantoch Beach |
 |
| Margie's wanderings lead her to several caves |
 |
| The wind has blown for most of our stay and I've enjoyed trying to get pics of the waves! |
 |
| With varying amounts of success |
 |
| If I was a 125 years younger I might have jumped on a Surf Board! |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
 |
| Margie determined to get her new boots wet! |
When the Sun shone, there were quite a few Butterflies on the wing, mainly in the more sheltered parts of the path!
 |
| Red Admiral |
 |
| Not 100% sure Brown Argus maybe or a female Blue? |
 |
| Wall Butterfly |
 |
| Margie contemplating running all over the pristine sand, will she, won't she? |
 |
| Think we all knew how that was gonna end!! |
So while Margie was gallivanting all over the beach, some of us were putting in the hard yards on the sea-watching front!! Lots of birds going through but not much variety, Gannets, Manxies and Fulmars from what I could tell!!
 |
| Quite a few Gulls as well |
 |
| Fulmar |
 |
| Gannets |
 |
| Pretty sure this dark gull is a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull but happy to be corrected |
 |
| Gannet and Manxies |
 |
| Manx Shearwater and Guillemot |
 |
| Some of the Gannets came a bit closer |
 |
| Kittiwake |
Proceeding were brought to an end by a short but brutal shower which had me running for cover, as you know, I don't usually do running but a flash of lightening motivated me! When the Sun returned we headed down on to Polly Joke Beach, another beautiful beach with stunning vistas wherever you look, Cornwall's coast is stunning! Birdwise it was Stonechats, Wagtails and Gulls, with a nice 2nd winter Med Gull the highlight for me, although the Seals cavorting in the surf were also entertaining though nearly impossible to photograph from the beach!
 |
| 380 yards seems reasonable, 2 miles not so much! |
 |
| Showy Stonechat |
 |
| Seal in the surf seemed to be having fun! |
 |
| Heading down to the beach |
 |
| More caves, Cornwall is riddled with em! |
 |
| Me getting in the way of Margie's artistic process, again!!! |
 |
| That's what she was going for! |
 |
| Med Gull, 2nd winter |
 |
| Black-headed Gull |
 |
| Herring Gull |
 |
| Pied or maybe White Wagtail |
 |
| Stonechat |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Polly Joke Beach |
 |
| Tried to video this rippling water, even kneeling to try for a better angle, sadly the videos were rubbish which was annoying as it took me ten minutes to get up again! |
As we left the beach a Kestrel put on an impressive display, unfortunately with the Sun right behind it!! I've done me best with the pics, but at least you can tell what it is!
 |
| Kestrel |
We were pretty tired by now, I know I'm knocking on a bit and we'ed walked a few miles!! We couldn't find a parking space in Newquay, well not one near enough to the seafront, so we headed further up the coast, where at Morgan Pawth we found a nice restaurant called "Catch" where I had, possibly the best Fish and Chips I've ever had and they were Gluten Free as was the delicious Chocolate Brownie I had for pud! Although that wasn't as nice as the ones I made today!
 |
| Fish and Chips! Yes they put the peas and tarte sauce in Oysters Shells, yes I am a sucker for that sort of thing! The Katsu sauce was amazing! |
.jpg) |
| Brownie |
 |
| Margie'e Pud she also had Fish & Chips for firsties! |
 |
| Brownies I made today, bit rustic but tasty as!! |
That was about that for the day, I was far to bloated for anymore action, the weather was drawing in so headed back to base!!
.JPG)
.jpg)
