Enjoy a wildlife discovery boat trip from Penzance

Posted by & filed under Out and About in West Cornwall.

We have lived back here in Cornwall for 30 years and have never done a boat trip from Penzance harbour apart from a trip on the Scillonian. Ridiculous! Finally on Saturday evening we went on a 2 hour wildlife discovery trip with Mermaid boat trips and had a fabulous time

First along the coast past Newlyn and around St Clements Isle just off Mousehole where we saw a cormorant drying its wings and 4 shags then back out to sea towards the Lizard. There the excitement began!

A flock of gannets diving for pilchards was the alert I believe which took us there. Then dolphins galore everywhere around us, diving in all directions. A sky full of Manx Shearwaters too as well as these young gannets and great splashes in water as tuna surfaced. It was a most memorable spectacle, enjoyed as much by a 5 and 7 year old as well as their grandparents!

Spot the dolphin

The cost was £26 per adult and £80 for a family of four.

We rounded off the trip with a meal at The Dolphin Tavern just opposite the quay where we disembarked. having pre booked a table as it was a Saturday night in Penzance!

An Easter visit to NT Godolphin

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

About 20 minutes drive from Boscrowan there lies a hidden gem which is especially wonderful in Springtime – the ancient and atmospheric estate of Godolphin. Bluebell woods, medieval gardens and an incredibly old and imposing house and farm buildings.

The imposing front of Godolphin
Godolphin House from the gardens behind

Spring is when the gardens at Godolphin are at their very best. Th combination of Snake’s head fritillaries and primroses in the lawns as the daffodils are fading is a sight to behold and a lasting memory for us garden lovers!

Snakeshead fritillaries

Such a pretty flower

Ancient gardens, sympathetically managed.

There’s plenty of educational interest for children too in the farm buildings – milking shed, stables and old horse drawn flat hay wagons.

Bee boles nestle in the old walls

Some of the house is now a self catering wing so not always open to the public but you can wander in through those great doors to the secondhand bookshop and the Undercroft.

Entrance to the ancient courtyard

Do check out the NT website for opening times. Definitely well worth a visit.

Behind the scenes – getting ready for the season ahead

Posted by & filed under News.

As with most things in life – there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes which our lovely cottage guests never see!

The duck weed was beginning to take over on the pond – it looked more like a lawn than a pond. Bring in the troops on a Sunday with the lure of roast lunch. We have grandson Jack age 6 (carefully supervised by his mother behind) on the leaf blower, so by blowing the weed to the edges of the pond the land team -Grandad (David) and I and their father could scoop up and remove the weed. The force of the leaf blower naturally put the boat into reverse (not a nautical term I’m sure!) so daughter Jenny’s task was to maintain position. Tamzin age 4 was just there for the ride/decoration! If you would like to see the video with music of the fun event then click here It does somewhat depict the calm of Boscrowan!

Three men in a boat

Then there are the flower beds to mulch. Home made compost from our garden cut backs, deadheading etc and the well matured manure from the stables are spread on all the flowerbeds and the veg and cutting area. How else could we produce that verdant summer growth?!

Boscrowan gardens

Electricians are here this week, PAT testing all the appliances and installing interlinked smoke detectors in all the bedrooms to conform with new regulations. We want our guests to feel safe and be safe when they are here.

New curtains have been made in the workroom for Ring and Thimble stairs and new blinds for Peace and Plenty kitchen.

Peace and Plenty kitchen

Seed sowing time is here too – which tomatoes to grow this year? How many can I squeeze into my 37′ greenhouse? Downsizing? Never! Well the greenhouse is another blog post in its own right!