31 March 2011
Morning arrives and once again we partake of muesli and coffee. We are sampling many of the alternative milk products here. Almond milk is nice but sweet. Hemp milk is palatable but has a bitter taste and smell. Next in line to try is a coconut milk designed as a milk substitute, so not the same as we get in a can for adding to meals presumably.
We washed our dishes, brushed our teeth and made a quick inspection of our vehicle to ensure there were no cat-claw like gouges in the paintwork and then we departed.
First stop of the day, the Eden
Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!
This place totally rocks. It costs 20 pound per person, whether you get a day pass or an annual pass, and if it was in NZ I’d be going for the annual pass. We spent nearly 4 hours there and could easily have stayed the whole day. The unfortunate thing is that half of it is outdoors and it was a very wet day. We both have raincoats but it doesn’t prevent my glasses constantly getting wet as well as our lower legs, and of course the cold doesn’t help.
This place is all about environmental sustainability, recycling, ethical shopping, making a difference and teaching people how they can make a difference. It is all about teaching and nothing about preaching and I really came away inspired. There was so much to see, to read and to observe and so much that is child-oriented, interactive stuff and it needs several days and all four season to be able to really see it all and take it all in. If I was English and had kids they’d be going there at least once a season. It’s a fantastic educational centre.
We started our journey through the section designed to typify native Cornish vegetation. Without a lie, 95% of the plants there were pest plants on our property. As we walked through it was honestly like walking through the worst sections of our property. Clearly some Cornish bastard many years ago settled in Kaiwaka and brought most of his garden with him!
There was just way too much that we saw for me to describe it all but without a doubt it’s an absolute must do for any visitors to England
At the end we walked through the shop and we could have between us spent thousands, from the funky jute carry bags, to the beer bottles and wine bottles turned into funky glasses and jewellery, to the handbags made from recycled juice containers, to the canvas handbags and hold-all bags, to the bookshop that had so many self-sufficiency, ethical farming, alternative living books that I wanted to cry that I couldn’t buy just a few.
Alas we left with just a jute bag (I hope it gets through customs) and we had to give up on touring the Lost Gardens
We headed on a scenic, rural route out to Lands End. Once again the area was shrouded in heavy mist and we drove for miles with minimal visibility. When we reached Lands End the mist was so heavy there was literally nothing to see and we balked at the 3 pound parking charge.
We left and tootled our way instead to St Ives.
We didn’t see a man with many wives or sacks or cats but we did have a brief rather hairy drive through the narrow, winding streets. I would have liked to have stopped and a walk around but we were running short of time to find somewhere to park for the night.
It was a good 20kms further north before we finally found a spot, just a 200 metre walk to sheer drop cliffs. We were going to resort to a caravan park just out of St Ives but the one we found closed its gates at 4:30pm!
I’d bought some wonderful smelling organic chestnut mushrooms and we had pasta for dinner, a snickers bar for dessert and a few alcoholic drinks.
As the night settled in the wind whipped up and all night we were rocked by gale force winds.
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