Catching up and getting quieter

Plymouth was a bit of a Nordhavn ghetto really. Coracle was in Sutton Harbour (a N40 owned by Michael and Frances) and Zephyros, a N43 owned by Andrew and Linda. As they were on board, we took the little ferry over to Sutton Harbour and said hi. We also helped them move berths which gave us the chance to get a picture of her underway, albeit slowly and with fenders as an adornment:

Izzy the dog very quickly added Zephyros to her territory and protected the boat from anyone walking along the pontoons - quite loudly sometimes.

We also tried out the South West coastal path which leads around from Mount Batten towards the east. Only we had to give up not far into the walk as it was horribly overgrown. Shame as there are some nice views too:

We did wonder how folks trying to do the entire path would feel when they approached the overgrown area from the east, trying to get to pre-booked accommodation in the Plymouth area.

Izzy the dog had lots of fun in the marina area - there were some large fish coming to the surface and eating weed etc off the pontoon floats. She was transfixed by the activity and more than a little scared sometimes too:

This was the one thing that would stop her from pulling hard on the lead to go back to the boat for her food during the late afternoon. Quite a diversion, maybe she fancied fresh fish for dinner. Meanwhile the humans enjoyed some time in the area. We had to test out the local Italian coffee stall that was highly recommended by Simon our yacht surveyor friend:

We were very happy to confirm his rating of the coffee as top tier and the cannoli were good too. We resisted having a second pastry, unlike Simon and Nikki when they tried out the place a while ago.

After Andrew was cruelly abandoned by his wife for a few days, we joined him on a couple of outings. The first one was across to Cawsand on the little Ferry which lands you on the beach. Here is a borrowed image showing that:

The Cawsand area is lovely and we enjoyed a couple of good walks, beach fun for the doglet and an excellent lunch in the Bay restaurant. Lovely area in great weather too:

All in all, a good day. How to top it? Well, the decision was to take the scenic little train trip to Gunnislake which travels up the river Tamar, across a stunning viaduct at Calstock:

and then up a pretty steep incline to Gunnislake. The route was an old mineral line that got converted to passenger traffic and you see old chimneys and evidence of mineral workings on the hill as the train climbs towards the end of the line. 

When you get there, the fun starts. The little village is down a steep and long hill - the station is 143 metres above sea level and it felt that far down to the village too. We walked down, alongside a main road with the nagging reality in our minds that "what goes down, had to come back up!" We then found another overgrown path down to the river which needed slow and careful negotiation before a gentler walk along the riverside. The crew had found a pub with good reviews (The Rising Sun) but of course that was up a hill. We manfully / womanfully / caninefully made it and were really well looked after in what is a proper local. Super friendly bar lady and nice food which prompted Izzy to give Andrew her full attention:

The only downside was a disastrous coffee which the bar lady pre-warned us about. We should have stuck to the huge choice of real ales instead.

Leaving the pub, we had to drag our food engorged bodies up to the train station again. The tiny road was steep, long, no houses nearby and no cars, tractors or whatever but wonderfully resurfaced very recently. A beautiful even surface, so unlike most of the roads in this country that actually have to carry traffic which are potholed nightmares! We did wonder if a local council leader lived off this lane..... The train trip is very pretty once you are out of Plymouth and well worth doing for the princely sum of £4.95 return if, like us, you have an old person's railcard or any other railcard for that matter.

On the basis that all good things must come to an end, we arranged to return Izzy the dog to her owner. The original plan that involved Anne coming to Plymouth for a while and drinking our gin didn't work out,so we rented a wildly expensive and equally horrid little Fiat 500 and met her half way. The car was proof of how the rental business has changed after covid. nearly three years old, 38,000 miles and pretty well abused, this battered alloy wheel gives you a clue:

The car was in a state that you would have expected in the Canary Islands, not from Europcar, a large operator in the UK who always turned cars over when they were under a year old in deals with the manufacturers. That was when supply way exceeded demand and huge fleet discounts were in place.

The dog handover involved another pub found by the crew, just outside Bridport where the staff loved Izzy. She was delighted to see her mum again and we were amazed by a swallows nest in the entrance porch:

There were four chicks in the nest and they all peeped out from time to time. Amazing. 

Life became quieter (no barking) and it seemed strange to be able to go into a food shop together for the first time in eight weeks. 

The Nordhavn meet up thing continued when Gratitude, a US flagged N64 arrived in the yacht haven.  We met the owners who are cruising around Europe with their son (home schooling) and elderly cat on board. Lovely folks and lovely boat - here is a picture taken by a friend when they arrived in Belfast a few days later:

All in all a sociable and relaxing time. Apart from the Gunnislake hill that is.