We decided that, after 21 years together, it was probably time for Rick to meet some of the other members of Jenni’s family and also renew friendships. So, with excitement, we set off on our UK sojourn on October 3rd, 2023.
Arriving in Newquay, Cornwall on October 4th, dear friends, who used to live in Chicago, Jack and Gillian Schultz, met us and took us to their lovely home in Boscastle.
Boscastle turned out to be a beautiful little village with its own harbour and river running out to the sea.
Curiously, it had a Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, which we found quite fascinating. Here are some images from inside the museum.
Jack and Gillian took us on a number of adventures around their corner of Cornwall. The country lanes were certainly narrow and its a good job that drivers are courteous because many times, like this, there was only room for one car!
Nevertheless, we managed and found some beautiful spots in the sun. Temperatures, by the way, were in the low 70sF (or low 20sC).
Gillian and Jenni went walking around Boscastle on our first day there. The Cobweb Inn is right in the middle of the village and the beautiful iris was growing in Gillian’s garden.
We went to Bodmin and visited the old Jail. It was quite a chilling experience. especially when we got to the end of the tour at the “Hanging Room”.
On a happier note, we went to Tintagel, said to be the legendary King Arthur’s Castle ruins. Whether there is any truth in the legend remains to be seen, but Tintagel is a beautiful place right on the coast, and there is a fantastic sculpture of King Arthur.
In the few days we spent in Cornwall, we had many outings to some of the beautiful bays and villages around the Cornish coast. This included a visit to Port Isaac, where the TV series, “Doc Martin” was filmed. We concluded that Cornwall is a beautiful part of the UK, and well worth visiting, and particularly special when friends live there.
By the way, Jenni was actually born in Newquay, Cornwall, though lived there for only a couple of years before moving back to London and other places, as her Dad was in the Royal Air Force.
We went to Widemouth Bay (image at the top of this post) for a really great traditional Sunday Dinner, including roast meats, potatoes, yorkshire puddings and all the accompaniments. Then on the day before we left Cornwall, we finally got to enjoy a traditional “Cream Tea” – Scones with Jam and Clotted Cream. Yummy!
We were all fascinated to discover a Japanese Garden quite close to Newquay, where we spent a few happy hours wandering.
Afraid that we don’t any photos of us all enjoying G&Ts and Martinis before dinner every night, out in the Schultz Conservatory, but, you’ll just have to believe that it was delicious and fun!
So, it was time to bid a fond farewell to Jack and Gillian and journey on to Wales to see Jenni’s nephew and niece, Michael and Elizabeth.
