Europe 2023 August 13th Day 10 - Steam Railway and Lucky Lanson

Another wet and windy day in Cornwall so no chance of a boat trip again. Breakfast was the usual delivered with military precision by Lara and when asked if there was a laundrette nearby she offered to do our small amount so this was gratefully accepted.

We headed off towards Bodmin first thing to do the Bodmin and Wenford Heritage Railway which of course had a steam train, what more does a man want in life 😇. It was a lovely two hours spent on the train manned totally by volunteers. The average age was probably close to seventy which does not bode well for the continuation of some of these enterprises. 

Then headed to Launceston, (pronounced 'lan son', quite different from Tasmania) just for somewhere to go and what a pleasant little surprise. Quite a pretty town for what was the capital of Cornwall till 1835 and about a mile from the Tamar River; coincidence 🤔. 

Launceston Castle immediately hits you in the centre of town and is a ruin you can climb to the top (more bloody steps) for a brilliant view of the city. Built by William the conqueror's half brother around 1070 and is round on a hill, quite different to your normal castle. From here it was around the corner to the Central Methodist Church. A most unique church with its outside wall stone carvings. Built 1870 and the third on that site inside; there were like the outside walls, a multitude of carvings but this time in wood and not one the same. A very impressive building. Some of the grave stones were from the 1600's. 

We saw the Norman archway to the town and after wandering around a bit headed off to Fowey on the seaside, pronounced 'Foy' as in joy. 

This was different from the other towns as it was on a river entering the sea so the water in the bay certainly wasn't as crystal clear as the other bays/coves/harbours. We learnt from previous mistakes and parked at the top of the town and caught the shuttle bus down into a packed and heaving town square. The male choir was performing and it was a nice spot, but very busy. Had a little walk around, shared a sausage roll and instead of waiting for the shuttle bus we decided to walk, stupid idea!! Was even steeper than Mevagissey and took a bit of effort to get back to the car I can tell you.Onwards to Charlestown. 

This was much smaller and once a port for the ships to take the china clay. It was also the town used in the filming of the Poldark series. Had a short walk around before it started to rain and then decided to head back to Mevagissey. A bit of a mixed weather day but not too bad on the whole.

Once back we headed down the cliff to town and against our rules decided to dine at the same place twice. Tonight Jane settled on the fish pie and I went for the battered cod with mushie peas and chips. Both were excellent and the aroma from Janes pie when she broke the top was amazing. Couple of pints and a chat with my mate Ryan and all was good with world. Slowly edged our way back up the hill to the room and prepared for departure tomorrow morning before hitting the sack. Another engrossing day fulfilled.