You're a bit scary with the mind reading, Fiona... I'd actually typed out a whole comment about how I actually liked stomping around on a wet and windy beach with my dogs, but felt like a dweeb doing it on my own. Then I deleted it, thinking, "No, that's just going to sound weird." I guess we're both weird, then.
Naturally! Haha, did you ask the Lab to stand there, or was it just fortuitous? Are you like the teenage boys on a topless beach, pretending to take photos of the scenery, but actually getting the naked boobs (or, in this case, dogs) in shot instead?
Totally this. Minus the boobs, thank goodness. I kept thinking, "These people are going to think I'm stalking them". If they looked my way, I just tried to look casual and unsuspicious. Which of course meant I looked completely guilty and stalkerish, I'm sure.
They might be on this forum for all you know. I wonder how many forum dogs will feature in your secret pics?!!
Hi Emily Will you be travelling anywhere near the Worcester area (junction 7 of the M5)? If so, would you like to experience Hurricane Harvey?
I have no idea where I am... I do think I was on the M5 today, does that mean I'm close to you? I'm so confused...I'm sure in the morning (and minus a day of doing battle to the death with Cornish hedges) everything will become clear. But OF COURSE!
I've landed in Clevedon a bit worse for wear. The rain was pretty relentless today (probably for everyone in the UK, not just my temporary corner), but I managed some good sightseeing dressed in head to toe Gore Tex. I went to someplace called the Bedruthan Steps, then Padstow, then Port Isaac. I'd thought that Tintagel was the dog epicentre of Cornwall, but I was mistaken. PADSTOW is the dog epicentre of Cornwall. Even the rain didn't keep them away. Every corner, every shop, every street...it was like some crazy doggie convention. Padstow itself seemed a mix of total capitulation to the gods of tourism (apparently Rick Stein has made it his personal colony), a bit of cutesy preciousness (is this what you call "twee"?) and just a lovely little town with nice people. I liked it. Anyplace with that many dogs has got to be OK. Side note: is this a Cornwall thing or a UK "outside of London" thing that everyone has a dog? It's really quite amazing! Port Isaac (claim to fame: doubling for the fictitious town in TV's Doc Martin) was meant to be a short stop but was actually pretty interesting. They completely fleece you on the parking, but it made sense to me once I got into the tiny port town and saw how overrun it was with tourists, even on a rainy day in September. After I saw that, I thought they should have fleeced me a bit more than they did. After that it was back up the M5 in the driving rain. The traffic wasn't that bad, but visibility was zip, so I did a bit white-knuckling. My original plan was to take the little back roads and hug the coast, but facing 5 hours of playing "Is someone about to kill me around the corner and through the hedge?" made me quake in my boots, so plans changed. I'm kind of kidding about the hedge thing - at least with a LHD car, I could get within 2 inches of the hedge with no problems whatsoever. And English drivers (or at least Cornish ones) are positivity sedate compared to Irish drivers on the same type of roads, so the driving was fine in Cornwall. I still didn't want to do an extra 3 hours in driving rain through the hedgerows, so it was "motorway, here I come". I'm now in Clevedon. The jury is still out on both the town and my flat. I drove through a dodgy part of town to get here, but the neighbourhood I'm in is pretty and looks quiet and safe. The owner of the flat was very friendly, yet the flat is lower ground floor/a bit "basement-esque" and not very homey. Nothing really wrong with it, just kind of needs a bit of TLC. But I'm tired, experiencing some serious culture shock and having some work stress to boot, so hopefully with a good night's sleep everything will look better (or at least different) in the morning. More photos mañana!
I hope @Emily_BabbelHund , that everything will seem better in the morning, in my experience a nights sleep can make all the difference. Today the September sun has shone two counties up in Herefordshire, hopefully you'll get some tomorrow
Hope you sleep well tonight. And also I hope the weather picks up - a bit of sunshine can make everything look better!
We've had cows jump over those hedges into the road when we've been down there so I think you made a wise decision. Hope you get a good sleep.
Weather has been pretty decent east coast Scotland. Hope some shines on you soon. I hear Rick Stein is a dog lover too so that may draw additional dog lovers to Padstow.
There is another name for the town , as called by locals , Padstein ! Incidentally , many years ago , we met Rick Stein on a windswept day on the beach at Daymer , it was in the days when his sidekick Chalky ( JRT ) was still alive and terrorising everything in sight ! He ( Rick ) was most charming , and fussed our two dogs Tess and Lily , that's my claim to fame, or rather their claim to fame ! Typically , we have awoken to bright sunshine in Pastyland , cold but dry ! Hope your accommodation proves to look a little better after a good sleep !
All the people with dogs go on holiday when the kids have gone back to school. Padstow is still dog town unlike st ives whicn is very very anti dog Also the island is a tick and flea hot spot.
I went to Cornwall many years ago to a place called Coverack, and, just like your experience, it was full of dogs, labs specifically, and I remember writing to my mum, it was like a Labrador convention had come to town! It may be that you are just so focused on your dog mission that you notice them everywhere, or, perhaps Cornwall really is the dog epicentre of the universe!!
I've always felt the Lake District was the dog capital of the UK. You stand out if you don't have a dog there
