A little break was needed, not from the blog but from the rut that I had got stuck in. From that came a 4 day trip to Saint Austell down in Cornwall, what I thought would be 4 days of walking and reading to allow myself to refocus became an amazing adventure which I got to share with some truly incredible people.
I headed down on Tuesday with my backpack and walking boots ready for a few days away. For a start, I almost missed the train because it was delayed and I was too busy looking at my phone. I looked up and there it was. It's me after all, nothing ever goes normally.
I won't go into much detail about the journey down because honestly, not a lot happened, I just sat on the train watching Netflix shows I had downloaded a few hours before. When I got off the train, I grabbed a coffee and hit the road. I walked an hour out of the town centre to Edens Yard Backpacker hostel in Tregrehan Mills, I'm not going to lie, I did get lost a few times, thanks to Google Maps.
When I got there, I got shown around the hostel and then to my bunk bed. The hostel was beautiful and everyone was already so friendly and inviting. I unpacked my stuff and got myself sorted. That is always when I met Alex and Dan who I spent a lot of my time with. That night we sat outside with a few other people staying at the hostel, chilled and listened to music as we all got to know each other more.
A little later I got a message from Dan to say he was up and that is when the adventure began, we headed into Saint Austell, first, the first place to visit on our list was a thrift shop where everything seemed to be £5 even beautiful vintage sewing machine. Not going to lie to you, we did look like a couple of weirdos as we looked at jumpers with tiny golfers on it, yes you read that correctly and ended up walking out with an Indian dress shirt, an oversized denim jacket and a Henry hoover hat.
After that we hit good old Aldi where I got my plant based staples of peanut butter and Oaties and headed to T Rock. T Rock is not on any tourist maps and I couldn't even tell you where it is because Dan drove. I can tell you one thing, I wasn't excepting the view I saw when we got to the top. You could easily see the whole of Saint Austell as well as the Coast of Cornwall in the distance. This just shows you don't have to travel that far to see some beautiful sites, we sat for a bit and talked more about our life's, plans etc.
This is why I travel, to see the worlds beauty, meet incredible people who have the same passion for life that I do and to just live a bit more freely.
This is why I travel, to see the worlds beauty, meet incredible people who have the same passion for life that I do and to just live a bit more freely.
When we got back I sat on my bunk and wrote in my journal, a few of the other guys were playing blackjack in the other room so I thought i would join them whilst I enjoyed a cup of tea, total grandma I know, I did sit and watch the first few games because I didn't know what I had to do, then I got dealt in and it all got real. I got the game pretty quickly and ended up beating Alex by over 10 points. In a way I feel bad for the guys, getting beaten by a girl who's never played blackjack before - Sorry, not sorry. We did have a good laugh and we got to know more about each other. This was followed by peanut butter bagels and an evening walk with Alex and Dan. I was loving every moment of it.
Thursday quickly came around, Dan and Alex had work so it was time for a solo adventure, I had planned to walk along the coastal path that takes you from Saint Austell around to Par from there I would walk back to Charlestown then home. However, as you know too well if you have read my Costa Rica posts nothing I plan ever and I mean EVER goes well. It all started with Google maps taking me 45 minutes along the main road - As you can guess, me and Google maps aren't friends anymore.
After about 2 hours of wandering around, I finally made it to Par beach with help from multiple people. I sat on the sand, took in the amazing view, ate the rest of my Aldi oaties and read my book. Par is a beautiful beach but its also a dog friendly beach. So if you have a dog and heading down to Cornwall definitely check it out, if you are solo or no dogs then the one I went to later that day is the one for you.
I sat for a bit and then decided to head back along the coastal path which took me along the beautiful cliff edges of Par and Saint Austell. The coastal paths in Devon have nothing on these. I could see for miles for a start and the cliffs themselves were pure white and the sea was a Crystal blue, it looks somewhat tropical the way the sun hit it. The coastal path takes me along the gold course which I ended up cutting through, thanks to the 2 golfers who helped me find my way back, this then took me back onto the main road where I stopped and has a can of Pepsi and wrote more in my journal. I met a couple there who you could clearly tell where from around this area, quirky was an understatement. They told me all about cornwall and the places they had travelled too. It honestly did put a big smile on my face and made my wanderlust grow that little bit more. We sat for a good hour in the sun, talking, by this time by journal was back in my bag along with the book that I had yet to get out.
I got back to the hostel for 4, I starting talking to a few of the people about the walk and beaches around the area. Its so nice to stay in a place where the people are so knowledgeable about the local area and also want to spend time with you, it truly made me feel at home. Martin mentioned about going down to Carlyon Bay, a beautiful beach only a 5-minute drive from the Hostel so when Alex came back we got in the car and headed off. Carlyon Bay is my happy place and I will definitely be returning back when I get my van up and running. Again the beach goes on for miles and miles, its so open as well. The sand was nothing like i had seen before, there was sea glass everywhere which added to the beauty. You NEED to add it onto your list of places to go. We spent a good hour or so just chilling on the sand with a drink, talking about life and where we had been travelling too.
This was followed by a nice chilled evening where I finally got to read some of my book and write more in my journal. I spent a bit of time with the guys as it was the last night there.
The following morning I headed off at 10 so I could spend a few hours in the town before my train at 12:49, but honestly I was so knackered after walking the last few days that I thought I might as well get an early train home, why did I think this would be possible I don't know. I mean, it's me after all. After the first train at 10:50 being cancelled and the next one delayed til 11:48 I thought I might as well just wait til the less crowded train at 12:49 which was still 10 minutes before the original train. It did make me laugh, I mean there is nothing you can do in this situations but laugh and wait, so out came more Netflix downloads and a soy latte.
I have learn't a few things from this trip, the first thing being a funny yet surprisingly true quotes from one of the people living at the hostel, Martin "the further you are from London, the better it gets" which is true, the views, the people and of course the coast is definitely worth the trip.
I have learn't a few things from this trip, the first thing being a funny yet surprisingly true quotes from one of the people living at the hostel, Martin "the further you are from London, the better it gets" which is true, the views, the people and of course the coast is definitely worth the trip.
It also made me realize that we as human beings are way to quick to judge people me included but when you go traveling that quickly goes away, you talk to so many different people that you wouldn't normally talk too. This is one of the main reasons why I think everyone should travel at least once in their lives, as it gets you out of your comfort zone and into a world fun of people and endless possibilities.
