In The Importance of Being Earnest, while assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, Jack lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy takes on a similar façade. Unfortunately, living a double life has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to love. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate.
Last night, my husband and I took a trip to London to watch a show. It wasn’t our usual musical, this time it was The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde and being performed at the Noël Coward Theatre.
After dinner at Mother Mash (see my review), which is literally around the corner from the theatre, we were ready to watch the show.
Oscar Wilde statue in Dublin
I studied The Importance of Being Earnest for my O’Level English Literature exam, yes I know that makes me old, along with The Merchant of Venice and To Kill A Mockingbird. I am ashamed to say that all I could remember was it had something to do with a handbag and a baby being left at a station cloakroom….
The cast was the main reason we decided to watch this play which included Stephen Fry, Olly Alexander, Hugh Dennis, Shobna Gulati, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Kitty Hawthorne and Jessica Whitehurst.
Of course, Stephen Fry stole every scene he was in as Lady Bracknell and her witty, dry one-liners were delivered with precision and wonderful comic timing.
But the remaining cast more than held their own in this play, from Olly Alexander as Algernon and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Jack, their chemistry was undeniable and they acted their socks off.
But my favourite were Gwendoline and Cecily, Kitty Hawthorne and Jessica Whitehurst, their range of facial expressions, the different tones to their voices when angry or excited was a joy to witness. One scene when they were arguing with each other, they had trouble controlling their giggles which delighted the audience.
The cast stuck to the original story of Oscar Wilde, who I have to say was way ahead of his time with his comedy, both physical and verbal, but modern touches were also added like Olly playing a pop song on the piano.
Our only disappointment on the night was that Hugh Dennis didn’t appear as the Reverend…
Overall, a thoroughly delightful show, a superb cast and a fabulous theatre. I would definitely recommend it, though you will have to be quick as its run ends on 10th January, 2026.
Adult – £21,00 Child – £10,50 Family – £52.50 1 Adult Family – £31.50
Off peak admission
Adult – £19.00 Child – £9.50 Family – £47.50 1 Adult Family – £28.50
Parking
This is free.
Length of time spent here:
We arrived at about 10.20 AM and stayed until 2.30 PM.
My Review
We were babysitting our two grandchildren, Harry (5) and Olivia (3), so we decided to take them to Mottisfont to take a look at the Nutcracker Christmas. This particular ballet has become very familiar to us this year as Olivia’s dance show was based on it and Harry’s school Christmas play was also The Nutcracker, so Harry was fully aware of the story.
We arrived at about 10.20 AM and the first red flag was that we had to queue to park our car. I have a Blue Badge and so we were lucky enough to be able to park just at the entrance, but this was no advantage as the queue to get in snaked around the car park like the queue for a Disney ride! I must admit that when I looked at the website there was a warning that it could be busy, but I didn’t think it would be THAT busy!
So my advice would be to either go later in the day, perhaps Sunday morning wasn’t the best time to arrive or if you can, go during midweek.
Nutcracker Trail
We decided to follow the Nutcracker Trail which had miniature theatre scenes of Clara’s family home and the Land of Sweets. There was a also a chocolate boat that children could play on, a game where you had to throw bean bags at the mice and a Nutcracker puzzle.
Harry and Olivia playing on the chocolate boat.
Inside the House
After you have paid your entrance fee, then you queue again for some timed tickets into the house. They are for every half an hour and you can go in anytime during that half hour.
This is where the story of The Nutcracker comes to life. The story begins as you enter the house and you can see the German village where Clara lives.
German village
Each room as you walked into it was more magical and more enchanting than the last. There were scenes from The Nutcracker: the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Land of Sweets and a duel between the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King.
It was very well done and there was lots of attention to detail. Both of my grandchildren were captivated by it: there was ballerinas for Olivia and soldiers and mice for Harry!
Please take a look at the short video….
After looking around the house, which I would say took about half an hour, we went for a walk along the river. Even though there was a few people doing the same, it was still very peaceful and the kids loved seeing the ducks and playing Poo sticks on the bridge.
We did buy some hot chocolates and sausage rolls from the Coach House Café where there was a long queue but it did move quite quickly. It was a bit expensive at £35 but everything was hot and tasty!
This is the third time we’ve visited Mottisfont, it’s not very far from where we live and it’s nice to see it in the different seasons.
We all enjoyed our visit and even though there was a fair amount of queuing it was well organised. I would definitely recommend a visit to this beautiful place!
Atul Kochhar is at the forefront of fine Indian dining. He is an established restaurateur, television personality and author of cookery books.
Kanisha opened in March, 2019 and Atul appointed his protegee, Ashok Kumar as Executive Chef.
The restaurant is named after King Kanishka, an emperor of the Kushan dynasty known for his military, political and spiritual achievements.
Atul was the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star in 2001 and won a second in 2007. He is the Chef/Patron of seven British restaurants which promote the best of Indian gastronomic fare combining modern techniques and traditional recipes and ingredients.
Ashok Kumar was featured in The Great British Menu, London and Southeast region in 2024 where the theme was celebrating the Olympics and Paralympics with a banquet hosted by the British Ambassador in France.
We were in London for a very special reason, we were going to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, so we decided to have a special meal to celebrate this and because we had eaten lots of times at Sindhu on P&O Cruises (Atul’s restaurant on board), we booked Kanishka.
We decided to go for the Tasting Menu which was £105 each but decided against the wine pairing as we’re not very big drinkers, so we ordered a bottle of wine instead.
As it happened, both Phil and I had different menu choices for each course, most probably because he loves fish and I am definitely not a fan!
NASHTA Atul Kochhar Blanc de Blanc
The first course was Nashta, which is the one in the background – the outer casing was very crispy and crunchy and the filling was smooth and moreish, almost like a humous texture and taste. The front two were complimentary and everyone received those, the one on the right was VERY spicy and they were both mouthfuls of tastiness.
Then it was onto the next course:
NADRU KI CHAAT Lotus stem kebabs and crisp with tamarind, cherry chutney, yoghurt
DEVON CRAB BONDA Devon crab fritter with chickpea sundal, tomato chutney with Isle of Wight tomatoes
I had the kebabs, which didn’t look like the kebabs we normally get from our local van in the layby and Phil had the crab. The kebab had lots of different textures which all blended together extremely well and the pomegranate seeds really made it pop! Phil said his crab was delicious, he wished he could have ate more!
So, I ordered the DHUYEN KI BATAK – home smoked Margret Duck breast, orange and spring onion chaat but forgot to take a picture of it! I have to say, this dish was superb, probably my favourite one of the night. The duck was cooked to perfection and together with the refreshing orange segments and spring onions, it tasted wonderful. Phil loves scallops and this was one of the best ones he’s had and together with the chicken jus, was incredible. He did wish though that he had a slice of bread to mop up that delicious sauce.
CHICKEN TIKKA PIE Speciality of the house served with spring berry chutney
JOHN DORY Cornish John Dory with Isle of Wight tomatoes
I had the chicken tikka pie which definitely didn’t taste like any other pie I’ve had! It was absolutely delicious. Phil enjoyed the John Dory and was impressed with the tomatoes which came from the Isle of Wight!
Time for a break – a toilet break – which I just had to take a picture of, it was a very nice restroom!
DO TARIKE KA GOSHT Lamp chop, lamb loin, Swiss chard and jus
PURANI DILLI KA BUTTER CHICKEN A classic of old Delhi – chicken tikka in rich tomato sauce
Phil’s lamb chop was ‘melt in the mouth’ and the spices were just about the right amount, not too spicy so that the taste gets overwhelmed. My butter chicken was amazing, there were side dishes that came with it and there was quite a bit of it, especially after eating all the previous courses! This has made me change my order when I go to an Indian now, I always order the butter chicken rather than the Chicken Korma!
Indian desserts are usually not very good but these were on another level! Refreshing and light after such a lot of food!
We met the Executive Chef, Ashok Kumar, who was in the TV programme The Great British Menu and we had a chat with him, but unfortunately forgot to take a picture!
Thoughts
This was an amazing meal and we felt it was good value at £105 each. The staff were very attentive and friendly. There was a smell of varnish as they were in the process of redecorating, but as we were sat downstairs we couldn’t smell it whilst we were eating.
Please be aware that this blog will include spoilers… you have been warned!
A parody of Barbie, with arguments over who is the best Barbie between Noel and Alison and Ken (Paul Hollywood) picking Weird Barbie (Prue) with a bad American accent, kicked off the new series of Bake Off.
Signature Bake: Loaf Cake
Prue says that to really impress her, the bakers need something that surprises her, “They could put two kinds of sponge together, so it looks marbled or they could bury something interesting inside.”
Paul Hollywood advises us that, “Time management is critical, you don’t want to put decoration on top of a warm cake, it will literally just melt and slide off. It’s gonna be tricky.”
They have been warned!
Illiyin’s “Cinnamon Roll” Loaf Cake – The judges loved this loaf cake praising the flavours. This earned Illiyin the first handshake of the series.
Gill’s “It’s all V’s Fault” Loaf Cake – The marbling was good inside the cake and it tasted nice and orangey, but it was let down by the overall look as the icing had melted.
John’s Cherry & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake – A proper loaf with enough height, the inside was more of a splodge than a swirl, but the overall flavour was good.
Andy’s “My First Bake” Loaf Cake – Lovely flavour but the texture was very heavy.
Mike’s Lemon & Linseed Loaf Cake – Paul noticed it had a big crack inside. The lemon flavouring was spot on, but Paul couldn’t taste the linseed and Mike obviously had an issue with timing as the icing was melting.
Georgie’s Vanilla & Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake – Nice flavour, but was criticised for not having enough height. Paul said, “I don’t dislike it, I just think it could be better.”
Sumayah’s “Halwa Surprise” Loaf Cake – A good strong bake that hadn’t been overmixed with the perfect coconut level in the flavour.
Jeff’s “Guiding Star” Loaf Cake – Prue was impressed with the star running through the cake. The flavours were good, but the overall look was compared to “lava flow.”
Nelly’s Coconut Loaf Cake – Prue commented that it was basically pudding and was delicious. Not the best decorated but flavour-wise was lovely.
Dylan’s “Sticky Rice” Loaf Cake – Neat with a good height. The flavour was there but the bake itself was doughy and dense,
Christiaan’s “Umami Apple” Loaf Cake – Clever decoration, but the judges weren’t impressed with the miso/apple combination.
Hazel’s “Raspberry Surprise” Loaf Cake – The shards were too thick and it was slightly overbaked.
So we already have the first handshake of the competition, was it too early or do you think that doesn’t matter, if Paul thinks it’s worthy then that’s fine?
Technical Challenge
We were told the news that Jeff wasn’t feeling well, so he won’t be participating in the rest of the programme.
The technical challenge was to bake 8 symmetrical mini-Battenburg cakes but there was a twist – it’s a Taste and Bake Challenge. There was an example of a Battenburg under the gingham cloth and they had five minutes to inspect that before starting on their own ones.
There was a certain amount of trepidation from the bakers, apart from Georgie who admitted she’d looked at a Battenburg recipe last night! (That’s my girl! – if you look at my previous blog, she’s one of two I have chosen to win this year!)
11. Mike 10. Hazel 9. Sumayah 8. Andy 7. Illiyin 6. Gill 5. Nelly 4. Dylan 3. John 2. Christiaan And the winner was…. GEORGIE!
Showstopper Challenge
Paul highlights Christiaan, Mike and Hazel, who may be in trouble and have to leave the show today.
This week’s Challenge is a hyper realistic illusion cake with flavours and types of sponges up to the bakers in just four hours.
Georgie’s “Fanny the Chicken” Illusion Cake – Prue commented it was an odd shape, but that the chicken had a real personality. Alison asks the judges, “How does Fanny taste, guys?” The judge’s managed to keep a straight face and replied, “Absolutely lovely!” Bake Off with its best innuendos. Two of the sponges were overbaked but it had a lovely lemon flavour.
Sumayah’s “Pato the Duck” Illusion Cake – An exceptional illusion cake, probably one of the most realistic looking cakes in the tent. Beautifully baked. But no handshake!
Wow!
Dylan’s “Canopic Jar” Illusion Cake – Impressive illusion cake. An unusual flavour, but delicious.
Christiaan’s “Sweet Seams are Made with This” Illusion Cake – Prue loved this sewing machine illusion cake comparing it to her own one at home. Paul didn’t hold back on his critique saying it was massively overbaked and bone dry and the flavour was quite sour.
John’s “The Perfect Brunch” Illusion Cake- The judges were impressed with the illusion cake and they loved the flavours.
Gill’s “Crown Green Bowling” Illusion Cake – Good illusion, although Prue wished the bowls were more rounded, The judges loved the taste of it.
Mike’s “My Favourite Cake & Books” Illusion Cake – Each book could be picked up separately, the judges loved them. A beautiful cake, executed very well from Paul and Prue just said, “Ditto.”
Amazing!
Andy’s “It’s an Overnight Job” Illusion Cake – Exceptional illusion cake, Paul could tell straight away that it was overbaked. Lovely flavour with the sharpness of the raspberries.
Hazel’s “Handbag” Illusion Cake – For a first for Bake Off, Hazel carried her handbag illusion cake by its handles. But Paul commented it wasn’t very neat, overbaked but a beautiful lemon flavour.
Nelly’s “Retro 90’s Shoes” Illusion Cake- Good chocolate flavour, but lacking the flavour of the raspberries.
Illiyam’s “Flowers in a Vase” Illusion Cake – Paul and Prue loved the flowers but weren’t keen on the vase. A well baked cake with amazing flavours, but the design was slightly flawed.
Who went home?
Actually nobody went home because Jeff was ill, but they were warned that two people could go home next week.
Star Baker
Thoughts….
A great start to the series, cake week is always a good one as we do get some great bakes. Not to brag but my two choices, John and Georgie won both the Technical and Star Baker! I think Christiaan and Hazel may be gone next week, but let’s hope they do better with biscuits.
Maybe not sending anyone home in the first programme could be established in future series, I know that I would probably need at least a week to settle in and get my nerves under control, they do this in Strictly and it gives everyone a chance for a little bit more practice.
Next Week:
Biscuit Week and it looks like carnage as we see two people fall to the ground…
So here we go again, the new series of The Great British Bake Off when we all feel inspired to bake whilst sat on the sofa watching, but know in our heart-of-hearts that it won’t happen as we’re already thinking, “I can get that for £1 in Tescos!”
Bake Off Contestants 2024
I will be reviewing episodes each week (I will be on holiday for a couple of weeks but will try to catch up!) – so let’s start with a meet and greet of the bakers!
44 years old and a car mechanic from Essex.
33 years old and a menswear designer from London.
Aged 20, a retail assistant from Buckinghamshire.
34 years, a Paediatric Nurse from Carmarthenshire.
A 53 year old senior category manager from Lancashire.
Aged 71, a former nail technician from Kent.
31 years old, a birth trauma specialist midwife from Norfolk.
Aged 67 and from West Yorkshire, a former university lecturer.
A directorate support manager, aged 37 and from the West Midlands.
Aged 29 and a farm manager from Wiltshire.
A palliative care assistant, aged 44 and from Dorset.
Aged 19, dentistry student from Lancashire.
I’m going to make a bold move and choose my top two just from reading the descriptions of each baker!!
Number Two Choice:
Georgie – she is a self proclaimed cannoli connoisseur and lives in a Welsh farmhouse with her husband, three children, ten chickens, two ducks, two dogs and a cat!
Number One Choice:
John – John learned to bake with his nan and now bakes to honour his nan’s memory, he loves classic bakes with a twist! His favourite bake is a classic lemon tart.
It’s great to see them all back again – I was a bit sceptical when Alison Hammond joined the team, but I was soon loving her comments and of course her infectious laugh!
I’m very excited for this new series and I can’t wait to see if there will be any cooking disasters, messy workstations and of course, soggy bottoms!
It was while we were watching a television programme called The Overlap on Tour when Mother Mash was featured that we decided that the next time we were in London we were going to go there.
So, true to our word, we visited Mother Mash in Carnaby to taste their pie and mash and, of course, their gravy!
Mother Mash – Carnaby (taken from their website)
We were shown to our table, (we had pre-booked as we had heard it got very busy) and presented with their menu. There were three steps to ordering your meal:
There were eight different types of mash…
CLASSIC – natural mash with milk and butter
CHEESY – natural mash with mature chedder
CHEESY MUSTARD – natural mash with mature cheddar and wholegrain mustard
CHAMP – traditional Irish mash with milk, butter, cheddar cheese and spring onions
HORSERADISH – natural mash with creamy horseradish
COLCANNON – traditional Irish mash with milk, butter, cabbage and onions
SWEET POTATO – natural sweet potato with carrot and a sprinkling of chilli
BUBBLE AND SQUEAK – traditional old English recipe, fried mash potatoes, cabbage, peas and onions
You had the choice of either sausages or a pie…
Sausages
CUMBERLAND – classic British pork with pepper
LINCOLNSHIRE – classic British pork with sage
LONDON SMOKEY – hickory wood smoked port
PORK AND CHILLI (Gluten Free) – Pork, chilli, cumin and smoked paprika
MOTHER PLUCKER – chicken with sundried tomato and pepper
VEGETABLE AND HERB (Vegan) – vegan sausage
Pies
STEAK AND BLACKHEART STOUR
CHICKEN, MUSHROOM AND BACON
TRADITIONAL MINCE BEEF
SPICED VEGETABLE AND CAMEMBERT
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SWEET POTATO (Vegetarian)
And the last decision you have to make…
TRADITIONAL – simple gravy using the juice from sausages and vegetables
ONION – caramelised red and white Spanish onions with vegetarian stock (vegetarian/gluten free)
FARMER’S – red wine, onion, smoked bacon and mushrooms
LIQUOR – traditional parsley sauce (vegetarian)
VEGGIE – seasonable vegetables, tomato puree and horseradish (vegan/vegetarian/gluten free).
So, I chose the cheesy mash, I had the special for the day which was steak and stilton and onion gravy and hubby had the bubble and squeak mash, traditional mince beef with the farmer’s gravy.
My pie and mash!
The steak and stilton pie was delicious, the cheese really came through and mixed with the steak was wonderful. The pastry was flaky, buttery and tasty. The gravy was on another level, it was flavourful and just the right amount of thickness. I love mashed potato and the cheesy mash was smooth and very moreish.
Hubby enjoyed his and washed down with a bottle of lager, he was a happy man.
Always a good sign – my clean plate!
There are also sides you can have – mushy peas, baked beans, buttered savoy cabbage to name a few. We decided to just have the pie and mash.
Their pudding menu had some sweet pies – apple pie, apple crumble and apple and blackberry pie together with sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownie and ginger bread. But we were too full and with all of our willpower declined a pudding.
Thoughts…
We thought this was very good value for money, considering we were in the heart of London – we paid a total of £41 (with tip) and came out of the restaurant feeling full.
The waiting staff were very good, the food was served quickly and hot, but we didn’t feel rushed.
I would definitely recommend a visit to Mother Mash, they have two restaurants in London, one in Carnaby and one in Covent Garden and we will be visiting them again when we’re in London.
This restaurant has been on my husband’s bucket list for a very long time and so when we found ourselves in London for a day, we decided that it was time to visit The Cinnamon Club.
The Cinnamon Club
Set in the historic Grade II listed former Westminster Library, The Cinnamon Club is an institution in the world of Indian fine dining. The original modern Indian restaurant in London, The Cinnamon Club has a long history of serving innovative and creative Indian cuisine in a magnificently majestic setting.
Chef Vivek Singh and his team of chefs have developed a stunning new menu that combines The Cinnamon Club’s signatures with new dishes and celebratory platters.
The Cinnamon Club website
Cinnamon Club
On arrival we were both impressed by the décor and the attentiveness of the staff. We chose to have the set menu which was £38 and it offered a good range of different ingredients.
We decided to have distilled water as we had to drive back home afterwards and didn’t want to have any alcohol.
I chose the Tandoori free range chicken chops with peri-peri- spices and passion fruit raita and hubby chose smoked venison and prune kebab, date chutney with chana masala hummus.
Before we were served the Starters, we were presented with an appetizer which was very tasty. (Sorry, I can’t remember the exact ingredients!)
Appetizer
Tandoori ChickenSmoked Venison
For our mains, I had Keema Methi Gosht – lamb and mince curry with fresh fenugreek and pilau rice. Hubby had Red spiced roast haddock, dried shrimp chutney, Bengali lentil and coconut dal.
We also ordered an extra side of stir-fried greens with garlic and chilli, for an extra charge of £7.00. My curry was very spicy, but I reasoned that you wouldn’t want to go to a high class restaurant and eat bland food. The meat was tender and just fell apart and the pilau rice was light and tasted flavourful and as you can see, I cleared my plate. Hubby cleared his too, even though his nose ran a little bit due to the spiciness, once he got used to it, he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Dessert was an experience to remember: our local Indian isn’t known for its desserts, but at The Cinnamon Club, it was another story….
Tasting plate of assorted desserts
We paid a supplement of £5 per person and boy, was it worth it. My hubby loves his desserts, I’m not such a big fan, but the chocolate mousse with the bird nest on top was amazing! There wasn’t one that we didn’t like and we polished them off between us.
An Americano coffee to finish and we received the bill which was £101, very reasonable for a restaurant in the heart of London which included an appetizer, starters, main course and dessert!
Thoughts
We had a wonderful time and even when the restaurant was busy, the waiting staff still came and filled up our glasses with water, they were all very friendly and polite.
The food was deliciously spiced with layers of texture and flavouring.
The experience met with hubby’s expectations and it is definitely somewhere we will be visiting again.
The tables for two are pretty close together and a couple sat on the table next to us while we were waiting for our dessert, we instantly started talking to each other and it was great to have a chat and find out about each other. We discovered that both myself and the lady both had had bowel cancer, so it was nice to share that experience with her.
From the moment we walked into the restaurant, to when we left, we were made to feel very special – nothing was too much trouble for any of the staff (not that we made any demands, but there was a particularly testing table that arrived as we were about to leave.) I loved the décor, it was just to my taste and we were sat at the window!
We did wonder who St. Petroc was, so we went to good old Google and found this: “St. Petroc, also known as Petrock, was a British prince and Christian saint. He was renowned for his goodness to both men and animals and he founded monasteries at Padstow and Bodmin. Although he had been brought up as a prince and trained to rule over people, he had a call to lead a holy life.”
We chose to have the Set Lunch at a cost of £26 each, with additional sides of Savoy Cabbage with bacon and chives and Tenderstem Broccoli with salsa verde.
We both decided on the same courses, Tomato Soup with Basil for starters, 4oz Steak Frites with thin cut chips and rocket salad for Mains and Sticky Toffee Pudding with Cornish clotted cream for dessert. I forgot to take a picture of the starter, but it was just soup!
The whole meal was absolutely delicious, hubby particularly loved the Tenderstem Broccoli and we ate everything, nothing was left to waste. The soup was very tasty, the steak just melted in your mouth, the chips were crispy with a light potato filling and the dessert was heavenly, not too rich, not too heavy and topped off perfectly with the clotted cream.
And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, a special Happy Birthday plate was presented to the table!
The whole meal, including drinks, cost us £90 . I always say that I don’t mind paying that extra if the meal is worth it and boy was this meal worth it!
I am off work at the moment as I am recovering from bowel cancer and my husband booked two weeks off as our son was getting married and he wanted some time off around that. I received an email from Parkdean Resorts saying we could book a four day holiday for £89. I was a bit sceptical but it was true, so we booked to go from Monday to Thursday at St. Minver Holiday Park, Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 6RR.
Day One
The journey from Southampton to Wadebridge is roughly four hours, so we booked to stop off at The Jamaica Inn for lunch. This was a bit of a bucket list item for both of us, as every time we drove to Cornwall we threatened to go there, but never actually got there, but because it was my birthday, we decided to go for it.
Picture from Jamaica Inn website
We stopped off at The Jamaican Inn, luckily we had booked as it was very busy.
Our onward journey took us another 45 minutes where we found St. Minver Holiday Park quite easily and after booking in at Reception we found our caravan.
We booked a four berth caravan and when we entered we were pleasantly surprised by it. Sure, it wasn’t the biggest caravan we’d stayed in but it was only for the two of us and we wouldn’t be spending that much time in there, we were more concerned with the facilities the park had to offer and the location of it.
Living roomKitchen area
On looking at the map of the site and the entertainment programme it looked like there was a lot going on. We saw that there was an entertainment hub which housed the pub, showbar, restaurant, arcade and soft play area and the list of activities for the children was quite extensive, including an indoor heated swimming pool, plus bingo, karaoke and even a tribute band for the adults. I was quite impressed that you could order food from your table via their App and even have food delivered to your accommodation.
After unpacking, we decided to visit a beach called Polzeath Beach which is popular with surfers and we could see why when we arrived, the waves were awesome! We took a walk around the town centre, purchased an ice cream and took a wander down on the beach. There were lots of surfing classes and we spent a while watching the surfers ride the waves and some quite spectacular wipe-outs.
As it had been a long day, we drove back to the caravan and as we were both still full from the lunch at Jamaica Inn, we had a cup of tea and went to sleep….
Day Two
Today we had decided to go and visit Padstow which is one of my favourite places in Cornwall, my very favourite being St. Ives. But, instead of driving to Padstow we were going to park at Rock, which was only a couple of miles away and then catch the ferry across the bay to Padstow. This was a good decision as the car park in Padstow is way up on a hill and whilst this is fine in the morning walking down, it’s very tiring after a long day and having to walk up this steep hill, plus after chemotherapy and bowel surgery, I’m still not up to full strength so I’m not sure I would have even made it!
We arrived and parked up and went for a walk along the sea front to take a little look at the place where the celebrities live, people like Gordon Ramsay and Dawn French. We spotted Paul Ainsworth’s restaurant, The Mariners on the sea front and it did look fabulous, somewhere we’d love to go for a special occasion.
We walked back as we could see the ferry was approaching Rock Beach. The ferry only took card payments and it cost £3.00 – Adult Single, £1.50 – Child Single and £3.00 – Bike.
The ferry dropped us off at the harbour and after checking what time the last ferry back to Rock was, we went off to explore.
Padstow is a fishing port and is situated on the west bank of the River Camel. There is a lot of shops to visit, we particularly like the glass art that you can get from Cornwall, plenty of tea rooms, restaurants and of course, pasties. After a cup of coffee and a piece of cake, we took a stroll round and sat on a bench on the harbour just people watching and enjoying the view.
After a delicious meal at Rick Stein’s, we had another wander and stumbled across a craft fayre and never one to walk past one of this, we went in. There were lots of stalls to have a look around and I bought a ceramic heart necklace which was very pretty.
We then caught the ferry back to Rock, thankful that we didn’t have to go up that steep hill back to the carpark and drove back to the caravan site.
We were going to go to the Entertainment Hub but we were very tired and so we just chilled in front of the television watching The Great British Bake Off, munched on a few pork pies that we had brought with us and then departed to the bedroom and I haven’t slept that well for a very long time…
Day Three
On our journey down to St. Minver Caravan Park, we saw a sign for Pencarrow House, it wasn’t a National Trust house but privately owned, so we made a mental note to visit it if we had time over the next couple of days. Well, day three afforded us this chance and so we headed over to it early morning to book a house tour.
Pencarrow HouseLanhydrock House
It’s a standing joke between us that wherever we go somebody always knows hubby and today was no exception. As we walked into the shop a voice said, “Hello Phil, what are you doing here?” The lady who worked behind the counter used to work in one of the buildings he runs as the Catering Manager!
A walk around the gardens and a guided tour of the house and we were on our way to Lanhydrock house, but not before have a bite to eat at a pub we passed along the way.
We had downloaded a free National Trust pass so we used this to gain entry to Lanhydrock House, which was just as well as it was quite expensive at £20 each.
After a look around the House, we would have loved to had spent more time there but we had a meal booked at Bodmin Jail before we went on our ghost walk, we had to move on.
The rain was coming down which added to the eerie feeling about the jail. We arrived fully expecting a meal but was told that even though we booked it online for a time of 16:45, they weren’t open at that time for meals but did open at 17:00 for a set menu. On looking at this menu it was £50 per head, so we decided against it and found a lovely little pub down the road and had a bowl of tomato soup each!
Back to the jail for 18:30 and we booked in for our ghost walk.
The walk around the jail was very interesting, we were told about the different ghosts that haunted the jail, facts about some of the inmates and we got to look inside the jails, which was a bit creepy.
The person who led the tour was very knowledgeable and we were surprised to find out it was his first tour he had ever done, so well done to that man!
It was at Bodmin Jail where the episode of Most Haunted was filmed and Derek Ocorah (a medium) was set up by Ciaran O’Keefe (sceptic) to expose him as a fraud….
After the tour we headed back to the caravan site where we went to the entertainment centre and feasted on a £12.49 pizza and a couple of drinks.
We took a picture of the different menus:
After feeling full after eating the pizza we did a quick tour of the amusement arcade where we won a couple of small teddies and then we headed back to the caravan for our final night before we packed to go home.
Amusement Arcade
Day Four
Phil got up early to go to a bakery we had seen at Rock the day before to buy some pasties and scones for when we got home. Phil is very partial to a cream tea and we hadn’t had time to fit one in this trip, so we bought one to take home with us.
We didn’t stop on the journey home, mainly because we sailed past the services we were going to stop at, so it was nice to have a ready-made tea when we did get back.
My view
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at St. Minver Holiday Park, so much so that we’ve booked five days next year this time staying in a lodge so that our families can come and stay if they want to.
Our lodge for next year
We found the park to be central for where we wanted to visit and there was plenty to do, from playing bingo, karaoke, swimming to walking through the woods.
The first thing we noticed was that it was decorated with Halloween decorations, they had a backdrop of a haunted house where you could have a picture taken.
We sat down at our reserved table (I would recommend booking ahead as it was very busy) and I ordered the Chef’s Steak & Jamaica Inn Pie which was served with creamy mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy: Price £16.95
Hubby ordered the Jamaican Inn Burger with 6oz beef burger topped with Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, tomato, gherkin and salad in a toasted brioche bun served with skin-on fries: Price £15.95
Both meals tasted delicious, just what we needed, a hearty meal after three hours of sitting in a car in traffic! As I said before, it was busy, but the meals didn’t take very long to reach our table and we were far too full to order dessert.
We then headed towards the museum which focused on the author, Daphne Du Maurier and of course, pirates, smuggling and ghosts.
The cost to enter the museum was £3.95 for adults and £2.95 for children and OAPs.
Daphne Du Maurier
Well known for her novel, The Jamaica Inn which was a tale about Mary, an orphan, who lives with her Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss Merlyn, who was the Landlord of the Jamaica Inn and her uncle’s involvement in smuggling along the Cornish coast. One of her other well known novels is Rebecca which was a very successful film. There is a room created at Jamaica Inn which is full of memorabilia including her writing desk on top of which is a packed of the Du Maurier cigarettes named after her father.
Smuggling Museum
The Museum purports to house one of the finest collections of smuggling artefacts in the country. Custom taxes were first introduced in the 13th century but there was little enforcement of this until the 18th century when taxes were raised to fund foreign wars. Goods could be purchased much cheaper abroad and so smuggling became rife. Tea was six times more expensive in England than Europe. Other goods such as silks, tobacco and branding were also smuggled into Cornwall.
Paranormal Activity
The presence of paranormal activity here is one of the reasons we wanted to visit, we do like a good ghost story and if there’s any chance of an investigation we’re there. But unfortunately we didn’t have time to attend an investigation this trip, but it’s something we would like to do in the future! You can book a stay in one of their haunted rooms which includes a two course dinner and is £85 per person.
Most Haunted did an investigation here and said it was one of the spookiest they have ever recorded. Below is the programme they recorded….
After a look around the gift shop, I wanted to buy a Jamaican Inn t-shirt but unfortunately they had run out of stock, we then went to the farm shop and then we left the Jamaica Inn.
A journey through the meaning of life and anything else that grabs my attention!
Making My Home A Haven is important to me. Sharing homemaking skills. Recipes and food. Bible Studies. This is a treasure chest of goodies. So take a seat. Have a glass of tea and enjoy. You will learn all about who I am and Our Neck Of The Woods.
It's Raining Cats and Blogs 