Max Cherry was a last minute surprise for my partner, Jane. We had a child free weekend coming up and Jane said that we should make the best of it. A friend had raved about O’Connor’s so I looked at the website and was struck by one comment I found saying ‘Just do it’, so I did! The worst part was keeping the weekend a secret for the rest of the week, but my packing advice to Jane on Thursday night to take flowery clothes, flip flops, Ugg boots and warm coats wasn’t helping her with the important decisions of what to pack, so I confessed all.
The huge smile and grins confirmed I’d made the right decision. Packing done, we arrived at O’Connor’s on Friday lunchtime and everyone there was just as friendly in person as they were on the phone. Head full of advice and instructions (don’t trust the fuel gauge, ignore the oil warning light if it flickers etc) we were roaring off down the A30 towards Cornwall (if 60mph counts as roaring).
A big part of our weekend was the pleasure of driving Max, and a read of his Visitors book soon confirmed that he had a character all of his own – lots of comments about the gears and his trick of playing ‘hide the gear’, especially on roundabouts as I found out at Helston and when attempting to overtake a push bike!
Jane let me take over the driving at Truro, trusting me to get out of a busy supermarket car park onto a dual carriageway, before driving down a dead end lane to do a multi-point turn outside a busy waterside pub. It was in at the deep end for me. After a stop for tea and some of O’Connor’s thoughtfully provided lemon cake, one of the joys of being in a camper is being able to stop off where you fancy, we headed down to Henrys campsite on the Lizard.
Henrys exceeded expectations of how a chilled out, laid back, quirky, no e mail confirmation of booking campsite should be run. We paid for the pitch, picked up a pitcher of Rosie’s cider and borrowed a barbecue (we could also have a ‘DIY fire pit if we so wished).
Barbecue, Prosecco and sunset over the sea confirmed we’d made the right choice of site. A walk around the Lizard next morning, then a drive to Kennack Sands with pasties for lunch, kept hot in a conveniently placed cubby hole above the engine bay. Then to the narrow lanes of Cadgwith for a spot of gig racing…now I thought getting a camper down those lanes was tricky…nothing compared to a 4×4 and a gig trailer…hats off to those guys!
Time for another “cuppa with a view”! Next big decision cook in, or eat out…hmmm! Opted for “The Witch Ball” in Lizard Village and a fresh Cadgwith crab for Jane, (not on the menu but caught by the partner of the girl behind the bar that morning!) I think Jane impressed the crab virgin at the next table with her “cracking and sucking of the claws” technique!
After a blissfully comfortable/peaceful/sound of the sea/no gulls, night sleep…next decision…north coast or south coast to Dartmoor? Opted for north coast, foolishly thinking we could do a ‘quick’ detour through Newquay on the weekend they were holding Boardmasters (Max certainly looked the part, but it wasn’t quick).
Max seemed to be loving the swooping hills and valleys and we’d got the hang of the soupy gears, accidently leaving the indicator running and the loud thrum of the engine and so to Bedruthan Steps…magnificent beach with rock stacks like fortified giants, whilst stepping over thousands of jellyfish which had been washed ashore (time for another “cuppa with a view” and the remainder of the lemon cake, me thinks.) Plus a photo of Max from a German ‘admirer’ made us grin.
And so onwards and vaguely upwards to Boscastle; “make way on those hairpins, I’m like a pregnant lady coming through”! Time for a wander, a mid-afternoon pasty (is there a theme developing here?) and seal watching from the harbour wall.
Last night spent at Harford Bridge on the Tavy, going to sleep to the sound of the babbling river…a short but oh so sweet weekend coming to a close with a van load of memories to take home with us. With a big thanks to everyone at O’Connor’s and especially to “Max Cherry” for being the “cherry” on our cake and just the one question…next time… do we bring the kids?!
