Falmouth

With restrictions easing even more, we took the opportunity to go away this weekend. Esther's boyfriend is studying down in Falmouth and they haven't seen each other in ages. We are trying to avoid public transport so the rest of us decided to take her down Saturday morning, stay overnight, and come back Sunday. I hadn't realised quite how far away Falmouth is but with Mel and I sharing the driving, the 4 and half hour trip wasn't so bad. We picked an Airbnb that was completely self contained so we didn't need to be in a house with other people - super cute little summer house at the bottom of a garden! On Saturday afternoon we met up with some of Mel's friends who have recently moved down and went to the beach despite the rainy weather. In the evening we met up with Esther and her boyfriend for socially distant fish and chips (in the top 10 in the UK!) and then tried to avoid drunk people on the high street. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be with pubs open for the first time in almost 4 months but people were clearly struggling to remember the 1m+ rule!

On Sunday the weather improved dramatically and we had a wander through Falmouth centre and high street along by the marina. We had lunch at a cafe on the waterfront where they checked our temperatures, recorded details, had the tables miles from each other, and a well ventilated room. Really impressed and not as scary as I thought it might have been. We then enjoyed lounging on the beach before visiting Pendennis Castle (pre-booked, limited number of visitors). Built by Henry VIII with its twin on the opposite side of the harbour, it has provided security for Falmouth and the coast for hundreds of years. Definitely a working keep, not a lot of luxury for living and every inch possible is covered in cannons. The ones inside don't work anymore but there are some working ones outside which are regularly used for TV shows, movies, and demonstrations. A bit blustery but super fun to see and explore.

It was lovely to get out and away and do something that felt a little more normal. I was worried about what it would be like being around people but mostly everyone was being sensible and it felt like appropriate measures were in place. Hopefully people will continue to follow the rules and our cases don't suddenly spike again! Only two and a half weeks of school left and then into summer holidays which seems a bit mind blowing.