Boys (and their mums) go wild in Boscastle!

I wasn't sure what to expect as I climbed into the passenger seat of a people carrier loaded up with boys, bikes, body boards, wet suits and that evening's spaghetti bolognese defrosting in the boot. It would certainly be an experience, but whether it would be a holiday was yet to be seen. We spent the best part of the day making our way from Langton Green to Boscastle. This was the journey that started the boys' interest in "Hippy Vans" (VW Camper Vans), as the further south west we headed the more we saw.

Down to the foggy harbour we drove and parked right outside the Youth Hostel at the water's edge, our home for the next week. Boscastle has had it's major floods over the years and consequently the picturesque Youth Hostel has been reconstructed. On the inside of the stone building everything was fresh and new from the paint to the carpets and light wood furniture. Our room reminded me of "Formule 1" hotels that we've stayed at in France - basic, clean, functional and cheap. I was volunteered to take the top bunk in the mums' suite i.e. two interconnecting bedrooms and a huge brand new ensuite bathroom complete with power shower. The boys all had their beds in a long dormitory upstairs and I stuck my head around the door to see how they were; they were going wild after seven hours in the car and were literally swinging from the beams!

The weather was perfect and the scenery was magical!

Over the week, we ducked and dived between some fairly atrocious weather, managing to stay mainly dry. We were lucky, as the sun seemed to follow us round; we heard that there'd been several lightening strikes at Launceston Agricultural Show up the road. The days were spent revisiting the childhood holiday haunts of my friend Caroline who had organised the trip, which included Trebarwith Strand for the surf and body boarding (and spectacular lightening show out at sea) and Port Isaac for Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen, fish and chips, to listen to the St Breward Brass Band and join in the Floral Dance up and down the hill. We cycled along the Camel Trail to Padstow, stopping to mend punctures, drink hot chocolates and to shelter from rain under a motorway bridge. In Padstow we watched "Rick Steiners" eating designer fish and chips at the harbour side and the boys spent a couple of hours playing crazy golf.

Evenings were spent barbecuing and crabbing in the harbour, playing board games (Monopoly had a revival that week) in the Youth Hostel or other games like Pass the Bomb! involving anyone else who happened to be passing through. Being a large group, it was hard not to dominate the communal living area, so we just asked people to join in. I didn't have to cook more than once, the boys were surrounded by friends all day long and were physically exhausted at the end of each day. On another day we took the bus from Boscastle to Tintagel and walked back along the steep coastal path, stopping for a quick dip at Bossiney beach; on this day the weather was perfect and the scenery was magical!

Having survived the week on a diet of Cornish pasties, fresh doughnuts and ice creams for lunch and most nights our rota of home cooked meals, I headed home with my body looking forward to consuming fruit, vegetables and slightly less cider and wine. I felt as if I'd had a complete break, and as we'd packed in so much it felt as if we'd been away for weeks, not days.

I'd also done a lot of laughing and would definitely be hiring a different wetsuit next time, as it's hard to give off that air of Cornish Surfing Cool when you are cramming yourself into a very tight and ancient piece of black neoprene and having to get someone else to zip it up for you. I couldn't time the waves right on my borrowed body board, as the boys kept pointing out, but I had a sneaky feeling that we'd all be going back again next year and that I could have another attempt, or maybe even try some surfing.

USEFUL CONTACTS
www.yha.org.uk (Youth Hostel Association)
www.visitcornwall.com (Cornish Tourist Board)

The Pocket Oxford Dictionary's definition of holiday: extended period of recreation, esp. spent away from home or travelling; break from work.

Written for Summer 2008 issue by Caroline Smith.