First time since 1975

For the first time since before we were married we have had a weeks vacation in the UK. We didn't really mean to as the original plan was to just have a long weekend in Cornwall but the hotels were so expensive that for only another £50 we could rent a cottage for whole week. So, a complete no brainer, we figured that we might as well go for the entire week.

We hadn't been to Cornwall since the year before we got married so we'd both pretty much forgotten what the place was like which was good because it was mostly one nice surprise after another the whole time we were there. The traditional stone cottage we'd rented was fantastic having only opened in February this year. It was big, clean and very modern.

It's incredibly hilly to the point that Hampshire seems almost flat by comparison, and the place is littered with something I absolutely hate, single track roads. But roads apart the place is just amazing and all the little "Port this" and "Port that" places we stopped off at were all fantastic. Even the towns are all very manageable as they're not that big and everyone there seems to be very happy and friendly, prices were good compared to home, and the quality of everything was excellent.

We had a lunch in Rick Stein's place one day which provided us with great food but the price was really too high - we were definitely having to pay for his "celebrity" status. The Eden project was bit of a disappointment, even Sheila agreed, and the £50 it cost for two of us to get in was a joke. On the other hand, the Lost Gardens of Heligan were great, and we spent a really nice day there.

On our last day the cottage owners told us it was free for the coming week, if only we hadn't had a lot of commitments at home because we'd have definitely stayed for longer.