Busy summer

We have had such a lovely and busy summer so far that I have not found time to write on the blog, although I have tried to use the twitter account. Not that I am complaining you understand!

There has been a steady trickle of visitors, some returning for their second year which is a real treat for us and speaks volumes for what we are trying to achieve on our small campsite. So thankyou everyone.

August has been particularly busy, yet I am always surprised by the number of holidaymakers in August.  To me, August is our 'rainy season' and May (tucked into the cliff on Pednvounder beach) June (down on the beach in front of Hayle SLSC) and July (sipping a cold glass on the terrace of the Godolphin at Marazion, keeping an eye on the kids, down on the beach at the start of summer hols) are the months with perfect weather, when the gardens (like our gorgeous local Tremenhere Sculpture Garden) are looking their best. Again though I am not complaining and congratulations to all who camped over our wet bank holiday weekend.

I often think of August as bridging the gap between summer and autumn. In this part of cornwall we are frequently blessed with a sunny September and October, the sea is still quite warm and the leaves on the trees blend from green, to amber, to red and gold and the falling leaves allow children to kick a riot of crispy colours up into the air with their wellingtonboots. Whatever the month however, there are always garden chores to do and this week I spent some time pulling up monbretia invading the orchard, to move to the reservoir garden.

My campsite reservoir garden is developing into a pretty little space this year. There have been a couple of small disasters, which come with the territory of happily sharing the garden....the eucalyptus lost its leafy top, broken half way up the stem ...possibly a football hazard and lots of the fronds on the tree-palm disappeared, leaving bare stems....possibly a little fingers hazard! But some plants have really done well, I even have a few tomatoes! Apologies to the german couple that loved the campsitesite and the shower, but were bemused by my not-so-pretty old roadtyres....they surround my compost heap....so campers, please 'embrace' them as garden-art, balloons in the Tate St Ives and Tyres in the Reservoir Garden!

On the subject of art, I recently spent a pleasant afternoon wandering round St Ives with a cousin. St Ives is just "lovely", it has such an appreciative balance of life. There is an ambiance of culture, nature and art on every corner, with a picturesque harbour, blue seas, boats bobbing about, seals taking advantage of the leftovers from fishing trips, wonderful clothes and book shops, colourful cafes and a population who live and work and play in the town with a fabulous swimming pool at the leisure centre (and views to die for) and a top rate secondary school. What more could you ask for? ....glimpses of art and surprises from pretty courtyards? And here is one...........

Returning to our campsite, the shower has finally got a little mirror - for all those who need to shave -

and a couple of hooks for a towel and a wash-bag to the right of the tap and sink. All good improvements suggested by our campers! (Keith with the Harley-D, if you read this blog, I know you suggested a mirror at the beginning of last season, but it is only recently that David going to Troytown camping with Gabi also made mention to a mirror, thus confirming its necessity.)

And so August is over and we are winding down our holiday season, with only a few weeks to go. Time to plot and plan with ideas to work on over the winter months, all to be revealed in the blogs to come.