Following my return from Cornwall in July, I am sad to say the summer has run away on me. It always seems to pass so quickly, unlike the winter that seems to torment us by hanging on for as long as possible, but we’ll crank up the heating, get the blankets and sweaters at the ready and a good supply of chai latte mix to keep the chills away.
But it’s good to keep busy and I have been that, in Cornwall trekking over the eastern part of the Duchy, following Alex as he finds himself embroiled in a new adventure, and back in Canada, writing, writing, writing!
Alex’s second adventure in the Cornish Tales Series starts with a family emergency that forces Alex and his friend Aidan to spend the summer holidays with Alex’s aunt who lives on the banks of the River Lynher. I have to wonder, is he accident prone or just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Because he seems to teleport into the most barbaric periods in our history.
This time his adventures take him across many more natural phenomena’s, including the amazing Cheesewring on Stowe’s Hill, close to the village of Minion’s on the edge of Bodmin Moor, an amazing rock formation which was formed by weathering over the course of hundreds of years and is visible for miles around. The way the huge slabs, some up to 30 feet across, are balanced on the smaller stones makes the whole formation seem precariously top-heavy.
Of course, the beaches of Cornwall have my heart, especially those around St. Austell Bay where I grew up, with this particular beach being my favourite and the destination for my early morning walks over the clifftop. When I stand in the shadow of the towering, sheer cliff-face in this sheltered cove all the old tales of smugglers, landing their boats in the dead of night, come alive and hundreds of years drop away, back to the time when children were taught to look upon the sea as their own, and to regard smuggling as an honourable calling.
An amazing time spent with family. Travelling from one end of the Duchy to the other in search of Alex, and, as always, counting the days until we can return once again to follow Alex as he embarks on yet more exciting adventures.
