Beginning van adventures

Two nights ago, the first time trying out the van, backed up to a big beautiful lake! Freaking gorgeous! Mark chopping some veggies for a soup that turned out to be absolutely delish! It was raining that whole day so we had to use our little cooker in the van - we're hoping for a fire cooked meal soon.

Alright, put soup on, make some tea, and catch up on Game of Thrones! Awesome!

 

 A little too small for us to both be chefs, so there will be a lot of taking turns.

Second nigh camping we pulled into a different spot for a bit.

Too bad the plastic bags are in the way, but hey, gotta put 'em somewhere!

Can't really see it, but on the left, above the counter Mark has built a shelf for teas, honey, cans of soup, a couple of toilet rolls, and whatever else we need it for. It's perfect!

 My man building a fire on our beach.

 Some red wine, dark chocolate, mixed nuts, and a fire? Yeah, that sounds pretty okay to me!

 It really got going a little later! Then a man walked down to talk to us, shared that he wanted to go into the water, then proceeded to strip down to nothing and get in! haha! I do believe he was drunk.

Our first little home

She may not look like the quintessential VW camper van, but this old lady's not lacking anything for us!
Mark has put down carpet, fixed the rusty bits on the outside and has recently been slaving away at storage spaces. We're not done with her, but she's got the necessities!

 

 Before she was ours - our first view of her on Ebay...

 

 Took the many posters down...

 

Right after carpeting...

 

 Put in a monitor for entertainment from our laptops (Game of Thrones anyone?). We have a leisure battery and inverter. Work's beautifully! Side note that I'm not a huge fan of the hawaiian flower print, but it doesn't make sense to go through the trouble of changing it at the moment...and Mark likes it. 

 Another view while Mark makes a storage container for our bowls and plates.

 

More storage to come, but this is wonderful already!

The produce net was made from scratch by Mark's mum and her boyfriend and installed by Mark with a bit of Becca assistance. Sweet, yeah?

And that pillow you see behind the drivers seat is where my clothes are! As in they are the pillow...

Another view...Mark even made a storage area on the counter for our spices and olive oil. And put a mirror in. :)

Took her for a trial run last night. Parked with the back facing a lake. Freaking GOREOUS to wake up to. Going back tonight. I'll share the experience soon!

Our Touristy Day

(not my picture)

Lanhydrock gardens are so beautiful! Plus we went on a warm and sunny day, so that helped. There's a lot of intense, structured garden areas, but also walkways leading you through and around less manicured flora. However, despite the garden's size, we felt like if you've seen one patch, you've seen them all. Not a complaint though, they were enjoyable anyway. The pictures I took don't really give the best visual, so I'm adding a couple offline.

  

 Really cool spot overlooking the house.

And a few more steps and the trees clear for this view... beautiful, yeah?

We may have gotten off the beaten path. Not unusual.

(Not my picture) So freaking gorgeous!

(Not my picture) There were many gates like this all over.

Ah, now on to Restormel Castle, or what's left of it anyhow. Really cool place to see. Not at all like Lanhydrock. 

Restormel Castle, constructed in the middle of a large deer park, was probably originally built around 1100 after the Norman conquest of England, making it one of the oldest and best preserved Norman motte and bailey castles in Cornwall. Or so they say. I haven't done my own research, mind you. It was a cool place regardless and the only place like it I've seen at this point, so it's special to me. We were feeling a little "Game of Thronesish" while walking through. :) What's more, the views from this place are incredible!

The entrance. Mark's standing in the absolute perfect spot!

 

Walking through what's left of the chapel. Those protruding stone pillar thingamajiggers are where windows used to be, but were bricked up the one and only time it was attacked. 

Still standing around the chapel.

.

At the top looking out!

 

On the ground floor we found a "hidden" area. Not really sure what was going on with this spot so many years ago. Seems shady.

Inside the shady hallway looking out.

That's all for Restormel! Van pics to come!

Lanhydrock House

                                                                              

Explored the Agar-Robartes family Lanhydrock house and gardens recently. Beautiful! It is a "house," but it looks like a castle to me. Having 50 rooms to look through takes some time...and there's so much information to read! No way to absorb it all in one go. The stewards have all this information plus details I can't find on the internet on the tip of their tongues. You need not ask either, just an interested glance in their direction and they're telling you all about it before you can even register that, yes, they are in fact talking to you. Incredible. What's more is these enthusiastic people are volunteers. Very coveted volunteer positions is what I'm told - people have to fight to get in.
I won't recount their entire family history (couldn't even if I wanted to), but I will share some bits I found interesting.

The whole family story is kinda sad toward the end.
In 1881 there was a fire started in the kitchen that destroyed much of the house they had just redone. Lady Robartes, age 68, got trapped in her room and was rescued via ladder. The farmer's boy is credited with saving her, though no one has been able to prove it for sure. She died a few days later, however, due to shock. Lord Robartes, having difficulties recovering from the fire and death of his wife, died a year later, leaving the refurbishing of the house to his eldest son, Thomas Charles Robartes. So the Victorian style home we saw was what was done by him.
Thomas and his wife, Mary, had 10 children. That's right, 10! Holy shit that's a lot. Sadly, one of them only made it to 6 months. They didn't tell us that at the house though, I just read it online.
His eldest son and heir, Tommy, never did get to inherit the house because he died in the war. What they don't really talk about much, the sweet lady in the on-site used bookstore explained to us, is that two other sons were in the war as well. One of whom died and the other, the youngest of them all, committed suicide after returning.
It was he that kinda interested me most. They say he was called "the baby" until the age of 6 and was the most sensitive of the boys. A poet. Seemed too appropriate as the runt thought of and referred to as the baby. Made me wonder which influenced which.
Anyway, because of the war taking the men away, only one of the daughters ended up marrying. The second eldest daughter was most driven to help people and became a nurse. She was also the most independent, they said, being the first of the family to drive a car herself.   
I'm still not clear on how many of their children were sons and how many daughters. They don't really go into detail about the youngest ones. Only the first and second born of each. So weird. Kind of sad, I would have liked that info to be available. But I know if I go back all I need to do is ask one of the stewards and they could probably give me all of that info.

Grounds at the front of the house.

 

There were visitors sitting and rolling all over the grass. It was wonderful!

These wooden trains were placed all around the house and moved regularly. They were for the kids to find - something to keep them occupied.

Massive billiards table inside the billiards room...go figure.

Tommy's room with the suitcase he took to war. Mark and I loved the painting of the "girl with a violin" above the fireplace. Apparently it was Tommy's favorite.

In the nursery was the most beautiful piano. If I could have taken anything from the house to keep for myself, this would have been my pick.

Bells all over the house to summon servants.

A beautiful screen. I just love it!

Attached to the kids/baby's bedroom...But I'm not sure who slept here. I'd assume one of the older daughters. I loved the furniture. It looks like it might have been from Asia.

See anyone familiar in the mirror?

Bell in the school room...I really hope this is the original one they used. It's awesome! We were told that the house has been kept as close to it's original state as possible, but you never know for sure.

Ah! I just love old suitcases!

Pretty table in the storage room of all places.

The rest of the storage room.

Hey!

The Lord's room...He did not share a bedroom or bathroom with his wife. They'd just periodically get together in her bed...We know it happened at least 10 times!

 Can you see the faces? We have no idea what these symbolize. Would have asked had a steward been in that room. Note to self: look that shit up!

Tapestry covering the walls. They have all different classes of people represented here. My favorite bit is the high five. See it?

 Tapestry close up. Why didn't I get the high five?!

 The Bible is depicted on the entire ceiling in the "library" that was more or less an everything room. Games, reading, social gatherings area. 

 Here you have Cain and Abel battling it out.

I read online that there's only one living relative left and they live in a cottage somewhere on the property, but I'm not sure if that's still true or not.

We went back yesterday to explore their gardens. Didn't have time first trip. I'll post those pics later.

At the moment I type this from inside the VW (converted into) camper van we just purchased Wednesday. We'll be doing our WWOOFing travels in this old granny. I love her! Pictures on the way! Stay tuned...