Having too much fun to notice the rain

It's been a few months since I saw my Aunty Molly, Gran Deme and Great Gran Spice, so being a bank holiday, we all got together for a wonderful woodland walk.  The walk was new to me but Molly (who is my favourite playmate) showed me where all the best places were to explore. 

Molly and I searching for sticks

The woods start at Treslothan Church (near Troon) and run in the direction of Camborne.  These feel like secret woods as they're quite tucked away, making them all the more special.  Being May, the woods were deep in bluebells, wild garlic, whitebells and the trees were lime green with new leaves.  There's a steam meandering through the trees to make this woodland all the more fun. 

Where's Wolly?? Can you see me??

 Of course I was the muddiest first, but it didn't matter because Molly and I were before long splashing in and out of the stream.  Molly searches for sticks in the water and on the river bank, she picks up the best ones, while I wait patiently for her to drop them.  I then swoop in and run off while she chases me. 



Apparently it was raining heavily while we were having our walk but I didn't notice.  I think Great Gran Spice was struggling a little in the rain, taking just a little longer to catch us up than usual.  Great Gran and I have a special bond though as she looked after me when my mum died when I was just a few days old.  My posh show name is 'Santandore Spice's Samson' in her honour.  She's a legend. 

In a few weeks I'm off on my holidays to stay with Molly, Deme and Spice and can't wait for all the adventures we'll have together. 

Great Gran Spice (left) Aunty Molly (back centre) Gran Deme (front centre) Me (right)

Rosemullion - Where bluebell covered hills meet the sea

Walk Length: 30 minutes

Muddy Rating: Winter - Moderate/Summer-Not Very

This extremely pretty circular walk is best in summer on a sunny day, but can also be a dramatic coastal walk in winter.

To start this walk we always park on the church side of the tiny hamlet of Mawnan.  The footpath is down a track beside the last house in the hamlet (church side) and will bring you in a large loop back up past Mawnan Church.  Although it doesn't matter much to me, mum and dad prefer to start the walk from the Mawnan end rather than the church end because of the VERY steep hill. 


The footpath quickly opens up into a field.  Today there were lots of cows but too far away for me to have to go on my lead.  I could charge about to my hearts content.  I love to run really fast down the steep hill towards the sea, and sometimes have a little difficulty stopping.  Mum and Dad take ages walking carefully down the hill so I run up and down, up and down, and get very tired!!

Taking the footpath at the bottom right of the field, you can follow the South West Coast Path towards Mawnan Church.  The path in spring and summer is always full of colour from the wildflowers.  Today the bluebells stretched down the hill to the turquoise sea below, and the hedgerows were full of pink, blue and white. 

 

Once the path enters the wooded area, there is a steep incline and steps up towards the church.  Mawnan Church is pretty and worth a look if you have time.   Follow the road and it brings you back to your starting point. 



This is such a pretty area and there are lots of coves where dogs are allowed and pretty view points to have a picnic on a nice day.



Running with Dad

Dad is something of a sporadic runner.  Sometimes he goes out twice a week, and sometimes he goes out every two months.  When I'm really lucky I get to go running with Dad.  I think he likes me tagging along as it means when I stop to sniff he can stop and catch his breath. 

 

 

Over the past few weeks we've had some lovely weather so Dad and I have been doing what we call 'the circuit' close to our home.  It's mostly off road through fields and down tracks and due to the recent sunshine, all the beautiful flowers have sprung in to bloom. 

 

 



The sweetest smelling daffodils are in full bloom, the blue bells are carpeting the hedgerows and woodlands, and the bees are buzzing in the hawthorn blossom.


There's only one draw back from all this sunshine.....no MUD. Dad and I would usually come home from our run covered in mud but even that has finally dried up.  Oh well - just means I'll need to get dad and mum to take me to the river or sea more often!!

My feline friend

Now I know this is supposed to be a blog about me and my muddy adventures but I just wanted to take a moment to write about my feline friend. 

I've shared my youth and my home with a crazy cat called Leo.  Leo and I have always got on well, despite the fact that he does bully me from time to time and I have to run and hide behind mum for protection. 

In recent weeks, Leo, who's always been a cat of extremes (check out his aerial walking) has this week taken on the extreme sleep spot challenge.  Like most cats, he manages to get shut in the cupboard under the stairs from time to time, or perhaps shut in the toy chest by mistake.  However, it's now at a whole new extreme level!  Extremely odd that is!!

Leo has this week been found sleeping in the bottom of the firewood basket.........



















In the baby carrier backpack.......

 

And in the pushchair........

 

 



The pushchair is especially brave as mum goes mad if there's cat hair anywhere near the little person's things, so to actually get in and release an infinite number of hairs onto the pushchair takes a braver animal than me!!

I do love that crazy cat though! 

Finally it's swimming weather!!

It's been COLD forever!  There's been snow, ice and freezing winds and even I have been trying to stay dry and warm. It is for this reason I've not written my blog for some weeks

This time last year I'd been diving through fields ablaze with daffodils and digging in woods filled with bluebells, revelling in the sunshine.  However, so far this year I've not seen a single bluebell and the daffodils don't know if they're coming or going.

Finally though it seems the thaw has come and I can finally get back to what it is I enjoy best of all.....getting wet and muddy. 

We went down to one of my favourite spots at Loe Pool and despite an angry swan trying to chase me off, nothing was going to stop me swimming for sticks and bounding up and down in the shallows. 

It was so lovely to finally be warm enough to swim again.  Of course this now means that mum and dad have to put up with the smell of wet dog a lot more often, especially as at this time of year it can take me almost all day to dry off. Oh well!!

Fantastic views and a neolithic hut

Walk Length: 30 minutes
Muddy Rating: Not Very/moderate

We've been out Geocaching again and it's introduced us to a new walk.  Located between Laity, Wendron and Hendra, (OS reference SW692309) this walk centres around a monument marked on the Ordnance Survey map as Beacon Hut.  This ancient structure is thought to be either a ruined beehive hut or a neolithic chambered cairn.

     I tried to do some archaeological excavation to discover the truth about the hut by digging a big hole but unfortunately I failed to solve the mystery.  However, we did manage to find one of the three caches to be found on this walk.

 

The walk starts at the mast near beacon hut and takes you on a circular route though a series of fields before returning along a quiet lane to the starting place.  If you are geocaching there are lots to be found along the way, however, the views alone are worth the walk here, taking in much of the south coast from Porthleven to Falmouth.



Our first treasure hunting adventure

Have you ever heard of Geocaching?? Well today mum and I had our first Geocaching experience with great excitement!!

Mums friend, who's a children's book editor and knows about all sorts of weird and wonderful things, told her about the fun that can be had with Geocaching.  For those not in the know, it's a treasure hunt.  All over the world there are these little hidden packages called caches, which can be found using GPS and a few clues left by the person who deposited the cache.  Items inside the cache can be taken home, as long as you leave something of equil or greater value in its place. The clues and GPS coordinates can both be found on the Geocaching website and you can log when you too have found a cache.  Have a look at their website for more info. http://www.geocaching.com/

Anything that gets people outdoors and exploring their countryside is great in my opinion.  And of course us dogs can come too on all the treasure hunts. 

Mum and I looked up what caches were in our local area and to our surprise there are LOTS.  This means we have lots of new adventures to go on, which is so exciting. 

Today we went to one of our regular walking spots down at Porkellis Moor. It's crazy to think I've sniffed all around the moor and explored every nook and cranny, and there hiding amongst the mining remains for the past few years has been a cache with treasure inside.  Mum carefully pieced together clues and I helped by rushing around and digging holes in case it was buried. It didn't take long and mum found the cache.  I enjoyed opening the cache and sniffing what was inside.  There was a comedy sausage toy but I wasn't allowed it.  The little log book showed lots of people had also found the cache, the most recent only three days previously. 

Mum and I are now Geocaching fans and we shall be going on lots of treasure hunts in the future!! It's a great way to explore our local area and take us to places we may never have gone to before.