'Wander a whole summer if you can ... time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening it, it will definitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal.' John Muir
Sometimes I need to get away to somewhere quiet. Yes, even quieter than Loseley which can be a very noisy location. I have my own special place. Somewhere beautiful. Somewhere deep in the Cornish countryside.
I stumbled across this brilliant campsite in a glossy magazine. Looking at the website I was drawn in by the short video clip of grandpa riding a bicycle backwards. I don't think the clip exists anymore, but the website and the farm do. www.botelet.com
I can't afford anything more than camping in my own tent. But that is all I need. This is a campsite like no other. A proper field which has been left to grow wild. There are no special camping facilities, just a stone sink to wash dishes in and toilet and a shower built into one of the outbuildings.
It is the rustic beauty of the farm itself that inspires me. The wandering chickens. The old stone buildings and weather worn paint. I feel like I can unwind and look at this grand story book of creation. I am reminded of John Muir again. ( When I get to heaven I am going to hunt that man down and introduce myself to him!)
'I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.'
I can feel myself unwinding. Relaxing. Taking deep breaths of sunshine and Cornish air. I love being outside.
Here is a quote from Khalil Gibran on houses or rather more appropriately, getting outside.
' ... verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral
... for that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of the night.'
There are never more than a few campers at one time, lots of space to spread out and enjoy the peace. This old camper van coughed and spluttered its way into the field. A young couple on their way back from St Ives, breaking up their journey before returning to London.
' Would that I could gather your houses into my hand, and like a sower scatter them in forest and meadow. Would the valleys were your streets and the green paths your alleys, that you might seek one another through vineyards, and come with the fragrance of the earth in your garments.'
Khalil Gibran
At Botelet you will fall to sleep at night to the sound of owls and if you should dare to take the pastoral walk to the toilet in the deep damp darkness, up above will be a million stars, shining brilliant with nothing to subdue them.
I was interested to find out that John Wesley came to this farm and preached here. The Cornish villages and valleys are filled with Methodist chapels.
If it should rain, which is highly likely, this old train carriage makes a great lounge area to sit with a book and watch the rain falling.
At this point I would like to write out a few lines from a John Denver song ...
'You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest, like the mountains in Spring time, like a walk in the rain, like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean, you fill up my senses, come fill me again. '
I spent a very happy few hours filling up my senses here watching the rain, listening to it drumming on the roof and feeling absorbed by the beauty of so much moisture falling in tumbling curtains, swirling all around me.
Not very far down the road is the coast and the wonderful cliff walk from Lansallos to Polperro. It takes a couple of hours each way and is perfect for a days outing. Walk over to Polperro, eat a pub lunch at the back of Pilchards Inn where there is the most stunning view over the harbour. (Watch out for the seagulls trying to steal lunch.) Walk home and take a dip in Lansallos to wipe away the dirt of the day.
Walking from Lansallos in the other direction you will come to Fowey. One year we were lucky enough to be around for the Red arrows display. The spectacle is watched from a hill overlooking the harbour. With the harbour full of boats it is an amazing thing to watch the planes dip and roll, sometimes roaring in from behind and skimming over the crowds.
After the Red Arrow display had finished the children in the crowd started blowing bubbles. I loved the effect these bubbles had as they drifted down the hill. Cornwall is a beautiful place and camping is a great way to reconnect with nature. With this thought I will leave you.
'And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.'
John Muir