Day 5 Monday 18th May 2009. A day trip to Looe

Day 5. Monday 18th May 2009. A day trip to Looe.
We had to get up early; breakfast at 7am; walked to the Tower Hill Tube Station and caught the eastbound train about 8:15am for Paddington. The train was packed; we arrived at Paddington ½ hour later. On alighting John set of a fast clip for the long-distance train platforms. We are using our Brit rail pass for the first day; it entitles us to a first class carriage; they really are luxurious; very comfortable; Fay and I have a table between us with a power point for my computer. We boarded the train at 9am and set off soon after for Plymouth. The day was fine to start but the skies soon clouded over threatening rain. Our train has a top speed of 125mph (200kph) and we soon reached the open countryside with its rolling hills, cattle grazing and wheat crops. Large towns with masses of similar looking houses all crowded together interrupted the green fields; from time to time we passed by a narrow canal in the fields where quite a number of long house barges were moored. We travelled along the southern coastline for a short time before reaching Plymouth at 12:25pm. We alighted and moved to the end of the platform where a two carriage railcar was waiting. We boarded and left at 12:37pm; it was headed for Liskeard which we arrived at 1:05pm. Fay spotted a fox in a fields and I spotted four rabbits in another. We changed yet again to another rail car this time it had only one carriage which seated 68; on this railcar we travelled along a long winding tree-lined valley occasionally glimpsing farmland and building. Eventually a small tidal river appeared on our right hand side. This led us to the small coastal resort and fishing village of Looe. We arrived at 1:45pm. Our return train leaves at 2:58pm so we only had a short time to explore the town. I have not taken many photographs lately but this little town had me snapping right, left and centre. The town built on hillsides on both side of a tidal river which was no more than approximately 100 metres wide. At the foot of the hills was a narrow strip of road lined each side with many small shops. We saw about ten bread and pastry shops with attractive food baked on the premises. People spilled from the narrow footpaths onto the road. Fortunately the car drivers were very patient and waited for us to move out of the way; we walked all the way through the town to the river mouth and open sea. Many small pleasure boats were moored in the river except at the Fishermans wharf. There was a nice white sanded beach sheltered from the open sea. People were walking along the beach but not swimming. The weather was fine and sunny. We had taken twenty five minutes to walk through to the sea. As we retraced our way back to the train station I could not resist a Cornish pastry and a scone. The shop keeper impressed me; he knew how to say the word “scone” (as in stone); he was the only person I have heard do so. The pasty was nice with its shredded potato, onion and leek with tender steak pieces. It did not ooze greasy fat as is my experience with our NZ pasties. Our single carriage 76 seated railcar left at 2:58pm; our stay was all too short but well worth the long journey. The weather had cleared and the country side from Plymouth to London was bathed in the late afternoon sun made it more beautiful. We arrived back at Paddington at about 7:15pm.Instead of travelling back to our hotel by tube John though it would be a great idea to go by bus and see the sights. The bus was delayed and instead of a frequency of ten minutes we had to wait 50 minutes. Never mind the 60 minute trip was full of interest as we passed many recognisable landmarks. I just managed to get a snapshot of Nelsons column without Nelsons head. The trip to Looe which has a population of 5,280 was well worth the long trip.