Everyone who comes to Cornwall has to do it sometime. Yes, on Saturday we travelled to Land's End: the southernmost tip of mainland Britain.
So, first up, we went into a 3-D cinema to watch an animation about a pirate. Not only did we have the special glasses, but our chairs were jolted in sympathy with rough seas and falling in fights. Also: we got sprayed in the face for splashy bits, bubbles shot up beside us when our heroine fell underwater and - (most unpleasantly of all)- when a horrid skeleton was animated and clutched at our heroine's legs underwater, a nasty thing scrabbled at our legs, too! (I looked under the chairs later and saw a plastic cord like a whipper-snipper string. A bit harder, and our legs could have been cut! Wayne missed it because he'd stretched his legs out, and Eleanor had put her feet up on the chair.) Anyway, it was good fun, and Eleanor voted it the best thing of the day.
We had a bit to eat at a cafe, then went for a walk along the cliff. It is a beautiful coastline. We stingily did not pay to use the telescopes, or to get our photo taken professionally near a sign. Generously, another sign said we could look at whatever wildlife was around for free - how kind! I did look intently at the plant life, different from my last 
coast walk. Lots of heath, much of it in deep purple flower. It was like a fan quilt of purple, dark green , the occasional khaki colour and the odd embroidery of a long grass feathering over it... There were many interestingly piled rocks, too. I saw wild thyme, and something that looked like blue clover. (I must dig out my wildflower book again.) Most people were not checking out the plants and animals. They were taking the kids for a Day Out, or Doing Cornwall... lots of chubby people in flimsy shoes. The girls and I were a bit conspicuous in our walk
ing boots. There was a 
playground there, too. (See Annie on the Flying
Fox.)
It was about 1 1/2 hours in the car. The children thought this ages - they have forgotten about distances in Australia, it seems, and are going to get a nasty shock when they get back home. Anyway, there is really plenty to see out the window, from great huge white windmills near Redruth to various stone cottages which I never tire of seeing. Near Land's End the gardens stopped being so bright - perhaps from salty sea spray or something.
The first sign of Land's End are great parking lots for coaches. That is an indication of what this is all about - tourist central. If you are 'doing' England in a hurry, this is a spot to tick off. Luckily, although it is summer, it is not the holidays so the place was not packed. There were cornish pasty shops and an icecream shop not open because full capacity was not reached. We had to pay to park, and pay to get into the tourist attractions.
So, first up, we went into a 3-D cinema to watch an animation about a pirate. Not only did we have the special glasses, but our chairs were jolted in sympathy with rough seas and falling in fights. Also: we got sprayed in the face for splashy bits, bubbles shot up beside us when our heroine fell underwater and - (most unpleasantly of all)- when a horrid skeleton was animated and clutched at our heroine's legs underwater, a nasty thing scrabbled at our legs, too! (I looked under the chairs later and saw a plastic cord like a whipper-snipper string. A bit harder, and our legs could have been cut! Wayne missed it because he'd stretched his legs out, and Eleanor had put her feet up on the chair.) Anyway, it was good fun, and Eleanor voted it the best thing of the day.
We had a bit to eat at a cafe, then went for a walk along the cliff. It is a beautiful coastline. We stingily did not pay to use the telescopes, or to get our photo taken professionally near a sign. Generously, another sign said we could look at whatever wildlife was around for free - how kind! I did look intently at the plant life, different from my last 
coast walk. Lots of heath, much of it in deep purple flower. It was like a fan quilt of purple, dark green , the occasional khaki colour and the odd embroidery of a long grass feathering over it... There were many interestingly piled rocks, too. I saw wild thyme, and something that looked like blue clover. (I must dig out my wildflower book again.) Most people were not checking out the plants and animals. They were taking the kids for a Day Out, or Doing Cornwall... lots of chubby people in flimsy shoes. The girls and I were a bit conspicuous in our walk
ing boots. There was a 
playground there, too. (See Annie on the Flying
Fox.)Next up we went to the Doctor Who exhibition. Nothing to do with Cornwall or coasts, but what the heck. It was a bit like Madame Tussauds. So, here are lots of pictures of us hamming it up. Wayne missed my look of terror put on for the stone angel, and just got the giggle. Hmmph! There are more pics which I will make Wayne put on Flickr.
We then went for a look at an exhibition on British coastlines, which was a bit tame after scarey monsters, but we had the tickets... Then something about Navy rescues and coast guards. I thought this would be really boring, but we watched quite an interesting video about a sea rescue. It was made more realistic by sitting us on boat-like seats that rocked and juddered in sympathy with the action. Thank goodness no one
was sea sic
k.
was sea sic
k. 
We walked along another bit of coast to a little animal petting place, to look at rabbits and so on. (Strangely surrealistic on the rugged coast, but this is all about the kiddies...) Then it was an ice cream before going home. It was a funny sort of day, but I think the kids did enjoy it more than our usual walks. Wayne and I had fun too, really. Sometimes you have to have these days!
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