11th September started by visiting Truro. We had skirted around the town the previous year, but felt as the weather was a little unsettled, it may be the ideal time to do a little shopping and have a meal before we headed to our final destination in Charlestown near St Austell. We had seen Broadmeadow House on a review of the 10 best campsites in Cornwall on the Guardian Website. It seemed to tick the box for Mandy and I, with very limited numbers of campers allowed at any one time, and amazing views of St Austell Bay.
We arrived at Charlestown and pulled up outside a nice cottage at the end of a quaint street. We had been text by the owner ‘Debs’ earlier on in the day with accurate directions and a question about the type of beverage we would like in our welcome basket. We proceeded through two gates and up a very steep hill into the camping field. The van struggled with traction on the incline on a couple of occasions with the wheels spinning just shy of the top. But eventually we got there and parked up at the lower part of the field.
We knew that the winds were going to pick up at some point during our three night stop, and there was almost certainly going to be some rain, but I felt the views out to sea and around the bay were more than going to make up for any unsettled weather we might have. Never the less everything was secured down in anticipation.
We had done a little research about the small town before we arrived, and it seemed interesting, although we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. The afternoon of our arrival saw us going for a short walk to try and put the campsite into some context with the surroundings.
That evening we saw an amazing sunset, but as predicted this was shortly followed by wind and rain.
Well this pretty much set the scene as far as weather was concerned for the duration of our stay, but we were lucky that the indoor attraction of the Shipwereck Museum provided shelter for a morning during the worst stint of rain, and a number of restaurants, galleries and tearooms bridged the gaps during the odd shower. We also paid to have a look around the harbor which was the berthing place for some very old ships and the filming of some of Poldark. We chose to visit the harbor on our last day, but were advised that we wouldn’t be able to get to the quayside until afternoon due to a ship entering port.
We woke up Wednesday morning and looked out into the bay to see the tall masts of an old ship. We had a shower and breakfast, and rushed down just in time to catch the ship entering. Not something you see every day.
We pootled around for the rest of the morning having a coffee and perusing the shops. We had eaten at a restaurant the previous day called Wreckers which had a great menu (and cider) so we chose to eat there for a second time while we waited for the harbor to open.
I must admit I did question why we had paid for a walk around the harbor when we could see it from a short distance away, but it was interesting. You could walk onto and around an old ship, and there was a fair bit of information to read about the history of the port / harbor. 
Anyways, I was more than impressed with Charlestown, and both Mandy and I plan to return at some point in the not too distant future. Next Stop. Totnes..
