A lovely break in Liskeard
A quick post about our time in England with my family before we begin our homeward journey tomorrow. It has been a really lovely couple of weeks staying with my parents at their house in Liskeard, being visited often by my sister and her three kids who have seemingly fallen in love with their new cousin.
The youngest of those kids is now almost six but my sister had kept some baby things to help us, so we had a pushchair and a high chair for Kevin. It’s been so nice to have him sit in his own chair to eat and he is progressing with finger foods and developing so much. And the pushchair, well that has given an opportunity for a whole new range of cute baby photos:
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One thing we did with my parents was to visit the seaside on the south Cornish coast. I still don’t want to use cars, so it’s lucky there is a train connection down to Looe. It was a nice train ride and a nice day at the seaside, where Dea got to sample fish and chips and then later some cream tea and scones. A very English day out.
A less easy excursion was to visit my sister’s cottage in the countryside. It was only a few miles away but getting there without using a car was tricky given that our bikes were in Ludo’s basement and there were obviously no trains. Taking a bus was okay, but they had recently cut the bus services and now no buses stopped by her cottage during the day. The cottage was on a kind of busy and narrow country road, so walking along it with Kevin was not on. I didn’t give up though and eventually discovered on a UK footpath website map a public bridleway that connected from a bus stop a kilometre away almost directly to my sister’s home. “That’s just a cow field,” she told me, but it was our only option.
Waiting for the bus.
The bus ride was kind of terrifying on the narrow roads with a driver who might have been having her first day at work. Kevin also pooped so once we were off the bus we had to change him at the side of the road. But then the fun could begin. We were off on the bridleway. It began, ominously, with a gate into a cow farm.
Then it got rocky.
Then there was another gate.
Then it got rockier and I had to take Kevin out and carry him while Dea pushed the stroller. Then we got lost.
We weren’t sure which way to go but then we saw two people walking down through the cow field who told us the way.
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By now I think Dea was getting a bit frustrated with the things I make her do. But it remains important for me to try and prove you can manage without a car, even when everyone else thinks it’s impossible. And now we were through the worst of it and had a great view over a valley, a view we would have missed out on in a car.
We were soon at my sister’s cottage, feeling pleased with ourselves for making it as the rain began to fall outside. Mind you, we were also pleased that there was a bus back that left from outside the cottage.
Overall it was a fantastic couple of weeks. So nice to see my family of course, and spend time with them for the first time in far too long.
It has also felt like a really nice break for us, a proper holiday. Treks through cow fields aside, it has been a relaxing time. Dea has even found time to knit me and Kevin matching hats, although she ran out of wool towards the end, so Kevin’s is a little small. But so cute!
So it has been a really lovely time. But certain aspects of life here have made us miss home. The narrow roads that make cycling dangerous, for example, have us longing for the Danish bike paths. And, despite the nice countryside around Liskeard, our walks with Kevin have been on a narrow footpath next to a quite busy road, making us really appreciate the forest paths we have right outside our own home. Sometimes it’s good to leave for a while to gain some perspective and to appreciate what it is we have at home in Denmark.
Most of all we leave here with such a strong feeling of gratitude. To have this family here in England who love and support us, who we can so easily feel relaxed and at home with. And to have all the good things we have in Denmark waiting for us, to have had this journey together, and most of all of course to have Kevin and the promise of so many more good things to come.
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