All very British

Sunday 21st. There is a private path down to the beach which passes one of the original camper vans in the grounds. 

The path was quite long, very narrow and overgrown and straight down the side of the cliff. 

But, in the end, well worth the trouble. 

An empty beach as far as the eye could see. 

We watched a skua diving again and again into the water in search of breakfast. Sometimes it lifted straight off again, other times sitting on the water, probably sorting out its catch. 

The beach was littered with driftwood and we were told that the locals would tie a rope to any piece they wanted and that would be theirs. Woe betide anyone else who commandeered that particular piece! 

Rather than face a long climb back up to the retreat, we walked along the beach into Collingwood where we stopped for tea, coffee and a cheese scone. 

I wonder, do the names Nelson and Collingwood ring any bells? Well they should since Collingwood was Nelson's second in command at the Battle of Trafalgar and in 1857 it was decided that Collingwood would be the nations capital. Plans were drawn up in London with street names like Orion and Excellence, with squares and parks all named and laid out. The only problem was that it never happened. There are still in Collingwood roads that are called paper roads. They are legal roads, drawn up on paper but never adopted by any town council. Also, the planners in London took no account of contours and drew straight lines on maps probably made by Captain Cook. So these paper roads go straight up one side of a hill and straight down the other. No gentle bends for them. 

We walked back along the old roads past their historic cemetery where the plans for Collingwood were displayed. 

We could also look over the fields which were to have been the centre of the town. 

In the evening we drove to the Mussel Inn for another excellent supper. 

When we got back the full moon was shining out across the bay.