Friday 11 June: Crantock and Fistral Beach

  A nearby pheasant joins in the 4:30 dawn chorus just to make sure we’re fully awake! Sleeping “upstairs” is like being in a tent so we get the full benefit of this spectacular start to the day. It’s warm enough to eat breakfast on the picnic table and then we head off in walking gear towards Polly Joke and then the poppy/marigold/yellow rape fields near West Pentir. At Crantock beach we can cross the Gannel on the little footbridge as it’s a spring low tide at 1 pm. Up the steep steps and we are pounced on at the cafe (we’re not sure whether we should have paid to cross at the bridge) and have a very nasty coffee which after a few sips I pour on the nearby valerian before heading off to Fistral beach. Lots of surfers in the water. We reach the headland and eat our picnic and are swooped on by seagulls.

Back across the higher bridge over the Gannel and then to Crantock where we buy some asparagus (UK) and grapes (Chile). The G7 is in full session now. Apparently it cost £7m to lengthen the runway at Newquay just to allow Airforce 1 to land so that Biden could arrive in Cornwall. According to the guy in the Treago campsite shop Biden is staying on a USA warship moored of Falmouth and then helicoptered in to Carbis Bay. So he doesn’t even stay on UK soil. The Times reports on the fashion items that Carrie Johnson and Jill Biden are wearing. Clare is wearing Fatface camping cropped trousers ( 20+ years old) and White Stuff fleece. Asparagus (fresh) and  pasta with 4 cheese sauce (M&S jar) for supper. The queen and G7 leaders are eating (amongst other delicacies) Cornish wild garlic pesto tonight at the Eden project. Their breath will be awful tomorrow!