Boscastle and Birthdays

After our wonderful two days in Tintagel, we once again donned our backpacks--mine smelling strongly of Cornish pasty because I had foolishly put my leftovers in one of the pockets--and hiking shoes and trekked along the coast from Tintagel to our next seaside stop of Boscastle (which is a terribly misleading name because there is no castle there). 

We hiked all day along cliffs, but it seemed to be only a few minutes, the day was so pleasant. We arrived in Boscastle in the early evening, and it was a perfectly quaint seaside town. After our ever-predictable dinner of pasta, we made our way to the local pub, The Wellington Hotel, for a night of singing and suspicious sandwiches. Weekly, all the locals gather in the pub with their guitars and sing old songs well into the night. None of us knew any of the songs, but we joined in on the choruses with our own rather creative lyrics. It was a wonderfully brilliant time. 

Every year when my birthday comes round, I tell myself to not get excited, to treat it as though it were any other day, and not to tell everyone I meet that my special day is coming up. But I cannot help myself. Not in the slightest. I love birthdays, especially my own. Vain though it may be, I like celebrating my own life. I'm awful fond of my life. 

This being the case, the whole group was very aware that my birthday was the day after we after we arrived in Boscastle, and it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. Everyone was so kind to me all day long, and I never wanted it to end. I turned 23 in Boscastle, Cornwall, England. I'll never forget it. 

We left Boscastle that morning and made a stop at Stourhead Gardens, which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The British certainly know how to landscape. Also, there is a particular gazebo in this garden that features in the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice, which was a wonderfully romantic way to spend a birthday. 

Following our afternoon at Stourhead Gardens, we took the coach to Salisbury and began our marvelous adventures there. Outside of Salisbury, we toured the ruins of Old Sarum, which if I'm being honest, I'm not exactly certain of its significance. It was very old at least. Most of us walked around a bit and then sunbathed on the green. We're very appreciative of history. 

But it was such a marvelous birthday, and I spent it with the best people, in the best place in the world. That's mighty hard to beat. 

-KB