Dougal's Dog Blog. Entry 13: Valley Truckle, Cornwall
Valley Truckle was the last of our quartet of Club Sites in Cornwall.
I've heard that some Humans are a little reticent to visit this lovely county because of the narrow country lanes. It's true, at one point The Human That I Own was forced to reverse his own tin can on wheels a couple of hundred yards back into a passing place when faced with five cars coming the other way all following a twit who couldn't reverse his car solo. But we made it without a scrape. Just as well… he would have been unbearable if he'd dented his tin can.
So if site access is an issue for you, I have some wonderful news. Not only is Valley Truckle a great place to base yourselves for all the local attractions, but access is simplicity itself as it's only a hop, skip, and jump from the main road. No problem getting an RV the size of a bus into this site!
My first impression of the dog walk was not a favourable one… just a small rectangle of fenced-in grass bordering the road. It was enough for a 'comfort break' and even a game of ball, but that was about it.
Fortunately we found a nice triangular walk from the site… walk along the lane a couple of hundred yards or so to the holiday park, follow the public footpath across the fields, then when you hit the next lane return to the site. It takes about 15 minutes, although it took us a lot longer as I met a new friend in the field and we had a wonderful time playing together.
We went for a short drive to the nearby port of Boscastle. How we love Boscastle! The first night we went for a meal in the Cobweb Inn, a pub that the lovely wardens recommended to us. It was great! I really liked it in there, and we really liked the helpful staff.
The next day we went back to Boscastle as there is a nice walk along the river and up into the valley. We had great fun, rounded off at the Sails Cafe in the village. It's rare to find a cafe (as opposed to a pub) that is so dog friendly. Not only did His Most Portliness enjoy a stonking cream tea, but I was given free doggie biscuits too! Full marks!
Less impressive was Bodmin Jail. It calls itself dog-friendly, and while I was allowed on the tour I wasn't allowed in to the bar or into the restaurant. So the Human didn't eat there. Their loss. Mind you, I don't think missing out on yet another cream tea is exactly going to hurt him.
Despite the lack of elaborate dog walk on site, the dog-friendliness of Boscastle and a few of the local pubs in Camelford (which, sadly, we didn't get the chance to try) earns Valley Truckle a total of four bones out of five.
