Truro Cathedral, photo credit: Flickr

I obsess about trip planning. There are times when I’ve been known to research a destination so deeply that I’m stymied by all the possible things to see and do when we get there. Inevitably, I find I need to step back, think about the goal of the trip whether it’s relaxation, sightseeing or visiting family and then formulate an overall itinerary building in plenty of options and flexibility – because when you travel with children, flexibility is key. Here’s the itinerary I’ve come up with for our upcoming trip to the U.K.:

• Day 0 (evening): Depart Seattle on overnight flight to Heathrow.
• Day 1 (midday): Arrive Heathrow, take the HeathrowConnect train to Paddington, and the train from Paddington to Truro. Arrive Truro approximately 20 hours after leaving Seattle. Whew!
• Day 2: Explore Penryn and possibly Truro – although all sightseeing in the afternoon could be sidelined to watch the Ireland Vs Scotland rugby match Since this will be our first full day in this time zone, I expect that we’ll all be tired from the journey and hence it doesn’t make sense to try to plan a busy day. But, fresh air and exercise walking and exploring these towns, will help with everyone’s jet-lag and hopefully ensure that we all get a good night’s sleep.
• Day 3: Visit the Eden Project and take a short driving tour of the Lizard Peninsula.
• Day 4: A day devoted to King Arthur. Although realistically, I think we’ll only have time for Tintagel, Camelford and Dozmary Pool. BigB really is beside himself at the prospect of ‘seeing’ the Lady of the Lake.
• Day 5: Hike Bodmin Moor. This is an easy 4-mile hike in beautiful countryside and, hey, it’s a moor, so I can have a Kate Bush moment where I can belt out Heathcliff at the top of my out-of-tune lungs – most likely to the WanderDad’s consternation. (And yes, I do know that Wuthering Heights was set on the Yorkshire Moors, but hey, you’ve got to adapt when you’re traveling).
• On Day 6 & 7 we’ll be at a family event and we’ll be back in Seattle by bedtime on Day 8. A short, but busy trip.

Attractions on my ‘oh-I-wish-we-could-squeeze-that-in-too’ list include: the National Maritime Museum, the Heligan Gardens and any number of other interesting castles, parks and other places. But, cramming our days too full will leave no time to just wander which is our favorite way to travel. If you’ve got a must-see attraction or destination in Cornwall, let me know – and hopefully we’ll be able to add it to our plans.

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