I was a tad worried when Karen mentioned that the accomodation that we were going to stay in at Boscastle used to be a pilchard cellar, but our apartment, The Clinker, turned out to be very pleasant.The best thing about The Clinker was the window with a special seat for bears right in front of it.  I spent quite a lot of time sat here while the humans did long walks (they say I am ‘too big’ to take everywhere)I saw many dogs (and humans) of all shapes and sizes walking by.  I even saw some bears.  When I spotted a little Merrythought bear outside looking up at me I ran downstairs to say hello.  He’s called Severn Bear and travels about extensively with his humans.  They took a photo of us together for Instagram.

I waved to Severn Bear as he continued with his travels…There was an interesting book in The Clinker with lots of photos of the places where the humans walk but don’t take me…One evening Karen announced that she thought the tide times were right to see the Boscastle blow hole in action (a place where water squirts out of a hole in the cliff).  I was very excited and waited patiently in the new bear carrier for transportation.When we arrived at the view point there were a few gushes of water, but not anything spectacular.  Karen thought it was probably better at some tides than others depending on the height of the tide etc. I still enjoyed watching the waves.The next day I posted a postcard to my Grand human on the way to the shops.Fortunately there was still room for me in the bag after stocking up on a few groceries.

I climbed out of the bag to take a closer look at this building.  It is The Harbour Lights cafe, and it was swept away when Boscastle was flooded in 2004.  It was rebuilt to look exactly the same as before.

After returning from another long walk the humans took me along to the National Trust cafe underneath our apartment with them.  Yum Yum YumRight next door the The Clinker there was a very old Lime Kiln. It isn’t used for heating lime anymore and makes an excellent hiding place for bears.The day that it rained was a bit of a problem as I didn’t have any wellies with me (I borrow Paddington’s at home).  I wanted to go for a little walk, so borrowed human walking boots.Here is a selfie of me at the end of the harbour.  I was feeling quite tired as the boots were quite heavy.  I kept going though as I wanted to give some money to the man collecting for National Coastwatch;  they keep an eye out for boats or people in the water or walking the coastpath that may need assistance.  In this photo you can see the white lookout station on the left in the distance. Boscastle is a splendid place with lots to see.  I was quite sad to wave goodbye at the end of our stay.

To find out more about National Coastwatch see http://www.nci.org.uk

Horace the Alresford Bear 10/9/16