So back at the end of May, beginning of June, I went away on holiday to Tintagel in Cornwall. When I booked my holiday, I decided to go away for the whole week. It’s the longest time I’ve been away on holiday since having my PTE operation. I was somewhat apprehensive about being so far away from home.
However, being away for the week was a massive accomplishment for me as I worry about being ill when I’m away from home. The last time I was away for a week was back in August 2016 and from what I remember of this holiday is that I was far too ill to be there and which in turn caused me a whole heap of trouble. If I had known at the time that I was walking around with heart failure and a medical condition called CTEPH which could have killed me, then I would never had gone. I guess in my mind I wanted to carry on doing the things I enjoyed but by this point, it was far too difficult for me to walk very far. The trauma from this time, gives me anxiety, but this time I managed to get over the awful feelings of that time and put it behind me.
When I arrived in Tintagel, it was around half past 5, so this left me using that time in the early evening to recover from the journey to Cornwall. I became accustomed with my surroundings and made myself a late lunch. I felt quite at peace with the beautiful surroundings even though a storm began to brew. It was funny that evening as we had thunderstorms at night. As Tintagel feels like a mythical place, I just thought it was a Cornish weather thing. Later on, I found out from back home that the storms had been quite bad. I find myself quite amusing now and a bit dippy at best! But this is me all over.
The many days I spent in Cornwall, I did some major venturing out. On the Sunday, I decided that I would venture down the road to Tintagel Castle. Tintagel is a quaint little village on the North Coast of Cornwall. It is renowned for it’s association with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The main attraction there is the Castle ruins which stands on the high cliffs. Arriving there, you can almost feel that it’s a mystical place to be. As I began to walk the hillside path down towards the bridge of the castle, I began to wonder how on earth I would walk back up when I had finished. Luckily for me, I spotted that there are Land Rovers that will take you up and down the footpath. This was a good thing to know, as by the time I’d finished my tour around the castle ruins, I was in no fit state to get back up.
One of the many challenges I face now after having had surgery, is my ability to walk up hills. Some people make think it’s too much of a challenge so won’t attempt it. However, me being me, I’ll try anyway. When I actually arrived at the bottom of the cliff to the castle, I found it somewhat daunting as I didn’t think I’d be able to get up the steps to the top. So I spent the first 5 minutes at the bottom of the cliff psyching myself up. Eventually, I began the walk. Thankfully because the steps are narrow, people had to stop start, which was a good thing for me as I would have found it hard to get to the top with people behind me. Eventually, when I arrived at the first section of the castle, I needed to stop as I was starting to struggle to breathe and could feel my heart pounding out of my body. I sat for at least ten minutes, whilst taking everything in around me.
After achieving getting this far, I knew I must carry on. So each part of the cliff that I continued to walk up, I made sure I took my time and had rest breaks. What I wanted to see more than anything, was the bronze statue of what I interpret to be King Arthur and Excalibur. I think it’s up to the viewer to decided what the statue represents.
Moving on from the myth of King Arthur, I visited many other places, which all had their fare share of hills. Another beautiful place I visited and very much enjoyed was Port Issac. I didn’t see Doc Martin though, as this place is associated with the programme on ITV. Port Issac is quite hilly. I decided it was a great idea parking at the main car park, which getting back to when your legs are in pain, isn’t the best. However, I have learnt where it is best to park for future reference. Port Issac is a an idyllic fishing village with many little quirky shops. I like those little shops with little unique gifts. I spent my money on a Port Issac sweatshirt and mug.
Whilst I was in Cornwall, I also visited some National Trust properties, as I always do now I am a member. I visited a place called Lanhydrock, which is near to Bodmin. Lanhydrock is a magnificent late Victorian country house and estate. In 1881 the house suffered a devastating fire. However, the house was refurbished in high Victorian style by its then owners.
I enjoyed many things that week, but what I enjoyed the most was getting back some normality in my life. As I have had a life saving operation, it is important to me to do all the things that were before too hard for me to do. Yes, I still find a lot of things trying or exhausting but this time I feel like I’ve been given back my life so why waste what I do have. I have distal clots which affect my ability to walk up hills and for walking long periods of time, but I still try at my own pace which is comfortable for me to do. I think this is what helps me each day - knowing what my capabilities are and limits, which I didn’t listen to before.
Thanks for reading.
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