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Birthday Cakes And A Walk On Bodmin Moor

ByChoclette 9th July 20128th June 2022

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There’s nothing quite like a good long walk in the fresh air followed by cake to replenish all those calories. This half century celebration included a bracing walk on Bodmin Moor followed by a massive afternoon tea, including lots of birthday cakes.

Choclette sitting in the Devil's Chair on Stowe's Hill, Bodmin Moor.

I had such a lovely day yesterday. Amazingly, it was dry and even more amazingly the sun shone for much of the time. My choice for celebrating such a momentous occasion and ignoring the gruesomely significant number of years I seemed to have survived thus far was by going for a good stomp around my home turf, Bodmin Moor.

This was followed by tea at my Mother’s (the house where I grew up).

Luckily, I managed to rope in a few other kindly souls to join me. Some managed part or all of the walk, some managed the tea and some managed both.

The Bodmin Moor Walk

I’d planned a figure of eight walk around Caradon Hill and Stowe’s Hill. This meant people could join at points convenient to them. It’s also an ace walk and one of my favourite’s. I’ve been doing it since I was a child.

This is CT’s map of the route. It may look a bit like a snowman, but it’s not. Not in July anyway.

At Minions, we stopped for a cup of tea and to stock up on locally made Cornish pasties for our picnic lunch. To my surprise I was greeted by some friends bearing a splendid banner atop a bamboo pole hewn from their moorland garden. How magnificent was that?

After daring the Devil’s Chair and enjoying the stunning views upon Stowe’s Hill, we found a sheltered spot to eat by the Cheesewring. If you’ve not been to this part of Bodmin Moor, it’s a rather impressive stack of granite boulders teetering on the edge of a precipice.

Feast of Birthday Cakes

Later, there was of course, plenty of cake. A whole variety of birthday cakes indeed. The worry of having to squish everyone into my mother’s cottage for afternoon tea was allayed as we were all able to sit outside and enjoy the lovely weather.

My industrious aunts, visiting from up country, helped my mother to provide a gargantuan repast including a spectacular chocolate birthday cake soaked in brandy. This was the kind of tea that never stopped – no supper required.

I did of course make a few contributions, including birthday cakes, myself. As follows:

Birthday Cakes And More

Rose and strawberry Victoria sponge cake – you can’t have afternoon tea without a Victoria sandwich. It’s my mum’s favourite cake after all.
Raspberry curd & white chocolate cupcakes –
Lemon curd cupcakes – I don’t have a recipe for these, but I do have one for lemon coconut cakes. I’ve used lemon curd in the topping.
Chocolate friands – again I don’t have the exact recipe for these. They were gluten free though. I have several gluten-free friand recipes, including these choc chip vegan friands.
Cornish splits – yes there are scones, but a true Cornish afternoon tea is not complete without Cornish splits. Just pile on the jam and clotted cream.
Chocolate drizzled peanut butter cookies – I’ve tried a few chocolate and peanut butter cookies in my time, but these are the best.
Spinach & feta filo pastries – this recipe isn’t the exact one I used. However it’s hard to go wrong with these delicious Greek snacks.

So in conclusion to the day’s events, I suggest that my chronological age takes a hike, just like I did.

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you’ve ever been to my part of Bodmin Moor, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

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Choclette x