Express & Star

Travel review: Cornwall

Russell Youll takes his daughter on a trip to Cornwall

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Picture perfect... there can be few prettier places for a weekend than Cornwall.

And add into that mix a few solid tips to get the best out of your holiday snaps and you're sure to return with some images to remember.

My 12-year-old daughter Emily and I took off down to England's most south-westerly county to visit the picturesque setting of Seaview Holiday Village.

And this place does exactly what it says on the tin. We had a fantastic view of the coast from our well-appointed static on this small and welcoming park situated between the harbour town of Looe and the pretty fishing village of Polperro.

But this wasn't any old get-away-to-the-seaside jaunt. We were armed with phones for this one.

Now anyone with a youngster of a certain age will know that a mobile phone is no longer a thing to use to make phone calls. Oh no, it is their entire world. Try to detach said appliance from their fingertips and you are likely to unleash fury.

Amazing

So,in the spirit of 'if you can't beat them, join them' this trip was tailor-made for us.

That's because Seaview issues its guests with some very handy tips from a professional photographer on how to frame their perfect pictures in this stunning part of the world – all tailored to today's world and the insatiable march of the cameraphone.

Fill the frame, think about your composition... all very simple stuff that is accessible to all. Oh, and one of the top tips – make sure the lens is clean! All invaluable for the seaside snapper.

There is no confusing guff about apertures and all that photography talk. This is basics aimed at holidaymakers to help them take home memories that are worth a space on the lounge wall.

And they work. Emily digested the information and she was off. A quick pic from our weekend base then anything and everything was captured. Our weekend life through a lens took on a new dimension.

Close-ups of rock pools, sea-level pics of harbours, shots from inside what must have just about every cave in Cornwall.

And what's more, they look great. It's amazing the difference you can get from your phone camera with a few simple pointers.

This advice set us off on a weekend of discovery and armed with our phones there was never a hint of that other favourite friend of any 12-year-old: Boredom.

Emily makes good use of the new skills she's learned on her cameraphone

And to further grasp the 21st century, you are encouraged to post your photographic masterpieces on Seaview's Instagram page (ask your grandkids, they'll tell you).

But remembering that you can have too much of a good thing, we also decided to strike out on an adventure – cameras at the ready though, obviously.

We headed down to to the southern tip of Cornwall to Goonhilly Downs on the Lizard peninsula. Now techno geeks would be in their element.

Reputedly the world's largest satellite station, this was the place that the first trans-Altlantic television signals were received via a space satellite.

All amazing stuff and plenty to fill a day. But that's not why we were there. We were there for very different and far more terra firma-based reasons.

Emily and I were going Segway-ing. Not those mini light-up buy-at-Christmas-and-forget-about-by-New-Year toys that were all the rage for about a fortnight last December, but the big real ones.

Now these are fun. Serious fun. At Cornwall Segway we were given all the safety gear and instructions we needed and then watched over as we got to grips with these two-wheeled joy machines.

Emily and Russell get to grips with their Segways before going off-road

Not that we needed much instruction. Segways, it turns out, were amazingly simple to ride

Within minutes, we were off. Emily zipping around an obstacle course, me in her wake.

Swerving in and out of cones with ease and our instructor soon removed the speed limiter for beginners and we were whizzing around at heady speeds of around 15mph.

Now that may not sound all that quick but on a Segway, it's more than enough to put a broad, beaming smile on your face.

We advanced quickly from asphalt to Cornwall Segways' selection of off-road Segways and on to its tracks complete with rumble-strips, rises and dips. Brilliant stuff.

All rounded off with a relay race with the other learners, we had an absolute blast.

And by the stage we were just about competent enough to pose for a Segway selfie to complete our Cornwall picture album for the weekend.

So, forgive the obvious pun, but picture this: A fantastic fun-filled weekend to provide lasting memories and beat the boredom. This trip puts it all into focus.

And the handy guide from Seaview grasps this. Within a weekend we've now enough pictures to fill out dining room wall, lounge wall with plenty left over to pepper the rest of the house. The only problem we have now is trying to find cheap enough frames so not to break the bank doing it!

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By Russell Youll

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