I love winter.

I enjoy the battering and everything it throws at us, and certainly the more extreme weather is the most exciting, unless it’s damaging people’s lives.

But then after weeks of mizzle, rain, howling winds and cold you wake up and the sun is shining.

You know even before you draw back the curtains that there’s a beautiful day out there.

It even sounds different.

And everyone’s spirits are lifted.

We’ve just had a joyous weekend, in fact the good stuff started way back on Thursday.

And we’ve made the most of every minute we could.

Having the dog helps.

I was thinking yesterday as I sat at the desk working on a project that having a dog is both a joy and a pain, and for pretty much the same reasons.

Having a dog is a pain because three or four times a day you have to take the creature out.

Having a dog is a joy because three or four times a day you have to take the creature out.

As soon as you get out it’s never a pain though, it’s a joy every time.

Yesterday I set myself a 3.00pm deadline to stop the work I was doing and to go and enjoy the sun.

Polly and I headed down the Cot Valley to Porth Nanven where we had the beach to ourselves.

There was a stiff breeze on the top of the valley, but on the beach it was still so I indulged in one of the great outdoor pleasures – lying on a sun baked rock and drifting to a lower state of consciousness.

I was aware of the sea gently rolling in and out, the birds chirping wildly as their spring rituals kick in, but only just aware.

The 20 minutes or so that Polly was patient with me for were among the most restful I’ve had for ages, and the warm sun on my face gave me the energy to get back to the desk for a few more hours at the keyboard.

Further back in the weekend – we started on Friday with the annual battle between unfit man, hedge trimmer, and a year of vigorous garden growth. I was actually relieved when the trimmer gave up after only completing the hedge at Myn Tea. New Forge can wait for another day.

Our reward was a great evening stroll over to The Queen’s in Botallack.

Saturday was a morning at the desk, and an afternoon on my childhood favourite beach at Gwithian. The three miles of golden sand there buck the trend of the small coves at this end of the Cornwall, and I have to pinch myself when I walk along this beach and remember how lucky I was to grow up here. I’ve spend days alone, days with family, friends and friends to be on this huge expanse and I love it as much now as I ever did. Although I build fewer dams these days.

On Sunday there was a vintage fair at Bedruthan Steps Hotel. We took advantage and had a good lunch there, overlooking Mawgan Porth Beach where we headed for a good postprandial stomp and ball throw before driving a bit further up the coast to Padstow – packed already and no one’s on holiday yet.

Life’s not always this good, and the weekend gone will take some beating, but we’ll be trying our hardest to do even better next time.

I hope you enjoy the photos.