A holiday in Cornwall

21-06-2006

Yawn. I don’t feel like doing anything today. Its Wednesday I think. Yep it’s a Wednesday. I’m sat at home lounging around doing very little after returning a day earlier than planned from our holiday in Cornwall. I’ll tell you why later.

I like to take short breaks as often as possible and once a month is my current trend. So for June we decided to head to Cornwall. The weather was looking good and tourist season would not be in full swing just yet. Sounds ideal. Obviously the Cornish pasties, scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, and the toffee and fudge wont do my waist line any good but hey, I’ll hit the treadmill when I return. Sounded like a plan.

Speaking of plans, there wasn’t going to be one this time. No looking up all the ‘must-sees’ and drawing a line between them on a map. We only had five days in which to enjoy Cornwall, and two of them would be travelling days because it’s a long way to get there from here.

So how was it? Great! I’m relaxed as I sit here and type this blog thinking about what we did over the last few days. We headed south after work on Friday and stayed over in a Premier Inn south of Basingstoke on Friday night. Saturday morning we headed west on the A303 which is a pleasant undulating road to drive on especially when the sun is shinning and there is nothing but green fields either side of you.

After a brief stop in Bodmin which was pretty dull, we headed to the south coast and pulled in at a little harbour named Charlestown. This place was postcard beautiful. People were swimming in the aqua-marine water in the quay and around the beach area. We instantly decided to stay. A quick check proved that the local hotel was out of our price range but there was a guest house opposite the quay that was well within. Our room for the night overlooked the quay which had one of those old sailing ships of years gone by moored in it. The kind from the old Errol Flynn pirate movies with the masts and rigging shooting high into the sky.

After a quick change we hit the beach and plunged into the sea for a swim. It was exhilarating and we couldn’t stop grinning as we swam in the cool water watching the little fish swim around us and seagulls fought over a starfish.

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on our tan lying on the beach reading paperbacks and swigging water. Later we headed back to get changed before grabbing a bite to eat and a local beer called Knocker at the hotel restaurant by the quay. After a cliff top walk to the next village and back we headed back to our room and fell asleep with the window open to let the cool breeze through.

After breakfast we spotted another of the old sailing ships passing by on its way to Fowey. We checked out and headed to the beach to watch it sail across the silvery water before hitting the road again.

Cornwall is lovely to drive around. Small winding roads occasionally opening out to spectacular views of sleepy hamlets, rural churches and beautiful beaches and cliffs by the most amazing clear blue water.

We drove to Mevagissey and explored the harbour and shops. The water looked so turquoise and inviting that it felt as if you were in the Mediterranean.

Next we headed to the Roseland Peninsula and found a tranquil spot with a church by the waters edge. We took the King Harry car ferry across the river (my first car ferry) and drove cross-country to Marazion. The tide was in so we only saw St Michael’s Mount from a far before we headed to Lands End.

On the way we stopped at the Minack Theatre. This is a Greek style Amphitheatre built into the side of a cliff overlooking the sea. There were no plays today but they were rehearsing a future play so we sat and watched after which we explored the grounds and tropical garden. Cornwall weather is great for tropical plants so you will see them everywhere, even down rural country lanes. I lost count of how many palm trees I spotted.

While having tea and scones with jam and clotted cream in the Minack café overlooking the cliff edge I saw a fin in the water. I had my binoculars with me and was able to get a close-up of the shark. It was a basking shark so the swimmers nearby had nothing to fear.

Lands End is full of tacky tourist businesses which were thankfully closed when we arrived. We walked to the cliff and gazed out to sea before finding somewhere to stay for the night.

We ended up in the town of St.Just in a hotel off the main square. After checking in we took a long walk to the cliffs and watched the waves crash against the rocks before trekking back for a late meal in the hotel bar.

Emma and I went around the local taverns and I ended up trying Doomz Bar, and a creamy beer that looks like Guinness but tastes like a sweet dessert, before finally arriving to the conclusion that my favourite was a local beer named HSD.

It was raining and misty the next morning as we drove north to St.Ives. I told Emma the “I was going to St.Ives riddle” as she had never heard it. Has no one seen Die Hard 3?

We did not stop at St.Ives because it was heaving with tourists and there was nowhere to park so we continued on after navigating the tiniest of streets back to the main road. We arrived in Newquay after a brief stop at a Cornish Goldsmiths exhibition where I had my picture taken in the Back To The Future D’Lorean, a James Bond car and next to a Lara Croft model.

After a walk around Newquay and a bite to eat we headed north to Padstow where we planned to stay for the night. Easier said than done. If you watch cooking programs as Emma does then you may of heard of Rick Stein. Well because of dear Rick, Padstow is very popular, and pricey. One hotel wanted 85ukp pppn and that was their special offer. Yeah right. A B&B wanted 90ukp and we passed on that as well. My theory is that if you are prepared to keep looking you will always find something to suit your budget and requirements.

After a look around we found a place that had an amazing room that was reasonably priced, was well furnished and better yet, had a balcony overlooking Padstow harbour. We dropped off our stuff and heading into town to grab a bite to eat. It appears that a lot of the businesses in the town are owned by Rick Stein. There’s the Rick Stein Fish & Chip Shop, Rick Stein Café, Rick Stein Restaurant, and Rick Stein B&B. All were ridiculously overpriced. Rooms started at about 160ukp! Plus a lot of businesses without his name in their title were also owned by him. Welcome to Rick Stein’s Padstow.

It was a nice relaxing place though I’ll give it some credit. I ended up buying a picture in an art shop. I must be getting old as the last picture I bought came rolled up with an elastic band. I even chose the frame and ummed and ahhed about which room it would look best in.

Emma beat me at 18-hole crazy golf on a course overlooking the harbour on top of a hill. We then went for a walk before heading into town for a meal. No one place had great courses that went together so we ate a main in one place and dessert in another. I ordered more HSD and was saddened to learn from the barman that HSD is only available in Cornwall and as yet there are no plans to export it to the rest of England.

After another browse around Padstow after breakfast the next morning we headed to Salisbury as our intended overnight stop to break up the long route back to Ipswich. We travelled through Devon stopping in Honiston and then crossed Dartmoor before arriving in Salisbury.

Now the reason we are back early is that my theory about finding accommodation if you are prepared to keep looking failed me today. After failing to find anywhere to stay in Salisbury we kept checking all the way to Basingstoke stopping at every B&B, Inn and Hotel that looked half-way decent, and a few that did not. All were full.

We grabbed a bite to eat in a Chef and Brewer and continued on before finally giving in. It became rather amusing at one point when we arrived at a B&B and a Swedish couple arrived just after us. At every place we stopped after that, they were there just after us. The race was on! We lost them not long after but by then we decided that it was only 3 hours to Ipswich from where we were so after eating we drove home listening to England V Sweden on the car radio. Hence the reason we are home a day earlier than originally planned. Still, we feel relaxed, rejuvenated and willing to return to Cornwall again.