Cornwall

“Travel turns us into the worst version of ourselves while convincing us that we’re at our best.” - Agnes Callard
Our alarms rang out at 0450, 5 minutes after we had awoken. The things we do. Bracing walk to the bus station. Nice ride to the airport. Easyjet flight to Bristol was punctual, quick and comfortable. Couldn’t find the hire car desks because, like Heathrow, you catch a bus. We skilfully managed to be last onto the big and crowded bus hence first to the Hertz desk. The car is a Hyundai i20, MUCH bigger than our previous one. We can actually fit all our luggage into the boot. It’s a 3½ hour drive into Cornwall to Stewart and Hilary’s house, Westacre, at Germoe, not far from Penzance. You actually pass Exeter and Launceston on the Tamar River. These names have been reused where we live. We took a lot longer than the 3½ hours with morning coffee and a really nice lunch at the Arundell Arms Hotel. Warm welcome when we arrived at Westacre. Haven’t seen our hosts since 2017. Lovely house and garden. Fairly tired tonight; it’s been a long day.
We filled the 3 night visit with a number of activities in the area. Hadn’t been to Cornwall since 2007 so it was lovely to re-acquaint ourselves with the coast and the quaint old towns with many heritage stone buildings and pavements made of granite blocks. Had a good look at Mousehole not far away. Cornish takeaway lunch in Newlyn. Traditional Cornish pasty followed by ice cream (with clotted cream) for Tony. Then we went to Penzance where we had a good look at the lugger ‘Happy Return’ – built in 1905. Stewart is heavily involved with sailing and maintaining her. She has a dipping lug sail on the mainmast and a standing lug sail on the mizzen. Takes a well-coordinated team of 4 people to tack the mainsail. Celebratory bubbles in the early evening to celebrate Ursula’s birthday. Hard to believe, but the last time we visited here, in 2007, it was Tony’s birthday.
We had a really tasty evening meal at 45 Queen Street [https://www.45queenst.com/], a big, open-space, new and edgy restaurant. Many unusual features like paying at the same time as you order, at the counter. Our smoked mackerel paté arrived with our seafood linguine. Waiter: “We don’t do starters”. Next time we will modify our ordering method. It was actually a very enjoyable dining experience.
We visited Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens not far away the next day. Hillside gardens with many both familiar and exotic plants and trees. Interesting artworks scattered among the plants with many small spots with great views out to sea featuring St Michael’s Mount. Yet another delicious meal, this time in the sunny courtyard of the garden’s cafe.
Tony did a walk from our accommodation down through Praa Sands and along the beach. Surprisingly large number of both swimmers and surfers braving the (to us) very chilly waters.
Really nice Hilary-cooked dinner of local fish. Many thanks to both Hilary and Stewart for a fabulous stay.
Tomorrow, The Netherlands. How on earth will we get there?Read more