Cornwall, U.K. Part 1
For many years I longed to travel to the U.K. Long before the recent (outstanding) remake of Winston Graham’s Poldark catapulted the western most county in England to the world’s attention, I dreamed about standing on Cornish soil. I thought and planned, and re-planned my journey. By the time I got to Cornwall, I was able to navigate from memorized maps and paper maps. Plus, being the navigator means you won’t have to wrestle with shifting the gears with your left hand! Still, having a car is essential if you want to travel around the county to experience areas further afield i.e. most beautiful beaches, the Southwest Coastal path, the Tin Coast, St. Michael’s Mount and others too numerous to mention in one post or to experience in one trip.
Accomodation
Finding accomodation is always the first item on my trip planning list. For this trip, it had to be a cottage near the sea, to smell the Cornish sea air. My husband and I are not ones to stay in hotels or B & Bs; we prefer to really enjoy our stay in an apartment or cottage rental. It’s also great convenience having a washing machine in the cottage. I find it really helps to cut down the amount of clothes you need to bring. We like to live like locals when we travel and enjoy shopping for our food from local markets; fresh produce, meats, fish and baked goods while contributing to the local economy and interacting with people who live in the area.
This is not to say we don’t eat at restaurants, we do. Once a day, sometimes it was lunch while exploring the Coastal path, a Cornish pasty always hits the spot; or a late afternoon Cornish cream tea with fresh-baked scones. There really is no substitute anywhere for Cornish clotted cream. Please, keep the jam on the bottom, top it with a generous dollop of clotted cream- Cornish style. Don’t fret about weight gain- when you are in Cornwall, you will walk and do several miles in a day without even realizing it.
The Cornwall Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty
Throughout the county there are 12 designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, over 950 sq. miles in fact, that they are simply referred to in the singular as the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The area I selected, West Penwith, contains magnificent coastline and beaches: Porthcurno and Porthchapel beaches, Sennen- a surfer’s dream. Porthgwarra, the location of our seaside cottage, is lovely with its breathtaking headland and situated mere steps away from the Southwest Coastal Path. Yes, Poldark scenes were filmed here but, sadly, not when we were visiting. Most of the filming was done between September to January to create as little interference as possible with summer holidays. Tourism is vital to the Cornish economy.
The Tin Coast
Kynance Cove
The scenery is incredible wherever in Cornwall you find yourself. Vibrant green farmland dotted with cows. Rocky cliffs leading down to fine sand beaches, pounded by azure to emerald surf. The photo below is from an area famous for its pristine beaches and tidal pools – Kynance Cove. It rivals the Caribbean and even the Amalfi coast. It is that beautiful. If you visit in the height of the season, plan to get there very early as the car park fills quickly and you will find yourself with a two-mile walk!
Cornwall’s mining history
Inland from the coast along small, local roads is where a different Cornish beauty waits. The lush green landscape springs from the temperate climate; thanks to the sea breezes of the jet-stream, temperatures seldom vary far from a 20 degree range up or down. Brave the narrow roads, well, narrow lanes really, and left-side drive, it is well worth all the stress. And no matter what anyone tells you, round-abouts are driver friendly, but more on that later.
Travel north along the western coast of the county -the tin coast- to experience Cornwall’s rich mining history. There are several mines within this area. We visited Levant mine and it proved to be an excellent choice; we were fortunate to have a wonderful, engaging guide with encyclopedic knowledge about the mines, Levant in particular. Here you will find more information on Levant mine and the walking trails between sites.
Pasty and Mining
Earlier I mentioned the pasty or pasties, (pronounced pass-tee not paste-ee). Although versions of it were found in British society as far back as the 13th century, this hearty, pastry shell filled with meats or fish and gravy was adopted by the the miners of the 18th and 19th centuries and is closer to the pasty which we eat today.
Miners worked long hours, often hundreds of feet below ground in poor, dimly-lit conditions. Food had to be hearty enough to sustain as well as be carried in with the miner. The pasty was a perfect food: cuts of meat or even fish, onion, potato encased in a half-moon shaped crust with thick rolled-edges. Rolled edges served a special purpose: the miner could hold his pasty by the edges, eat the pasty and then discard the edge which by that time was covered in grime and dirt.
The pasty is synonymous with Cornwall and it is not to be missed. There are so many variations of ingredients, it can be hard to choose. My favorite is steak, onion, Cornish potato and turnip surrounded with a bit of gravy – you can live quite well with this one. So, when I said a pasty hits the spot, it does. Just don’t forget a pint to go with it. Thankfully, there isn’t a Philps pasty shop this side of the Atlantic (nor do they send frozen pasties via FedEx) or I would be grossly overweight and broke.
A short drive inland from the Tin Coast, the village of Pendeen is filled with small shops- among them Pendeen Pottery with an amazing selection of Cornish made pottery. There is also a food co-op from which we purchased fresh eggs and produce.
Note: I recommend the links in this post from my own experience. I did not receive any compensation for their mention.
