From Cornwall With Love
“An awful lot of people have childhood memories of holidays in Cornwall, and the holidays are old-fashioned and hugely successful. You stick a child and a dog on one of the beaches, and they just light up; they just love it.”
Cornwall
Cornwall is a county on England’s rugged southwestern coast. Cornwall is actually a Celtic nation, along with Wales, Ireland, Isle of Man (Scotland), Scotland, and Brittany (France). In some ways, Cornwall remains culturally distinct from England. Many in Cornwall still argue Cornwall is its own country.
As far as most Englanders are concerned though, Cornwall is a summer vacation destination and the south coast of Cornwall is often referred to as the Cornish Riviera.
Cornwall has loomed large in our imaginations for years. Our interests only increased as we watched Doc Martin and Poldark, admiring the azure backdrops from both shows. We also enjoyed reading the Little Beach Street Bakery books by Jenny Colgan, which left us wanting more than anything to wait for low tide so the tidal walkway would magically present itself, granting access to the island of St Michael’s Mount and it’s ancient monastery.
Despite the deep interest, Cornwall was always a destination too far, so we were ecstatic to finally arrive on the Cornish peninsula on Sunday.
Penzance
We are currently staying in Penzance, as in The Pirates of Penzance. Check out the interactive map below as well as the video of our apartment.
This is the steep, two-way, single lane, cobbled street leading to our home. I’m going to slap our GoPro onto the hood of the car one of these days so you can get an idea of just how narrow and windy the roads can be over here. To park at our house requires a 6-point turn with only inches of clearance at both the right front and left rear to access the tiny courtyard where we live.
Here’s a video tour of our little flat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mieyDMSm4BU
The Jubilee Pool in Penzance.
It looks nasty right now in winter, but the link above shows a much more attractive pool.
Ruins
For Valentine’s Day we decided to drive from Penzance on the south coast to St Ives on the north coast (map below).
Along the way we stopped at the ruins of the Carn Galver Tin Mine.
The old engine house.
Just beyond the tin mine and close to the cliffs are the remains of Bosigran Castle Promontory Fort. I really couldn’t find much about this site.
The remains of Bosigran Castle Promontory Fort below and the Carn Galver Tin Mine in the far left background.
It was a beautiful (albeit windy) view from the small peak.
We met a small friend on the walk back to the car.
St Ives
We arrived in St Ives in the early afternoon, and boy was it the perfect day to be outside. In fact, I would say it was stunning. I’ve been told I may use that adjective a bit too liberally. To which I reply, you try writing a blog in a land with such beauty at every turn and see if you don’t end up running out of superlatives!
Picturesque row houses staggered up and down the town’s hillsides.
Those silly Brits!
We’ve been searching high and low for Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan, which unfolds largely on St Michael’s Mount island near Penzance. We finally found it here in this store. We wanted to reread the book while we are living in the city where the story was set.
Low tide in St Ives Bay harbor.
The St Ives Old Pier Lighthouse, out of view to the left, was established in 1830 and discontinued in 1890 when the Smeaton’s Pier was extended and a new St Ives Pier Lighthouse (above) was erected at the end. The 32-foot-high octagonal cast iron lighthouse indicates the water level and displays a green light when safe to enter and red when the water is low.
From West Pier.
In case my photos don’t do the town justice, this photo by a professional should do the trick! The city is gorgeous!
Working on the blog over a famous Cornish pasty and a mocha at The Cornish Bakery.
Our view from the Beach Café Bar on St Ives Bay harbor while finishing up the blog (our internet connection has been poor at our place…and the view here is considerably better!).
