Sunday 28 May 2017

Cornwall - that's all there is to say!


I am shamelessly starting my blog post this week with a picture of a Cornish cream tea because, in the space of seven days, I ate three... yes, three!

I have no excuse except that I was on holiday and, when on holiday, any ideas of eating sensibly go out of the window. Isn't that what holidays are all about?

I call it research. In the visitors' book, at the end of the stay, it's my duty to let future holidaymakers know which establishment has the fluffiest scones, the fruitiest jam and the stickiest clotted cream. It would be rude not to, wouldn't it?

How I can get away with the two pasties, the clotted cream ice cream and the packet of Cornish fudge, which I also ate during the course of my visit, I've yet to work out.


Seriously though, my holiday in the fishing village of Cadgwith Cove was a triumph. We stayed in a house on a hill looking over the bay and every morning we woke up to this view.


I could quite happily have stayed in bed and just looked out at the sea, or read a book, or written a story... but then I would have missed out on so much: the clifftop walks, the fishing villages, the gardens... the chance of bumping into Poldark.

Every day, we went on a long walk with Bonnie. Most of these walks were along the glorious South West Coastal path.


The weather was perfect and we were amazed by the profusion of wildflowers that were growing on the cliff top and in the hedgerows. May is definitely the time to visit this beautiful county.


It wasn't all about the walking though. Having not had a holiday in Cornwall since I was a child, and inspired by Poldark, I wanted to see as much of the area as possible. Cadgwith is on The Lizard and it was the perfect position to visit the many picturesque villages in the area: Mevagissey, Coverack, Lamorna. This is Mousehole. Pretty isn't it?


It wasn't just the seaside villages we visited, we also had a relaxing walk around the creeks of Helford. This is another area I can imagine coming back to. If it was good enough for Daphne Du Maurier...


During our week, we also visited two gardens: The Lost Gardens of Heligan and Trebah. It was difficult to choose our favourite.


Because we had Bonnie, we couldn't visit the Eden Project but no visit to the west of Cornwall would be complete without going to the Minack theatre. What a place! It's astonishing how one woman could have created something so outstanding... and how can sea in England be that colour! We felt as though we were back on one of our Greek islands.


We were very sad to leave at the end of the week. I'd like to say I got lots of writing done but I didn't. I didn't take a computer or even a notebook. I wanted to just soak up everything and enjoy it without having to think about how it could be translated into a story.

Having said that, on my way home, unbidden, an idea popped into my head.

Okay... it looks as though it's back to work for me.

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful place and your photos are lovely.

    I can't resist the pasties and cream teas either. Actually I never try to resist.

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  2. Why on earth would you resist! What it's all about isn't it. How beautiful it all sounded and your photos reflect that. In fact it was as if I was there with you. And it's good to leave the writing behind and as you say just revel in the holiday. Thank you for sharing :-) xx

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    1. Thanks, Sue. I'm really pleased with the photographs.

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  3. This is truly an amazing post that dropped into my inbox like a little nudge. I was thinking something about Cornwall (secret ATM) and this shows me just how beautiful it all is!

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    1. I think now is the time to make those plans a reality, Louise. I'm sure you won't regret it.

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  4. Looks fabulous, Wendy - the photos are amazing! I don't think you can beat the UK, especially on the coast, when the weather's glorious. And I'm sure it will have given you lots of inspiration and ideas for stories!

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    1. I absolutely love holidays n the UK, Helen - especially in good weather!

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  5. I succumbed to Eton Mess at lunchtime yesterday when I wasn't even on holiday so I'm definitely not in a position to point a finger - except at your beautiful images and descriptions. A lovely start to my day

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  6. Thank you for the lovely photos and holiday tour! So glad the sun shone for you. Will be looking forward to the stories...

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    1. It was a wonderful holiday, Penny. Thanks for popping over.

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  7. Your lovely photos brought back so many happy memories of this area. I admire your dedication to writing research but THREE cream teas! Hope you're coming to Fitsteps this week to burn off the fudge, pasties, scones (shall I go on?) ...

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  8. You were fortunate with the weather - I hope it'll save some for September when I'm there next! Of course there may not be any pasties or scones left now...

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  9. Most of my childhood summer holidays were spent on the Penwith Peninsula. I love it and I'm glad you got to see it at its best. If I'd been there for a week, I think I might have had a cream tea every day. There's a tub of Rodda's in my fridge as I write, waiting for my strawberries to ripen.

    Thank you for reminding me of some great times.

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    1. you're very welcome, April. I'm glad my blog post brought back good memories.

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  10. We both picked a great week weather-wise. It was lovely down there.
    If you are going again next year, we recommend Trelissick gardens - even better than Trebah.
    We will be back next year!

    John

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    1. We did pick a great week didn't we, John. sorry we didn't manage to meet up.

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  11. Looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous, Wendy! It's many years since were that far south but loved a couple of holidays there with the children - even though it was a long way from Scotland!

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  12. Edna Glenister17 July 2017 at 16:38

    I find this very interesting as I live in Cornwall and this is all so familiar. Poldark is filmed in st Austell and Charleston. I actually stayed in the hotel where some of the cast had stayed and was told who had slept in the room I was using. The debate here hinges around who makes the best Cornish pasties as many claim that fame. However I received my first rejection from PF today and wondered what was wrong with it, me and do not know how to move forward as I just had a dismissive email. Can you help? Please?

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    1. Now I'm dying to know who slept in your room. Not Aiden?

      Regarding The People's Friend, you have to remember that the magazine receives hundreds of stories every week. There could be any number of reasons why your story wasn't successful this time. Must writers receive many rejections before they have a success so please don't be disheartened, Edna. We have to be very thick skinned! My advice is to read the guidelines well, read a few of the magazines to ensure what your writing fits with it and try, try, try again.

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    2. I was more puzzled by the response. It said that the editor enjoyed the story but it was unsuitable for publication. If she enjoyed it what is the problem? I didn, t think I had overstepped any guidelines as to content. I don, t really know how to approach this.

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