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.
