Advertisement
Published: March 14th 2007
Edit Blog Post
David and I went to Polperro in Cornwall in the south west of England (well - I guess it IS the south west of England {sorry to Devon}!). Polperro is a beautiful little village with only 1,100 residents. It nestles in a valley and has a pretty little harbour. In some of the guide books it says it is the ‘most picturesque village in Cornwall’. It is really lovely with little quaint cottages and tiny narrow lanes. The cottages and houses cling to both sides of the valley. There are lots of flights of steps up and down to different houses and areas of the village. Apparently it is heaving with people in the summer, we were lucky to go in March for David’s birthday and to have some glorious sunshine! We enjoyed drinking in the Three Pilchards pub and eating in The Cumplehorn Inn. Both had fires going in the evenings, which were both warming and atmospheric. We also enjoyed the lovely smell of smoke from the fires burning in the hearths of houses in the evenings. We explored Polperro up and down the winding lanes and narrow roads, looking at some of the colourful art in Libby Art
Shop, the fudge shop, the leather shop, the jewelry shops, but mostly we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and the views. When we arrived and after checking into the excellent Penryn Hotel (fantastic breakfasts!) we wandered down for our first view of Polperro, and we walked up one side of the valley on the coastal path, and looked back at the village snuggling into the valley. It was lovely with smoke rising from some of the chimneys.
On day two we decided to walk from Polperro along the coastal path to Looe. This is a five mile walk. The weather was great and we only needed t shirts. The views were spectacular. It was lovely walking up and down the coastal path, visiting little beaches, there was even a waterfall along the way too. We went on to the beach at Talland and clambered over some rocks, looking in the pools left behind after the tide had gone out. We also tried to skim some of the stones on the sea. I went paddling on a stony beach just before Looe, The water was freezing cold, but it was great fun. We walked down into West Looe, and across the
Polperro
See the gulls appearing to bathe in the fresh water flowing from the stream into the sea! bridge into West Looe. Looe is bigger than Polperro, but is still pretty. We went to a bakery and bought some Cornish pasties (David had a fish, chips and mushy peas Cornish pasty), and some cake each and went to the beach and sat and ate our lunch. We then wandered a little bit through the streets of Looe looking at the shops and caught a bus back to Polperro.
On day three we went to the Eden Project. It was quite fun because we caught the Bodinnick ferry across to Fowey rather than driving around the estuary. It reminded me of the King Harry Ferry across the Fal when we used to go to Cornwall for my childhood holidays when my grandparents lived in Feock. The Bodinnick ferry is not a chain link ferry like the King Harry though. The Eden Project (our second visit - see earlier blog) is wonderful. It is built in an old quarry - a huge china clay pit - and is a ‘global garden’ and ‘the world’s largest greenhouse’ a big conservatory. There are two giant greenhouses or ‘biomes’ one housing tropical plants and trees (the humid tropics biome), and one with
a more Mediterranean, South African and Californian climate (the warm temperate biome). They are made up of hundreds of hexagons, pentagons and triangles. The overall impression is one of a sort-of beehive pattern. They are made in two layers and form inflated two metre-deep pillows. There is also lots of outdoor space too that is beautifully structured and landscaped, with swathes of colour, plants and sculptures laying like a tablecloth covering the old quarry (more like a colourful pond-liner actually!). Although it is £13.80 per adult to enter it was well worth it. The Eden Project is about education, teaching us about how plants are used for food, medicine, building materials, fuel and cloth. I love it because it uses renewable energy, demonstrates that sustainability is possible, recycles as much as it can and talks about things like climate change and the environmental issues we are all facing. Did you know that we lose one UK football (soccer) pitch of rainforest every 1.5 seconds. The humid tropics biome is our favourite. It is so humid and hot and wonderful - just like the real tropics! Apparently the guide book says you could hide the Tower of London in it! The
humid tropics biome includes plants and trees from mangrove swamps, Malaysia, West Africa and South America. The plants are wonderful - banana plants, palms, cola, rubber, cocoa, sugar, bamboo, spices, nuts, cassava and sweet potato. The trees reach the ceiling, it is very lush and fantastic. We then went into he warm temperate biome - which comprises plants from regions where they have hot dry summers and cool wet winters. The display of tulips and daffodils was truly spectacular. Lemons and orange trees grow here as well as olive trees, aloes, cork and grapes are grown here. We wandered around the outdoors snaking our way around the outdoor biome towards the top. Wandering, looking and taking it all in. It is a feat of engineering and hard work, and beautiful gardening! Keep your eyes open as you wander around - there is lots to learn and inspire. We went out via the shop (where you can buy organic clothes - made from organic cotton).
On day three we just hung around Polperro, the weather was not so sunny, resting and relaxing and shopping for postcards, a new handbag, and fudge! We did venture west along the coastal path for
a short way, and found some benches to sit on with stunning views. We also climbed down to a rocky area with lovely rock pools - some of which were big and deep enough to swim in. I must say it felt like being a child again - bending down and peering into a rock pool to see what was in there - anything moving, a crab or a fish??
Opposite out hotel on the other side of the valley was a garden that had lambs in. David thought they were probably going to be killed and eaten. However after talking to Anna who co-ownes the hotel with her husband Chris, the owners of the lambs own a flock of sheep just outside the village, and if a ewe dies or cannot cope with one of their lambs they take the lambs home and hand rear them. I saw them feeding them from a huge bottle of milk - just like a human baby. They are fed at 12 and 6 around the clock. They were bleating in the evenings and mornings and looked so cute I would love to have gone over and helped to feed them.
We really enjoyed Polperro - maybe because it was out of season and not too crowded. There were probably about 5 pubs open, which served food, and a few restaurants too. We loved the coastal path with the views and the space, looking towards the horizon across the sea to the curvature of the earth. The Eden Project is superb too!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.055s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0277s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb