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Published: June 12th 2011
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Cornwall
What can I possibly say about Cornwall? Nothing I can put into words will describe how amazing, beautiful, quaint and friendly this place is. The food is fantastic; the people will do anything for a fellow local (and probably a traveller as well); the views are never short of breathtaking; and above all the atmosphere of St. Ives in Cornwall is like nothing I have ever experienced before. It is bustling with small shops and markets yet at the same time it is a peaceful place where you can truly unwind and just relax and walk around the harbour. Truly an incredible piece of the world that not many people know about.
We started our adventure in Cornwall by first of all getting off at the wrong stop, Camborne instead of St. Erth. We managed to get in contact with Hugh & Ivy Trevarthen to pick us up although they had been waiting to pick us up 20 minutes away. They have been kind enough to let us stay with them for the week and show us around the place. Hugh being a tour guide and retired police officer is quite cut out for this job and his
knowledge of Cornwall is absolutely amazing.
After getting back to the Trevarthen residence in Carbis Bay (10 minute drive from St. Ives), we were treated to a great dinner of homemade roast chicken and vegetables which was exactly what we needed after spending an hour freezing ourselves in England’s coldest, most desolate train station: Camborne!!!
The second day involved us being shown around Cornwall, in particular where my family line worked during the Iron Age. The Trevarthen’s were tin miners and we got to see where they most likely would have been working, which was a real eye opener. Sarah & I also got to indulge in the traditional Cornish pasty. This is not like any pasty I have ever had. Wonderful tasting things they are!! A traditional Cornish pasty can only be made in Cornwall and can only contain beef, turnips, potato and spring onion. Rowe’s Cornish Pasties do these very well and we encourage anyone to try one should they find themselves in Cornwall one day.
After touring some of the oldest sites in Cornwall, we made our way back to the house and had another traditional English dinner. Fish and Chips from one of the
best takeaways in all of Cornwall. For me to finish a piece of fish, the place mustn’t be too bad!!!
The next day Sarah & I thought we would tackle St. Ives on our own as we thought we would see the shops and the harbour. The walk from Carbis Bay to St. Ives took us around 40 minutes and we walked though the highly commended (by us anyway!!) coastal footpath. The path stretches for around 6 miles and runs through what seems to be a rainforest in the middle of Cornwall. The views were absolutely breathtaking from this footpath and although being attacked by stinging nettle plants, I came out completely unscathed. Sarah was fine of course because she didn’t see much interest in running through the scrub as I did!!! Once we got to St. Ives, we toured the main beachfront, where the harbour is situated, and then had some lunch at an awesome restaurant called Pels. After this we spent several hours looking at shops and markets behind the harbour before walking back to the house for dinner. Which once again, failed to disappoint, as Ivy had put on a chicken salad with berries and traditional
Cornish clotted cream. The cream I have now appointed as my favourite thing in the world.
Thursday came and it was time to see the show. Not just any show. The Royal Cornwall Show was in town and is very similar to our Ekka, but a lot bigger, a lot less sick people, and a lot more room to walk around and see everything (oh and no dodgy rides that make your life flash before your eyes). We only managed to see about half of the show as it was absolutely massive and I now understand why it goes for 3 days!! The best part of course was the food and drink pavilion! We were able to wander through 2 huge tents and taste nearly everything from curries and jams to chocolate and wine. Finally after an exhausting day wandering through the show we drive back to the house for a beer or 2 and a selection of sausages and more desert covered in famous Cornish cream.
Friday was another tour day of Cornwall, as Hugh and Ivy had decided to take us out to see St. Michael’s Mount, which is as the name suggests: a mountain named
after St. Michael.
The amazing thing was, the mountain is situated about 200 metres from the mainland in the Atlantic Ocean and holds aloft a huge castle in which members of royalty still live and have done for hundreds of years. The history in this place is absolutely incredible and makes me really understand how young Australia really is. After our trip to the castle, we headed back to the mainland for another Cornish tradition. Can you guess what it is. Yep... Food with... wait for it.... MORE CORNISH CREAM!!! At this stage my arteries are losing it completely but how can you say no to something so pure and delicious. We all stopped for something called Cornish Cream Tea which involves one spreading a scone with jam first and then coating it in Cornish cream. If this is done cream first, it is not called a Cornish tea. Mind you who really cares, it tasted great so that’s all that mattered!! After our tea, we travelled to Penzance, at the far west end of Cornwall. We there got yet another pasty and then headed on to a place called Mousehole, because from the sea it looks like... well ,
a mouse hole!
Finally after a very long day, Sarah & I decided to take Hugh & Ivy out to dinner in St. Ives to thank them from putting us up in their house, feeding us and being a personal tour service for us. After what was the best lamb shanks in possibly all the world, we heading back to the house for a game of cards or five before heading to bed.
Our second last day in Trevarthenland started with a little bit of a sleep in, something we had now started to consider a luxury. We then got back into the car with Hugh and Ivy and headed up towards Lands End. Before we got there however, we payed a visit to the legendary Minack Theatre. This theatre was built in the 30’s by 3 people in 3 years and was carved in the cliff face. The view from atop of the theatre was simply astounding. Shortly after this, we headed to the furthest west point in England, Lands End. This was the only place in Cornwall which wasn’t really much to see. The view once again was amazing and it was such a clear day that
we were able to see the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles away!!! To end our magnificent tour of Cornwall, we were taken to an ancient site near Penzance called Carn Euny. This place was an ancient village from the 5th century BC, yet the tunnels and caves that the early tribes used were still in place (except for one man made roof).
We then made our way back to the house to prepare for what would prove to be a very interesting evening.
That night we had our dinner and went out to see Hugh’s choir perform. The Holbern Climax Male Voice Choir was absolutely awesome. The talent that these men have is amazing and is a real treat to see them perform. The choir they were performing with... not so much but entertaining nonetheless! After a few hours of this we then all headed back for our last night in Cornwall
This morning I sit on a train bound for Cardiff in Wales with a sense of having taken something great from our week in Cornwall. It meant very much to me, as my family heritage hails from Camborne in Cornwall so it was a great opportunity to
spend some quality time here. Hugh and Ivy have looked after us in so many ways and we are so grateful for everything they did for us. From driving miles and miles showing us the sights to providing a place to stay, they are truly wonderful people and will be missed greatly over the next few months of our journey.
Although sad as I am to see the end of Cornwall, I cannot wait to get to Cardiff to see the sights and see what the Welsh have to offer!!!
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