The Penguin Chronicles: Cornwall

Getting away from it all

So, I spent nearly three weeks in Cornwall, on my own, travelling relatively leisurely between a limited number of fairly close places. How did it go?

Best moment: sea and pasty, near Towan Beach

I had a great time. I really enjoyed being in one place for a relatively long period of time (i.e. a week). This is not something I have really done much in recent years, except the couple of times we have been away for Christmas with Graham & family. I did some fantastic coast walks, and felt good that, after some apprehension, I was able to easily do six to ten miles walking in a day, given the limited amount of daylight hours available in late November/early December (more on walks below). I had pretty good weather much of the time, and that helped, but I had been prepared for worse, and actually didn't end-up spending much time sitting on my own in the cottage reading (which is what I thought I might do). Of the three books I took with me, I only got half way through one of them (Paul Theroux's The Kingdom by the Sea).

Renting holiday cottages was a really good move. This time of year they are relatively cheap (£250 for the week in Mevagissey and £280 in St Mawes), you have your own space, and can cook for yourself, which really keeps the cost down. It also means that you can do a bit more to support the local communities. In Mevagissey there is an excellent bakery and a greengrocer, and I bought scallops from the stall on the quay. In St Mawes there was another really good baker (great pasties) as well as a local butcher. Having accommodation in the centre of the villages meant that I was able to make the most of these.

How did it measure-up to what I was expecting (see list in the Cornwall - Prelude blog entry)?

to see the sea - every day: yes, I did, every day, and it was fantastic
relaxing on my own: surprisingly easy
getting back into the habit of reading: read most evenings, but not a huge extent
that smell of the seaside (from my childhood): sort of got the smell, but didn't seem so pungent - probably not the right time of year
cosy pubs and good beer: plenty of good pubs and good beer
walking along cliff-tops and beaches: much better than I had excpected - had some really great walks
visiting gardens and castles: Heligan was a real highlight, as was St Mawes Castle
not being in London: I didn't miss London at all. Everyone was polite and friendly.

Highlights:

Sitting on the rocks near Towan Beach in glorious sunshine, watching the waves crashing in and eating a delicious pasty still warm from the oven it was baked in.
Cooking freshly caught scallops bought from the quayside at Mevagissey.
Beautiful sunrise over the St Anthony peninsula seen from the cottage in St Mawes.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Real pubs with real beer, real landlords, real fires and real people (especially the Fountain Inn in Mevagissey and the Victory Inn in St Mawes).
The 'Life on the Rocks' lighthouse exhibition in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall at Falmouth.
Building stone towers on Polstreath Beach, Mevagissey.
The walk around Dodman point, which I completed earlier than expected and so continued a further three miles back to Mevagissey.
A cosy evening by the fire in the 17 century fisherman's cottage in Mevagissey.
Sitting on the beach at Swanpool watching the tiny waves come in.

Walks

I'd not done this much walking for a very long time. I was actually unsure that I would be able to manage some of the more challenging coast paths, particularly as I had recently developed some painful corns on my little toes. So I started gradually with the two-and-a-half mile Mevagissey to Pentewan walk. That went fine, apart from the fact that I was overdressed, and had to carry my fleece and jacket most of the way. I had forgotten how hot you get when doing this kind of walk. I am pleased that I got a reasonably good rucksak, and some proper walking shoes before I came down.

Some of the walking was pretty heavy going. The paths can be quite muddy in places at this time of year. But much of the cliff-top path is OK, although often at an uncomfortable angle - something which did get to me on a number of occasions, particularly as it was usually the same slope (i.e. to the left or right) on any particular walk. But I did have some fantastic walks, thanks to the weather, which was reasonably mild for most of my stay. I did six 'main' walks ranging from 3 to 10 miles - 42 miles in total, about 30 of which were on the South West Coast Path.