Cornwall has a personality like no other place I have lived or visited. It has such a strong persona which seems an odd thing to say about a place. But last week we experienced the sleepy awakening which makes you get a little buzz in your tummy.
I had a friend come to stay unexpectedly, always a lovely treat. So we had a day in St Ives. We drove and then caught the train from St Erth to avoid the parking and tiny streets. It is only a 13 minute train journey but it is one of my favourites. Bethany was beyond excited about a train journey AND a beach AND ice cream (first one of the year)!
We enjoyed crumpets and coffee at Porthminster Beach Cafe then we wandered off into the beautiful fishing village (or is it a town? It might be a town). My friend is a burger fan so I had been telling him the whole way there about Blas Burger Works, their burgers are amazing. It was not open until the evening – winter opening hours you see, still waking up from winter! I had no Plan B, so we wandered around and stumbled across Harbour Fish and Chips, what a find. The restaurant (if you want to eat in or they do take away) is clean, fresh and very accommodating to young and old. I had battered mackerel fillets. It will be tough to return to boring old fish and chips now. It was amazing and very reasonably priced. We can highly recommended.
Onto to ice cream, and a play on the beaches. We tried Porthminster, Porthmeor and the harbour. All beautiful but all very different depending on the wind and people about. They are all very close and worth exploring – so close that even the legs of a 23 month old managed to walk the whole way. My friend was very impressed when he found a ‘Man crèche’, aka a local pub!
As we explored the little streets you could see the remnants of the storm just 10 days ago that battered us, but you could feel the locals stretching and getting ready for the season ahead. I may well have cursed us but I even treated myself to a new pair of sun glasses, let’s hope they get lots of wear this year.
And so here we are. At the start of another season. It feels like the excitement of the first day of a new school year. (Remember those days, clean new uniform, best pen in hand, waiting excitedly to catch up with missed friends – that is us right now). We have hopes and dreams for the year ahead and we hope you will join us on the journey.
