Falling in love on the road… with Cornwall

Falling in love on the road? Well I haven’t!  I had to think about this – as when we are away we tend to keep ourselves to ourselves, I rarely see anything and have to buy it and I didn’t meet Mr P on my travels…. What else could I have fallen I love with?  Easy – a place!  Or is it that easy?!  I suspect I’m not the only person to fall in love with a new place I’ve just visited, and I think I definitely have had a bit of a fling with all of the stunning places we’ve visited – especially Greece most recently, South Africa where we honeymooned, Cape Cod, Jamaica, the middle of the desert, the beaches of Donegal, even the Concorde Lounge at Heathrow has its merits on the list! I think with the amount of research that goes into any of our trips away and with the importance placed on R&R in our busy lives, I’d be disappointed if I wasn’t a bit in awe with every bit of every trip.

But places come and go – much as I love all those places I mentioned there is only really one place that I would happily go to time and again, year on year, whatever the weather! It has to be Cornwall – the love of my travels!!

It’s Cornwall every time!

I have taken Cornwall for granted over the years – so accustomed to spending holidays there with my parents, visiting my grandparents and seeing my cousins. I think it is certainly a case of not realising how lovely it is and how lucky I was. Only in the last couple of years when Mr P and I started spending more time there have I realised quite how lovely it is and how much I enjoy my time there. Not only that we’ve seen the best it has to offer – happily my Grandpa’s knowledge of Cornwall was second to none, having lived there 94 years.  On each visit we would stop-by with pasties for lunch, explain where we were staying and sometimes even get out the Ordnance Survey map. Mr P would then pore over the map with Grandpa while I would hurry to keep up writing notes of where we should visit. By doing this we have seen places that aren’t in the guide books and don’t have nearby car parks, perfect places. Here’s a few secrets – the photos do most of the talking!

Welcome to our Cornwall! 

Rinsey – there are old mine stacks everywhere across the landscape in parts of Cornwall, but not many are still in perfect condition and in front of jaw dropingly beautiful scenery.  At Rinsey however there are some real stunners. This isn’t far from the Lizard and there is a little National Trust car park, but it’s at the end of a very narrow lane and so not many people find it.  A gorgeous cliff walk through the fields to see these and many others.  Quite incredible to think that mining took place here not so long ago – it can’t have been easy!

Rinsey

Cape Cornwall – I had until recently thought that all of the area near to Land’s End was overrun with a theme park, but thankfully Cape Cod is an untouched beauty.  In the early summer when the wild flowers were in full bloom it is just stunning, but then in the autumn it is stunning in a rugged and windswept way instead.

Cape Cornwall

Nearby is the beach village of Sennen.  This could be anywhere in the world, but happily it is under 4 hours from home!  Stunning! The beach near to the village will be busy in the summer, but it is a long beach so walk a little way along and it feels like you are on a desert island!

Sennen

Some more mining history is found at Botallack – incredible views if you don’t mind a bit of a scramble.

Botallack

Cot Valley looks out across to the sleeping giant and is a great spot for sunset.  The beach has quirky rounded rocks and please heed the warnings about not taking the rocks… Even Prince Charles had to give his back as they are geological anomalies that need to stay where they are!

Cot Valley

Further north, as you drive round the coast towards St Ives is another gem, but clearly a very different type of coast line – much more rugged!  We visited Gurnard’s Head in the early Autumn, a great walk along the cliffs.  Thankfully there’s a great gastro-pub nearby that you must enjoy lunch at if you are in the area!

Gurnard’s Head

Porthgwarra is a walk along the coast from the Minnack theatre where I have been a few times (top tip if you go to watch a play – take a cushion and a warm jumper).  Shut your eyes in Porthgwarra with the steep slipways and rocky caves and you can almost hear the smugglers going about their business!  You will certainly see seals if you open your eyes!

Porthgwarra

The little beach at Porth Chapel is a perfect find – it can never be busy as it isn’t easy to get to (and there are far more accessible ones nearby).  We had it to ourselves – perfect!

Porth Chapel

The Bedruthan steps are on the ragged north coast, I’ve never been down to the beach but the view from the cliffs is pretty epic in itself.

Bedruthan Steps

Cornwall was once the richest part of the country thanks to its mining heritage – there is a new museum called Heartlands just off the A30.  Please go and find out more, it really is fascinating and is a proud part of the Cornish way of life.  Just don’t think too hard about the many 100’s of miles of tunnels below you!

Heartlands

Happily these bits of Cornwall haven’t changed in years – we would always take our photos back to show my grandparents when we were heading up-country at the end of our trip – lovely to show them their Cornwall through our lens.  There is so much to admire and enjoy in Cornwall, plenty more beyond these favourites of ours!  Why is my love affair with Cornwall when I have been lucky enough to go to some far flung places – well it is just stunning, there is always a quiet spot, it can be rustic, full of beauty and totally varied too.  There is always something new to discover and we keep going back for more!

I do however think my parents must wonder why they went to such trouble showing me so much of the country when I was younger, as I had completely forgotten just how much Cornwall has to offer until recently!

What a little cutie – that’s me on St Ives beach, just a “few” years ago!

Happily there is a good choice of places to stay – gorgeous self-catering, stunning posh-pub accommodation and a bull shed!  Just a few gems we’ve found recently!

Another smashing travel link-up theme, thanks to Kelly, Emma and Rebecca and this month’s guest host – Kat. Looking forward to reading every one else’s love stories!

I don’t work for the Cornish tourist board, but I think these photos could!!  Heading west again at Christmas, hoping for a few more discoveries and to carry on jogging my childhood memories!

Cornwall in June – it could have been the Mediterrean

And if you haven’t fallen in love yet, here’s one of our own discoveries…

Camel valley – on Lily’s wavelength and a fantastic drop too!