Cornwall

CORNWALL

Cathedral at Truro 

Emily and I decided that since we had been within a few miles of the northern most part of Britain it was only right that we visit the southern most part. So literally on the spur of the moment, Jenny got on the internet and then on the phone, and in a short time came up with reservations for us in a B&B hotel in Penzance plus tickets to the Minac Theatre where The Learned Ladies by Moliere was playing. Jenny is very, very good at pulling rabbits out of hats. So bright and early on Wednesday morning we made our very familiar early morning exit out of Canberra Circle and down to the train station. The train ride down through Devon and into Cornwall was very interesting. We went through Exeter and then cut west to St. Austell and Truro where I got pictures of the Cathedral there from the train. We arrived in Penzance in the early afternoon.

Cliff Hotel, Penzance

After locating our hotel, which was right across the street from the train station (how handy was that!) we dumped our overnighters and set off to explore Penzance. But before I get into that I want to say a few words about the hotel. I just love these small family owned hotels in the UK. I would so much rather stay in one of them than in the cookie-cutter places with all the amenities they are building nowadays. These hotels have something much more attractive to me than mere amenities. They have Character. And History. When the lady who ran the hotel discovered we were interested in the history of her hotel she sat down and had a cup of coffee with us the next morning while we were eating breakfast and told us all about it. It seems that her Mother was the one who bought the hotel in the late 1920's with a small inheritance she got from her share of the sale of her parents’ farm after they died. This was during the depression that was every bit as bad in the UK as it was here and according to the daughter was run as a family affair because they could not afford help..

During WWII the hotel was hit by a bomb intended for the train station across the street that went slightly astray. She pointed out to us some of the make-shift repairs that were done that are still holding up to this day. There was also a platoon of U.S. Army Engineers billeted there who participated later in the Normandy landings. She said that she was a very young child at the time but that she still remembered certain ones as they used to supply her with candy which was just not available in wartime Britain.

Cornish Cream Tea

The first place we stopped was the Tourist Information Center which was, and was not very helpful. Sometimes in Britain you have to know the right questions to ask because every once in a while the difference between American English and British English can really lead to confusion. Some of these people look at us like we come from another planet because they have no idea where we are coming from. Distance is one of the major breakdowns in communications that I have with the British. If you are asking local directions they always tell you the distance in minutes. If you insist on knowing miles, feet, yards, blocks, all the things that I understand they just give you a blank look. They only think in minutes.

After walking for what seemed like forever, we finally spotted a place called The Boat Shed and had lunch. I don't remember what we had but I do remember that by the time we were served, whatever it was, we were starving. After we had a little sustenance in our tummies we set off to explore Penzance. Penzance is a very pretty, but very hilly town with narrow streets, very old houses, and beautiful churches. A lovely church called St. David's caught our eye sitting atop one particularly steep street so Emily and I trudged our way up to do a little exploring. The Anglican priest there showed us around and gave us a little history of the church. There was a lovely view of the harbor from up there with steps leading down a series of terraces to the seaside. The terraces were part of the church cemetery and you could not help but hope that the churchyard was haunted, otherwise think about what a waste of a lovely view it was.

Getting out to the Minak theatre turned out to be a little bit of an adventure. There is a bus station adjoining the train station and a bus that runs straight to the theatre. However on this evening there had been an accident along the bus route and the traffic was delayed and the dispatcher at the bus station said that the delay was expected to take at least an hour. So we scrambled around and found a taxi to take us out there. This was an unexpected expense but to make up for it the taxi driver was very, very nice, and drove us straight up to the entrance. You would have to have been there to see how complicated this was. He also promised to be right there waiting for us when the performance was over to take us back, and he was. Taxi drivers in the UK are very obliging even if one in Weston-Super-Mare did teach Emily a bad word when he was referring to our current President. Called him a Wanker as a matter of fact.

Anyway, the Minak theatre as you can see from the picture above is one of the truly unique places on earth.  The Learned Ladies is one of those wicked British satires that skewered intellectual pretension and authors who take themselves too seriously. I loved it but Emily is still a little young yet to really appreciate satire. But the sheer beauty of the setting and the experience of being there was, in my opinion, well worth the time and effort it took to get there.

St. Mary's Mount

The next morning we set out to explore some of the Cornish countryside and decided that our best option was to take a local, double-decker bus to St. Ives which is about twenty miles or so from Penzance, and the trip involves passing through some lovely villages and countryside. One of the villages that we passed through was Marazion, a quaint village which lays claim to being the oldest town in Britain, originally called Ictis by the Romans. It was passing through here when we got a great view of St. Michael's Mount. The mount itself is dedicated to St. Michael, who, in Cornish legend, appeared to a group of Cornish fishermen in 495 AD - standing high on a rocky ledge on the western side of the Mount, and is also purported to be the setting for the great Celtic tragedy of Tristan and Isolde. Whatever is true, it's a lovely place. You can ride a ferry over to it from Marazion to the island which is now owned by the National Trust. They operate a couple of gift shops and you can tour the castle and gardens. Since we were pressed for time we had to settle for a photo from the top of the bus. Maybe someday on another trip........ .

St. Ives turned out to be one of those truly lovely little villages and we puttered around for several hours. We spent some time down on the sea front with all the other tourists, mostly Brits, and just watched the world go by. Emily shopped for souvenirs and we struck up conversations with several people, and then wandered back up the hill to catch the bus back to Penzance. Someone please tell me how every place you want to go is always up hill and never down hill?

View from the Saltash Bridge, Cornwall

As soon as we reached Penzance we collected our luggage from the hotel and caught the train back to Weston-Super-Mare. We had a rather messy train change in Taunton, and the train we were supposed to connect to was very late but eventually we made it. Emily carried on a mild flirtation with the young man who worked in the catering car on the train between Penzance and Taunton so that helped pass the time for her. I am so glad we decided to take the little side trip to Cornwall. I love it there and really wanted Emily to see it.

I have added this last picture taken as we left Cornwall by train simply because it reminds me of a scene in Rosamunde Pilcher's book Coming Home where Judith and Jeremy meet for the first time.

Emily’s Side of the Story

Got up and got on the train to Penzance, got there and went to our hotel, which was 100 yards away from the train station. We got into the hotel and the lady who owned it gave us a keychain full of keys to get into the hotel. There were 3 keys to get into the hotel. One for the outer door, 2 for the inner door. 1 for the top lock and one for the lower lock. All of the locks in this hotel were all about 500 years old. Anyway then I had a key for our room. I had to fight with the door...it was a hassle but funny at the same time. Grams and I trekked out to the tourist information to find out what we should do for tonight’s performance, and how we could get there. Decided to get some suggestions on where to eat. The lady at the information desk told us that there was this nice pub about 10 minutes walk away. Well needless to say about 20 minutes later and we STILL weren't there. We decided to eat at The Boatshed. "It’s a ten minute walk," seems to be a loose term over here. You could be in England and ask how long it would take you to get to Scotland (another country) and they would probably say "Oh its just a ten minute walk." AHHHHH! Anyway, I went back to the girl and I was like well give me DISTANCE. I want MILES..not minutes. Anyway...*sighs* sometimes you wonder about people. In the States if you asked someone how far something is, they give you blocks or mileage. But on the other hand, how far I can walk in 10 minutes is not the same amount that Grams can walk in 10 minutes. At least in the States we try to take into consideration if you have an older person with you, that "Hey, maybe they can't get around that well." Anywho...

Got there and walked around Penzance, Grams and I found this awesome church, but what was greater was the graveyard in the back. There were TONS of palm trees. It was very beautiful..there was a grave there from 1769. It was just a beautiful day. Then Grams and I caught a taxi up to the Minack theater because the bus that we were supposed to catch was caught in a traffic jam because of a really bad accident. Our taxi driver decided that he would come pick us up from the theater when the play was done. He was really nice. Anyway..got to the Minack, which is a theater carved out of the side of a mountain. We saw "The Learned Ladies," there was a ton of satire..so I didn't really get it. I played with my camera the whole night...haha. Anyway..got back from the play and got into bed. The experience of going to the Minack Theater...was awesome. You should go if you ever get the chance. It was...really unique.

Got up and went out to St. Ives. It was beautiful. There were once again, palm trees...and beaches...people surfing...just great stuff. I loved it. We went back to Penzance..got back on the train to Weston...got back "home" around 9 PM. I watched a few movies...and then I konked out on the couch.


Link to my 2003 Cornwall photos on Picasso