Armed with Tom Tom (who seemed to know her way around the place better than we did) we arrived in Plymouth late on Friday night ready to begin our adventure. A grey morning dawned - but I was up and about early - eager to check out 'The Hoe' which seems to be the pride of Plymouth and was adjacent to our hotel (one of its key selling points in fact). For those not in the know, a 'Hoe' is a high place - and in Plymouth it is a high place with gardens, a view of the harbour, a bowling green (more on that soon) and a large statue of Sir Francis Drake. It is said that the bowling green is the very same green where Drake calmly finished his game of bowls before sailing to successfully defend England's shores from the full might of the Spanish Armada. If bowls clubs are anything like they are now, no doubt he probably also popped into the bowls club rooms for some discounted ale before he did so too, but that chapter seems to have been omitted from Plymouth history books. Plymouth has a rich naval history - but by breakfast time we had our sights on Cornwall and it was time to go.
From Plymouth we set off south along the eastern coast of Cornwall. We quickly discovered Tom Tom's fetish for incredibly narrow lanes - if there was choice between a two lane main road and a narrow pot holed lane just wide enough for our little rental - we were taking the lane.... happy times... Our real target destination was Lizard Point but our route took us through numerous small (and sleepy at this time of year) fishing villages. We stopped in Fowey - and it didn't take us long to take this opportunity to test out a real Cornish pastie.... The verdict: Very good - but Grandma's short pastry pasties (which are actually more Cornish than the current day Cornish pasties) take some beating.......... They did hit the spot on a cold day though.
We eventually found Lizard Point - which seemed to be the Southern most point in Britain. We did a nice coastal walk here which took us along the cliffs of this rugged coast. Is is easy to picture the smugglers and pirates for which Cornwall was once notorious working and hiding in the many small coves along the coast. It was great to be by the sea again!Our base for the weekend wasPadstow a great little fishing village - now more famous for the celebrity chef Rick Stein who seems to own most of the businesses in town - he has a restaurant, a bistro, a cafe, a F'n'C shop, a deli/wine shop, a cooking school, not to mention a heap of accommodation. For all this - it remains an operating fishing port and was a great spot for us. We treated ourselves to Rick's Bistro that night and enjoyed great seafood..... the real find of the night was the Greek dessert wine 'Samos'. This was a hit for the boozers in the group who tried it (Mich, Ma and Pa) and is now on the shopping list for export back to NZ.
Day 2 took us to St Michael's Mount - a rocky little island just off the coast accessible at low tide which is home to a very small collection of houses and an old Castle. It was bitterly cold (snow/hail) but fortunately we could shelter in the confines of the castle and watch the squalls roll in over the bay. It was an interesting spot for a castle and not a bad way to spend a few hours. The rest of the day was spent driving further south along the coast. There were many opportunities to stop along the way - not least of which was the stop in Mousehole for Cornish Cream Tea. We also popped down to Land's End - which also seemed to claim be the southern most point of Britain - but which I think must just be the end of Britain... as it is definitely north of Lizard Point.... I checked. St Ives commanded a bit more of our time - but to be fair, after a quick wander around Mich and I quickly found a seat in a cosy port side pub bay window, right by the fire and enjoyed a drink and some warmth. Rick was on dinner again that night - this time fish and chips - the best we've had since we arrived.... no skin on the fish and no mushy peas on the side! Yay!
Gluttons for punishment - we started our 3rd and final day with... guess what.... a trip to a small fishing village! Port Issac - which is said to be the quintessential Cornwall fishing village - and with this reputation, how could we miss it? It didn't disappoint - parking on the beach at low tide, fresh fish on sale by the sea and fishing boats unloading in the bay.
Having done our quota of fishing villages we set off for the jungles of South America. I kid not. The Eden Project is a series of huge domes - the largest greenhouses in the world and which recreate various climates from around the world - tropical jungles, Mediterranean olive groves and lot's of information on deforestation, eco friendly food, climate change etc. Built in an old China clay quarry around 10 years ago this is an incredible project - and was more impressive than we had expected. It was very surreal to walk in from a cold wintery day straight into a humid tropical jungle.... We had a great time exploring Cornwall and it was great to be back by the sea again. Unfortunately the weather was unseasonally cold - but that didn't hold us back. I imagine it must be packed full of people down there in the summer - so is definitely a good place for a visit in the off season.
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