Cornwall - Tintagel

During the week prior to the Easter holiday I spent a week in the small Cornish village of Tintagel (2010). Tintagel village and its castle has long been associated with legends and myths surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Using the cottages4you online service we were able to book a house for a week. "We" meaning my boyfriend and I, as well as his parents. I had been looking forward to this holiday for quite a while.

It was a six hour drive from my flat in London and we only stopped once. After a completely tiring drive we found our destination, a little house called Hazeldene, which would be our home for the week. After arriving and unpacking our belongings we decided a night in would do us all the world of good. We sampled the local fish and chips, something Rob's (my boyfriend's) father always does on the first night of any holiday. The place was called "Uncle Jack's Cabin". I tried something on the menu that I had never ever seen before - a mushy pea fritter! It tasted pretty standard, basically what you would expect to find in a fritter of that description: mushy peas and batter. The taste was pretty bland which is a plus since the chips were horribly over fried that they looked like tree bark. Rob and his Dad thought it might have been a one-off experience and suggested sampling them again later on in the week. The visitor's book in our house recommended them highly so they might be right. Otherwise I'm left with the impression that it's the norm around here to eat chips like that. Anyway, enough of the chips. That was our first day over and done with.

Day two was more exciting. We left Tintagel at 10:30am and headed towards Boscastle Harbour. UK readers may probably remember the flash floods that ruined this small idyllic landscape in 2004. I bring good news though - it's recovered well! I loved the area and we spent the whole morning walking around and exploring. There were small cottages that reminded me of a Poirot or Miss Marple novel. Close by was also a museum of Witchcraft, yet it was closed and did not open until April 1st. I vowed to go back and visit, even if it did look tiny from the outside. We stayed and ate a Sunday carvery at a place called the Riverside Hotel. Not as great as the good ol' Crown carvery chain where you pile your plate full of whatever you want for 3.59. At this carvery you had a woman guarding the hot plate and serving the food so you didn't take more than you were entitled to even though it was advertised as all-you-can-eat outside. I managed to trade my meat with Rob for some extra roast potatoes, for that I was happy. Even though they had seasoned them with black pepper that had left an ever lasting taste in my mouth.

Pictures of Boscastle:

Stream

Next we drove to National Trust property "Lanhydrock". An old Jacobean house presented in a Victorian manner. This is because in 1881 there was a fire which caused immense damage to the property and due to the strict moral codes between servant & master, male & female and public & private quarters in Victorian times the house was restored so that every function had a room. It must be one of the best well-preserved houses I've ever seen. There were about fifty rooms which I walked through that day. There were extravagant rooms such as the Dining Room and a Billiard Room, yet I was much more fascinated by the Kitchen that was built like a medieval hall. It was my ultimate dream kitchen, except I'd prefer more modern facilities rather than the big old fireplace for cooking huge joints on. Not only the Kitchen amazed me but the Dairy too, what with a marble slab table in the middle with running water circling the outside. Servants would put puddings on the slab to keep them cool. Such a unique place and such an odd table as well!

The Kitchen

On our way back from Lanhydrock we stopped by at Jamaica Inn. An Inn made famous by Daphne Du Maurier's book of the same name. Over the years this Inn has succumbed to modernisation and even expanded its hotel space. This is probably mainly due to benefiting from the extra advertisement they received from appearing on Living TV's "Most Haunted". Attracting avid ghost hunters as well as fans of the book seems to have paid well over the years. Personally, I found the changes they have made very artificial. I was well aware I was in a pub, no matter how atmospheric they had tried to make it by hanging pots and pans from the ceiling. The motorway that you can clearly see from the car park lessens any atmosphere I may have felt, if any. It was somewhere where I would not venture again or would like to. I was very dissapointed with it and glad that we didn't stay long.

Jamaica Inn

Day two was bad weather. Like the previous day, it had started with no rain but then began to pelt down in the afternoon. We were meant to be driving along the coast today and exploring all the beaches along the way but plans were changed at the last minute and we only visited one port due to the weather. That port was Port Isaac. We relied on the good ol' sat nav to get us there - bad move! The shortest route isn't always the most sensible of choices. Especially in Cornwall with all the country roads! We traveled through a small place called Treknow and the road was so narrow that I was tenterhooks the whole way through. I also heard the car struggle up a hill and dreaded the journey back.

Port Isaac was nice and charming. It's also famous for being the filming location for Doc Martin on ITV1. I also got right up close to a gull. I can't even get that close to my pet budgies so I was really surprised and pleased at my photo opportunity. The harbour was cute as well, not quite up to Boscastle standards but nice all the same. We stopped for cream tea at noon. I don't care if you're meant to have it at 4pm like some idiot commented upon when we were dining. I've never experienced eating scones spread with clotted cream and jam. Again, it was another element of the holiday that reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel.

Port Isaac

Rain had started to fall whilst we were in the tearooms and so our plans for the day had to change. We traveled back to Tintagel and explored the famous old post office, another National Trust property. The post office was built around 1350 as a type of small-scale hall-house. It became the letter sorting office for the local area in the 1870s and closed in 1878. Funny how it should be so renown and such a tourist attraction when it only spent eight years (or less even) servicing the Royal Mail. Up until recently most National Trust properties have forbade the taking of photographs on their properties. Now they permit it in some attractions but restrict the use of flash. The woman was nice in the post office as she understood how dark it was in the house and permitted me to use flash. Therefore I have a few photos.

The north bedroom of The Old Post Office

On Day three the weather followed the same trend as it had been doing for the past couple of days; dreary and dull. We visited a charming fishing village called Polperro which boasts lovely Saxon and Roman bridges as well as a jumble of multi-coloured houses. The tide was out and there was a sinister cave in the beach. I did some exploring although I did not venture the whole length of the cave as it became too narrow. For lunch we dined in 'The Three Pilchards', a 15th century pub with a log fire that spat embers. I remembered the beams being rather low and every man that walked into the bar having to bend down so as to not knock their head. It seemed rather quaint and it was an enjoyable experience.

The sinister cave

Afterwards we ventured to Looe, a few miles along the coast from Polperro. It was a shame that the weather was not better since the pier (called 'Banjo Pier') was closed and the tide was beginning to come in because we arrived there late in the afternoon. We were lucky to get to some shops before they had closed. The sandy beach was beautiful but Rob and I found ourselves running for cover when it started to hail. I never really knew how much small balls of ice could sting a person's face - it was painful! Rob suggested that we find a place to drink a hot beverage to warm ourselves up and because we thoroughly enjoyed the cream tea from the day before I was eager to try out 'Miss Marple's' award winning tea rooms in the centre of Looe. Firstly, I have to give the lady on duty ten out of ten for customer service. She was very cheery and happy (a characteristic which I severly lack!) and what's more was that she was very quick at taking our order and serving the teas. For that I give her alot of credit. Not many places could keep up such a routine. Compared with the tea I was served the day before it was better service and there was more choice (you could chose from either fruit or plain scones.) The tea shop in Port Isaac gave us freshly cooked scones which made it the winner though.

Port Looe

On our journey back to the cottage we stopped off at Padstow as Rob's father wanted to see where Rick Stein's (the famous tv chef) restaurant was located. I had booked a table for his parents for Good Friday so it was good to see the location.

Padstow

Wednesday was a day of immense traveling. Altogether we must have spent over four hours in the car. We had plans but they changed and changed again. In the morning we decided to visit Antony, a National Trust property at Torpoint. The house is still used as a family home so entry into the house is timed and viewing is limited. Most rooms upstairs you couldn't walk into. I didn't mind looking but the fact of the matter was that most of the doors to the rooms hadn't been opened fully so I couldn't even see half the room. What with other visitors as well it was very troublesome. Antony has recently found fame due to it being used for filming in the Tim Burton film 'Alice in Wonderland'. They don't film much there, just the part where Alice goes to the engagement party but that hasn't stopped the owners from cashing in on the fact. They've installed a butterfly trail with certain exhibits like a figure of Alice, the caterpillar, the rabbit hole - I fell down this and my trousers got all muddy, a talking cheshire cat amongst others.

Front of Anthony House

For lunch we ate in the National Trust tea room - big mistake! Small choice, small portions, big price. We bought some soup and it was served to me in a teacup. I'd advise anyone else visiting to take packed lunch to avoid their mad hatter pricing policy.

After Antony it was a long, long, long, long drive to Coverack. It was labelled on the map as a 'pictureque village' and yes it was. That was all it was, it was so small and boring it's the sort of place you visit with a noose in hand. Shops were scarce as well as pubs and the beach was stony, not very nice at all. The only thing remotely interesting about the place was the thatch rooves of many of the cottages there, which is probably where the village gets its reputation of being picturesque. After only 30 minutes we got back into the car and drove to Falmouth to get something to eat.

Coverack

Falmouth looked gorgeous! It was a shame that we arrived past the closing time of the many shops in Falmouth because it would have been good to have gone shopping. There was a pub called the 'Quayseide Inn' that Rob chose to eat in. The best way to describe this pub is to say the name J.D.Wetherspoon as that's what type of pub it was: similar menu, atmosphere, the way you order, service etc. We knew what to expect. The food was ok, not brilliant but ok. They did a good deal - two meals for ten pounds. Once we'd eaten our meal tiredness had set in and we decided to head back to Tintagel.

Falmouth

Later in the week we managed to visit Tintagel castle. Mostly ruins of course and very windy. You learn from the video shown at the castle that it had very little to do with King Arthur. The actal castle was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall in 1233. There were rumors that King Arthur was conceived in Tintagel, yet the Historia Regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Britain - a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth) nowhere claims that Arthur was born at Tintagel, or that he ever visited the place in later life, or that in any sense the stronghold became his property when he was king.

Tintagel Castle Ruins

Other destinations we visited included Newquay, which although it boasts a wonderful beach it didn't seem to do much else. Whenever I see amusement arcades with cranes, fruit machines and coin pushers it puts it on par with Blackpool. One of my most hated destinations in the entire world. I managed to get some nice shots of the beach and was amazed that there was so many mussels attached to rocks. They made such a brilliant capture on my camera. One thingI won't forget in a hurry is the secluded house on the mound. It just seemed so out of place. When I mentioned visiting Newquay to my parents the first thing they said to me was "Did you see the house? Why anyone would build a house there is beyond me!". I believe it was the harbour and Tolcarne Beach that we visited if I remember rightly.

House on the Hill

St Tudy and its church was on our list of places to visit as Rob's father wished to see the birthplace of William Bligh, the Vice Admiral in command of the HMS Bounty in 1789 when the notorius mutiny occurred. There is an interesting plaque dedicated to him in the Church.

Plaque in St Tudy's church

We also ventured back to Padstow for a meal on Good Friday. Rob's parents went to Rick Stein's seafood restaurant, loved it and Rob and I visited a mock Victorian tea-room for our lunch.

Not to mention that I finally visited the Museum of Witchcraft. Freaky and intriguing as well as scary and mysterious. :)

Museum of Witchcraft exhibit