One place we wanted to visit in England whilst living in London is the South West corner known as Cornwell. Thi
s area is probably the closest you can get to home in terms of beach culture, scenery and ‘warm’ weather. We were very lucky to actually experience some sunshine whilst spending a long weekend here with a couple of friends Amy and Mel.
It turned out to be a bit of an ordeal getting there as it corresponded with Summer Solstice which meant that all the hippies were heading to Stonehenge which was on the way. This caused traffic jams for pretty much 2-3 hours of our 4 hour drive which ended up being a whole lot longer.
One of our first stops was to Dartmoor National Park where we did a short walk to stretch our legs. It really made us appreciate the untouched beauty of the National Park at home. Whilst it was very pretty it was interspersed with pine forest plantations, towns and other signs of humanity.
We spent the first night in a hostel that was a converted railway station in the town of Okehampton. We arrived quite late so it was a matter of getting some food from the supermarket, watching the Soccer World cup on TV and heading to bed ready for an early start in the morning.
s area is probably the closest you can get to home in terms of beach culture, scenery and ‘warm’ weather. We were very lucky to actually experience some sunshine whilst spending a long weekend here with a couple of friends Amy and Mel.It turned out to be a bit of an ordeal getting there as it corresponded with Summer Solstice which meant that all the hippies were heading to Stonehenge which was on the way. This caused traffic jams for pretty much 2-3 hours of our 4 hour drive which ended up being a whole lot longer.
One of our first stops was to Dartmoor National Park where we did a short walk to stretch our legs. It really made us appreciate the untouched beauty of the National Park at home. Whilst it was very pretty it was interspersed with pine forest plantations, towns and other signs of humanity.
We spent the first night in a hostel that was a converted railway station in the town of Okehampton. We arrived quite late so it was a matter of getting some food from the supermarket, watching the Soccer World cup on TV and heading to bed ready for an early start in the morning.
I am now one step closer to dying after visiting the Eden Project which is on my fictional list of things to do before I die. This was amazing! It is basically a huge environmental project that changed an old clay mine which was basically infertile into a massive garden center a bit like the ‘Australian Garden’ in Cranbourne. Within the garden there are some bio domes which house recreations of 
a Mediterranean environment and a tropical rainforest. These were amazing as the temperature rises dramatically as you enter and the humitity within rainforest was very realistic. It’s easy to imagine that this would be the closest many English people get to these environments. 
From there we headed onto our accommodation in a beach town called Porthtow
an. It was lovely to walk on the beach and search the rock pools for creatures. I had almost forgotten how good the beach smells. The hostel we are staying at is run by a very nice couple who’s sons have grown up and moved away. They have converted the house into a hostel and they live in a caravan out the front during summer due to the higher demand for beds. They have a cat and elderly dog so it was nice to get some fury cuddles. Steve the owner was also great as he sent us to a pub down the road for a really nice meal. It was interesting visiting a pub in a s
mall town and seeing the number of children who come along with their parents. We had a couple of young brothers giving us tips on how to play pool, which I found quite annoying but Mel and Damien though was hilarious. Before we left it was almost as if there was an even number of kids and adults.
The next day we hit some of the scenic coast line and fulfilled Damien’s dream of eating Cornish Pasties in Cornwell. We had these in the very pretty town of St Ives.
This is also home to a Tate Gallery and the studio of one of my favorite sculptors Barbra Hepworth. This is a very busy little town full of delicious food and interesting little galleries. Damien and I may head back for a weekend at some stage if we get a chance. 
From St Ives we continued along the coast and stopped at whatever took our fancy. We had a look at some ruins and did a bit of a coastal walk. Lands End proved to be a bit of a disappointment as it has a fair ground built on the end. The English and Americans
love their fair grounds in otherwise beautiful locations which just doesn’t make sense to me. After that it was back to the hostel, dinner sunset on the beach and eventually bed.
Our last day in Cornwell was a long one. First stop was a cider farm where we tried the whole range of produce. The lady who served us was quite generous with the pou
rs and hardly let you clear the glass before she was pouring the next lot. I was feeling a bit light headed when we left. Next we went to an ice-cream factory and were a little disturbed by the chocolate ice-cream ozzing from a hose, but that didn’t stop me from sampling. We continued along the northern Cornish coast line to an interesting little lighthouse just before Newquay which had great views. Mel and Damien had a swim at a beach further around the coast whilst Amy and I enjoyed scones with jam and Cornish cream. This was made even better by the fact that there was a dog friendly hotel nearby so we made some new four legged friends. 
Our last stop on the way back to London was Tintagel Castel where King Arthur liked to hang out. There is part of the castle on the mainland and part of it is on a island assessable by a bridge to an island. This was very cool to see but expensive to actually visit. We enjoyed free views from the top of a hill then moved on. Amy dropped us off at around 6pm to a station a short train ride from home. It was a lovely long weekend but we were all stuffed.
an. It was lovely to walk on the beach and search the rock pools for creatures. I had almost forgotten how good the beach smells. The hostel we are staying at is run by a very nice couple who’s sons have grown up and moved away. They have converted the house into a hostel and they live in a caravan out the front during summer due to the higher demand for beds. They have a cat and elderly dog so it was nice to get some fury cuddles. Steve the owner was also great as he sent us to a pub down the road for a really nice meal. It was interesting visiting a pub in a s
mall town and seeing the number of children who come along with their parents. We had a couple of young brothers giving us tips on how to play pool, which I found quite annoying but Mel and Damien though was hilarious. Before we left it was almost as if there was an even number of kids and adults.The next day we hit some of the scenic coast line and fulfilled Damien’s dream of eating Cornish Pasties in Cornwell. We had these in the very pretty town of St Ives.
This is also home to a Tate Gallery and the studio of one of my favorite sculptors Barbra Hepworth. This is a very busy little town full of delicious food and interesting little galleries. Damien and I may head back for a weekend at some stage if we get a chance. 
From St Ives we continued along the coast and stopped at whatever took our fancy. We had a look at some ruins and did a bit of a coastal walk. Lands End proved to be a bit of a disappointment as it has a fair ground built on the end. The English and Americans
love their fair grounds in otherwise beautiful locations which just doesn’t make sense to me. After that it was back to the hostel, dinner sunset on the beach and eventually bed.Our last day in Cornwell was a long one. First stop was a cider farm where we tried the whole range of produce. The lady who served us was quite generous with the pou
rs and hardly let you clear the glass before she was pouring the next lot. I was feeling a bit light headed when we left. Next we went to an ice-cream factory and were a little disturbed by the chocolate ice-cream ozzing from a hose, but that didn’t stop me from sampling. We continued along the northern Cornish coast line to an interesting little lighthouse just before Newquay which had great views. Mel and Damien had a swim at a beach further around the coast whilst Amy and I enjoyed scones with jam and Cornish cream. This was made even better by the fact that there was a dog friendly hotel nearby so we made some new four legged friends. 
Our last stop on the way back to London was Tintagel Castel where King Arthur liked to hang out. There is part of the castle on the mainland and part of it is on a island assessable by a bridge to an island. This was very cool to see but expensive to actually visit. We enjoyed free views from the top of a hill then moved on. Amy dropped us off at around 6pm to a station a short train ride from home. It was a lovely long weekend but we were all stuffed.
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