First things first, though, as my initial impression after miles through the lush Devon countryside was peculiar - I was looking at Bodmin Moor and thinking that Cornwall was going to be the polar opposite, a far more stark, harsh environment. I was wrong, of course, as it actually contains both stark, desolate stretches and extremely verdant parts, rich in greenery of all sorts. What I have seen of the countryside is a mixture that is pleasing to the eye and invites the visitor to seek out more.
As we were travelling around quite a bit on a boat - come on, reader, get with it, it's only the previous post...! - I saw marinas, river estuaries and coastal areas within a few miles of the Falmouth area and experienced extreme (to my Mediterranean eyes, anyway) manifestations of natural phenomena like tides - how funny to see an area devoid of water, with boats sitting in the mud, where only a couple of hours previously they were bobbing up and down in the water! And what a new experience, not altogether pleasant I hasten to add, of said tide going in one direction and the wind blowing from another, forcing boats to roll like bucking broncos.
Another novel experience was having to time our forays in the dinghy from our mooring to wherever according to the tides in order to avoid getting stranded for a few hours. At least on one occasion we just about made it before the mud came up to meet the bottom of our dinghy, cutting slightly short the relaxed meal at the Yacht Club; not exactly a major hardship, dear reader, but it can be somewhat inconvenient...
We also did a lot of walking, up and down hills and around bays, but also in urban areas; some of the scenery was more enticing than others. Usually at the end of a long trek there'd be some eating establishment or other, serving wholesome grub, but on occasion we even had to do with Pizza Express, which every time these days manages to disappoint in a different way, so different from when it was a small chain in London and always reliable.
One of the most beautiful things we saw was the garden at Glendurgan, created nearly 200 years ago by local man Albert Fox. A valley garden requiring lots of dedication and eccentricity to conceive and bring to life, it contains an amazing variety of trees and plants from around the world creating an amazing setting. The Fox family still live at the adjoining Glendurgan House (elegant if rather simple and not especially large) which is private and not available to visit, though the garden is now in the caring hands of the National Trust and capably run for all to enjoy for a small fee. All I can say is if you are in the Helford River area you would be fools not to visit Glendurgan Garden, even if nature is not necessarily your thing; it is beautiful and intriguing in equal measure, full of charm. I loved it and can guarantee that you will too. Those of you with sharp eyesight will also recognise C & B from previous appearances on this blog, as we have had several outings, sometimes in the mud, sometimes on a beach. They always lead me to interesting places, often ones that I would never have chosen to visit myself and always ones that I really enjoy visiting.
We spent our Saturday evening in St. Mawes, which is a charming little town and as you already know across the bay - it's a big bay - from Falmouth. At the end of town is a small castle, romantic-looking today but once very much a part of the region's defences against sea-borne intruders. The town itself is very picturesque if ultra-smart, with lots of personalised number plates on assorted Bentleys and Range Rovers. What I saw of it was well looked after, some of it impressive, and looked prosperous, something not necessarily universal across Cornwall. But then when you look at London a neighbourhood like Chelsea is not exactly the same as, say, Peckham; money does talk and makes itself obvious in the condition of the buildings. The big surprise for me was the sea, which looked enticing, so much so that I ended up swimming for a few minutes on Sunday. The second surprise was how cold it was - it looked fine from the boat! Still, I can see myself going back to St. Mawes but not during a Bank Holiday weekend to give the local hostelries a chance to delight rather than disappoint me, as I'm sure they can.
Falmouth has loads of little - and big - places which were mostly heaving on the Sunday evening; tired and unwilling to experiment we ended up in the aforementioned pizza establishment as the intended destination, next door to the pizza place, was closed 'due to unforeseen circumstances' and the other local choice was not able to seat us for another half an hour or so.
And the funniest thing was that I didn't get to try an authentic Cornish pastie until we were in Bridport in Dorset on Monday, on the way long way back. Probably a great place to visit normally, it was so unpleasantly full on the Bank Holiday that we didn't even bother with the intended walk but just munched our pasties - not a gourmet experience, by the way, it's a stomach-filler - and ran back to the car. It was a long way back but we were happy, and Cornwall had gained another admirer to add to a vast collection. My late mother was one and she only knew Cornwall from books and photographs, but never got to visit, so I dedicate this post to her memory.
No comments:
Post a Comment