CORNWALL IN SUMMER

So I didn't write any posts for ages! I have been pretty busy. Usual crap going on in my life. Am I depressed? lol. We've been away on a few holidays. If you don't take advantage of the better weather in the summer, then you will be even more miserable in the winter. I thought as a nice way of summarising our holiday in Cornwall would be a list of the good and bad, so here goes!

THE GOOD :

(1) The beaches. OMG they are stunning. There are over 300 beaches in Cornwall and well we only went to about 6 but they were so lovely. Mostly unspoiled, busy of course but that's to be expected. A couple of belters, that require a small walk to get to (along portions of the Cornwall Coastal Path, are Porthcurno and Bossiney Cove.

(2) St. Ives . A bit of a controversial choice here as it is a bit of a bitch to get to (long drive and then you have to park and ride via a train) but once you get on the train you pass some stunning scenery before being dropped just outside the centre. Another downside was that St.Ives was absolutely heaving! You could lose a child there! It's a very traditional type British seaside town with fish 'n' chips everywhere (very tasty actually). We were lucky to spot a seal coming very close to the shore. I think it felt it was in a kind of zoo where the humans are the ones to be looked at.

(3) The People. All the local people we met were very polite and eloquent. Not the ooohhhh arrrrrhhhh types that are stereotyped!

(4) St. Michaels Mount. This place was such a pleasure to visit even on a chilly blustery day. I thought it was just a rock with an old building on it. Shows how much I know! It actually has a very interesting history. Also it was fun watching the tide cover the walkway during our time on the Mount. We saw some people trying to wade back but we were sensible and took a boat!

(5) Flambards. An unexpected success here at this theme park. Lots of fun rides, but nothing too scary. Our 11 year old and her 10 year old cousin loved it and went on every ride. Perfect for kids aged 7-14 I would say. Older kids would probably prefer greater thrills.

(6) Porthpean Golf Course. This was right next to our house, so we decided to play it one evening. What larks! A really easy course with the most stunning sea views on every hole. And the best part was we were virtually the only players! It got me thinking about playing golf again, indeed I really wanted to play a second time, but sadly we ran out of days on our holiday. As an aside, the football golf, I have forgotten where it was was also great fun and I would highly recommend it as something original to have a go at!

(7) Abandoned Tin Mines (Crown Mines). These are just north of Land's End so worth combining as a day out with Porthcurno too. It is hard to describe these old mining buildings. You really have to see them to appreciate their beauty. When my sister said we are going to see some old tin mines I was like BOOOORRRRINNNGGG, but how wrong was I!!! They hang precipitously to the cliff edges, overlooking the angry white seas below. We went on a warm pleasant day but I think they would make quite a sight whatever the weather. Bring along a good camera if you have one. You will be greatly rewarded.

(8) Cornish Sausages. My daughter told me to add this. Apparently they are crunchy and crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside. Yumski!

(9) Fast food joints. Hmmmm this post is making us out to be really unhealthy people. Probably true that. Man cannot exist on fruits and salads alone!

Anyway the burgers and pizzas in England are way better than in Spain. For example a Whopper actually tastes more beefy in England. It still smells like armpits though.

THE BAD :

(1) The Lost Gardens of Heligan. They should get lost again! Seriously what a disappointment! One nice pond with some trees around it. That's all I can remember! Apart from that there is a lot of walking in woodland which is all very pleasant, but you can do that for free somewhere else! The prices were so high. The food was expensive. The scones were superb though. But really, with a name like 'The Lost Gardens of Heligan' one conjures up magical stories of elves and fairies, with secret doors and walled gardens undiscovered for a hundred years. None of it!

(2) The Eden Project. If it was free entry it would be good! Seriously the entry prices are ridiculous, but it seems to be on everyones must do list for Cornwall so we partook. Its basically two massive bubbles called biomes which have a few plants in them. The Mediterranean one was just like being back home. The jungle one was pretty cool but some of us could barely breathe inside from the high humidity. The lunch was really good though. Great scones! Of course you had to pay extra for lunch.

(3) Prices generally. £6 parking at Lands End car park as a fixed fee is a joke! You are only there to see a signpost for goodness sake. The food generally was very expensive and every garden we visited was expensive, especially Heligan and The Eden Project. If you want to holiday in Cornwall, you will be rewarded with a lot of beauty if you are lucky with the weather (See Below) but you will need deep pockets!

(4) Padstow. Seriously what is the attraction with this town? It's nothing compared to St. Ives and it's charm and beaches. We went on a nice cycle ride along the Camel River to get there, but I was pretty disappointed with the place. Overcrowded, very small harbour and no decent beaches, unless you count the ones along the estuary, but you will have to walk quite a bit out of town to get to those. This place has a reputation for great food, and sure, we had a nice lunch that was fairly inexpensive, but if you are expecting a seaside town out of a film set you will be disappointed.

(5) The Weather. Yes let's have a moan about the weather. We did have two warm sunny days and a few pleasant sunny-ish days, but there was a lot of drizzle about and it rained heavily all day once. The temperatures were rubbish. It never went over 25C. To sum it all up, on the day that Cambridge hit 38C and broke the all time British temperature record, we were layered up in drizzle and low cloud at 19C!

P.S. If anyone actually read this post, please can they contact me. I would like to know if anyone in the whole world gets notifications for new blog entries or if anyone checks in from time to time. Thanks!