Cornish summer

Any chance we have skipped UK and travelled to Thailand? I would believe that from this photo. Want to know more?

We drove to Cornwall on Saturday morning but since it was the beginning of the bank holiday weekend, there was actual traffic jam on the motorway. Seeing the crowds in services, we were a bit worried about how many people we will be sharing our holiday destination with. We finally reached the Airbnb cottage by 3 and decided to rest for a while after the long drive.

We drove to Gwithian beach, the nearest beach to our accommodation and had a very late lunch or a very early dinner of burgers just after 4 at the Sunday sunset cafe. We saw a lot of families basking in the evening sunshine, walking around in wetsuits and carrying around beach gear, the atmosphere was so holiday-ish. We walked for a while on the beach and watched people mainly. A group diving into tidal pools caught our attention as did the little kids who carried around their own beach gear without complaining. It was nice to see kids who were not spoilt for a change.

We noticed a lovely lighthouse nearby and decided to drive to Godrevy Beach to enjoy a closer view.

After walking around on the cliffs, we settled down on a spot to watch the sunset which turned out to be glorious. We were joined by several families watching sunset from their holiday caravans and from picnics in front of their cars but there was enough beauty for everyone to enjoy it. 

As we were in a coastal area, we decided to milk all the views from sunrises and sunsets. So on Sunday morning, we went on an early morning drive to Lizard point. We were a little late for sunrise but it was early enough that there were no other tourists and we enjoyed a quiet walk around Lizard point, near the lighthouse and all the way to Housel Bay beach. There were a few seals close to the shore, basking in early morning sunlight.

The walk to Housel beach bay was lovely with more far reaching views and we were surrounded by the songs of little birds and were entertained by butterflies dancing around us and also the occasional sighting of rabbits.

After the walk, we had breakfast at a charming little cafe near Lizard Cove.

Our next stop was at Kyanance cove. What I thought would be a brief stop at a beach turned out to be a long trek to the beach as well as the surrounding cliffs. This was when we faced the peak of the holiday crowds. The beach was pretty small but the crowds were not. Despite the crowds though, it was a glorious day and it looked like what I thought Thailand might be like and at 30 degrees, it was very warm.

This guy in the red shorts was running on the cliffs and his speed was superhuman!

We decided to give shoes a break and let our barefeet soak up the sun.

We noticed this older couple hiking in shorts and t-shirts and devouring sandwiches enjoying this view and we decided we want to be like them when we were old,  enjoying an active holiday without any excuses.

We decided to eat lunch at the Wetherspoon in the nearby town of Penzance. There was some kind of pirate festival going on in the town and we saw hundreds of people in costumes walking around the town and all the waiting staff at Wetherspoon were also in pirate costumes.

After enjoying our lunch, especially the cold coke in the hot weather, we left to Marazion. Lakshman was keen to visit the RSPB but most of the property was roped off so after a very short walk, we bought ice cream and walked on the Marazion beach with views of St Michael's mount.

These interesting chairs at the RSPB caught my eye!

We saw a newly wedded couple with their photographer who were trying to get interesting pictures in the dramatic background of St Michael's Mount.

We then drove to Lands end to watch the sunset. Again there were coastal views all around, this being the southern most point in Cornwall.

We walked for a while on the coastal cliffs enjoying the views and then found a spot for ourselves. After spreading our new beach mat and colorful bedspread, Lakshman settled in to click long exposure photos when I opened my kindle and read for almost an hour in this absolutely peaceful setting. It was a most relaxing way to spend the evening, checking in on the progress of the sunset meanwhile enjoying my favorite hobby. That was my reading nook for the evening.

We met the Airbnb host that night briefly and she was lovely. From the stuff in her kitchen, it was obvious that she was a dognut.

That was the lovely kitchen at the cottage.

The doggy bed in the dining room of the house.

After having a coffee at the cottage, we checked out and headed to Praa sands beach for a sunrise walk. If the setting was like this, I swear I would go on morning walks and runs more regularly! We had the whole beach to ourselves and we walked the whole length of the beach listening to the best music in the world, the sound of waves crashing.

There were plenty of caravans in the parking as this was an overnight parking spot and we especially liked a military looking truck which turned out to be a lovely mobile home.

After our morning walk, we drove to Falmouth and had a satisfactory english breakfast at Wetherspoon. From the brochures in the Airbnb cottage, we had the idea to spend the day exploring the Roseland coast using the ferry boats.

We took a ferry to St Mawes. Our plan was to go on to a place called Place (lol) but we were distracted by the St Mawes castle and decided to visit that first.

The tour of the St Mawes castle was very very enjoyable because the audio guide was provided to everyone buying a ticket and the audio guide brought the place to life!

This was a magazine, where gun powder would be safely stored away from the guns themselves.

The audio guide included the voice of Captain Vivian who went on about attacks by the Spaniards and how the castle was kept in constant alert against naval attacks.

There were some life-like wax statues of soldiers going about their tasks in the castle.

The two big vertical holes were used to operate the chains that controlled the draw bridge. The small hole was used to pour hot oil on enemies!

After a wonderful morning at the castle, we walked along the esplanade back to the pier and noticed some families enjoying a swim on the backwaters. At that moment we loved this place so much that we promised to return to St Mawes to stay in one of the cottage along the coast and take constant dips in the water! There was one family in particular with a lot of kids. One girl, about 5yrs, was afraid to dive and her sister, about 7yrs, motivated her from the water to jump, gave her technique ideas and sweetly promised that she will be there to catch if anything went wrong. The parents were happily swimming a little distance away with complete confidence in the swimming skills of the many kids.

We took a small ferry to the coastal town called Place. We decided to go on a hike around St Anthony's head from Place. During the hike, we saw St Anthony's church, the Lighthouse, Porthbear beach and wonderful views.

The hike was much longer than we expected and we didn't waste any sunshine that day as we walked from noon to 3pm when the heat peaks!

We finally reached Place again after a very long circular hike and had to wait for nearly an hour as there was long queue for the ferry which could only transport 12 people at a time. Finally we were in Falmouth and had a late lunch/early dinner from Dominoes Pizza overlooking the Falmouth Marina.

We then drove to Newquay, the main town in Cornwall where we were going to stay in Surfers' hotel which was situated across from Tolcarne beach for the next two nights. We walked on the beach and in the nearby high street after a shower.

A genius had decided to take his van into the beach and his wheels got stuck in the sand. A dozen tourists teamed up with sand shovels to rescue him out of his hole. It was entertainment to the rest of the tourists like us.

That was the day the Game of thrones season 7 finale was screened and I ended the night in the hotel lobby watching the episode on the hotel wifi and then headed up appreciating the great bed after such a long day.

The next day was Tuesday and the bank holiday weekend was over so most of crowds had left as had the good weather, it was raining a little and there was no chance of a sunrise in that weather. So after sleeping in, we had breakfast in the Newquay Wetherspoon.

Despite the weather, we went to Tresvose lighthouse for a walk. During our walk, the weather improved and the skies turned blue.

On this path, we sighted a Peregrine that did its trademark move of gaining height and then swooping down to hunt some barn swallows. There was also a kestral fighting for territory.

After that we headed to a town called Lezzlick and stopped at a farm for ice-cream. We were looking to go to Gunvers head but ended up walking around a lovely beach and decided to rest in a lovely spot with beach view.

We then went to Bedruthan steps and had coffee before heading to the rocky beach. We did a coastal walk around this area too and then decided to head back to the beach right in front of our hotel.

At the beach by the hotel, I got into the water upto my knees and then walked from Tolcarne beach to Great Western beach in the water.

We then walked on the high street for a while and bought take away Indian dinner from an eatery called Green chilli which we ate in our room. This hotel was a little weird as the facilities felt more like a hostel. Though there was an ensuite to our room, we had to pay a deposit to get towels, there were no toileteries at all in the room and it was an old hotel. This was near the end of the holiday so I was missing having the luxury of many clothes to change into and lovely meals I could cook. Infact, the Indian dinner was due to this homesickness.

On Wednesday, we had an early start and drove back home. It was about 2pm when we reached home and Lakshman cooked this delicious and authentic South Indian meal for us. It was a reminder that holidays to gorgeous places are amazing but life in London with all the home comforts was wonderful too! 😊