Sun on Saturday: Pretty St Mawes

March 21, 2015

With this post I'm taking you back to Cornwall and the pretty village of St Mawes, which is the principal village in The Roseland Peninsula, an area designated of outstanding beauty and that's something I'd definitely second. We arrived on the peninsula on the small car ferry crossing the River Fal, having spent the morning at Trelissick Gardens at Feock, near Falmouth. The crossing was short and fun, as well as smooth as we were there before MOH noticed we were moving, I think he was slightly disappointed by that but I wasn't having an extra couple of trips just so he could experience it knowingly.

St Mawes is right on the southern tip of the Roseland Peninsula and it has a pretty harbour and many pretty cottages. The village is built into the side of the peninsula, like many of Cornwall's coastal villages so that means there's some pretty steep hills to walk up, but when you do you're rewarded with fantastic views across the rooftops and beyond.

There's a large car park in the centre of the village which is reasonably priced and most useful. There's plenty of room for cars and for coaches too, as I suspect this village is high on the list for coach party trips. There's a great sign in the pub's section of the car park which asks people to "park prettily"

There's a castle at St Mawes too, Henry VIII built one close to the waterline to guard the entrance to the harbour. We didn't visit the castle but it has three huge circular bastions arranged in a clover leaf pattern and multiple gun ports providing formidable defences. The castle is intact and no doubt holds many Tudor treasures just waiting to be discovered.

I was more taken with the prettiness of the village. And if anyone suggested sitting outside the cafe on its small pavement, close to the petrol pumps in any other town I'd look at them as if they were mad. Here though, the petrol pumps had their own vintage charm and had long since stopped providing petrol.

Tomorrow I'm sharing another picture from the garage for my weekly black and white photo, so be sure to come back for that.

For me they were perfect for the village, so I had no problem pausing for a moment or two and the ice cream we had was a real treat too. After quite a few snaps we headed off along the coast to admire the cottages, many of which are thatched.

JUST ENOUGH ROOM FOR SOME BEAUTIFUL POTS

Sun on Saturday: Fish n Chips in Fowey

February 7, 2015

Fowey was our last Cornish stop before we headed home and it was an impromptu stop after realising were were so close by. We stayed in Fowey - pronounced to rhyme with joy - for a short break back in 2008. That time we'd stayed in the pub at the top of the town, The Safe Harbour and the breakfasts were phenomenal. When we checked in the landlady asked us if we wanted to join the Game Night being held that evening. Not quite sure what to expect, MOH and I looked at each other quizzically wondering how to respond. Thankfully at that point the landlady clarified the evening's entertainment and said it was food and produced a menu - phew! That was the night that I had my dinner in a plate sized Yorkshire pudding, delicious.

From that previous visit we knew not to take the car down into the town - it's a narrow road down, which narrows and winds further too. We parked in the car park and were rewarded with our first views of the estuary and Fowey's rooftops (it's a great place for rooftops!).

As we walked down into the town we passed cottages galore, some with cottage-shaped shadows, others with living walls but all contributing to the seaside town feel.

There were steps up to some of the cottages and steps around the corner of one pavement. And shops and cafes, we spent some time pottering around a few of those too - it's not every cafè that has its own boat.

Reaching the town we walked past St Fimbarrus church which is dedicated to St Finbar who passed through the town in the 6th century. The church was rebuilt in 1460 by the Earl of Warwick after being destroyed by French marauders.

Heading along the main street and past the Harbour Offices we headed up Custom House hill after deciding to explore a bit more of the town and its rooftops. I couldn't help but pause and admire these hoardings, so much more attractive than those painted black, grey, blue or green in London.

We found the path and headed up through the town and among the densely packed buildings admiring the ingenuity of the architecture and of course the rooftops. I have a bit of a thing for rooftops, in case you hadn't noticed already...

The path looped up, round and down until once again we found ourselves back at St Fimbarrus church, this time approaching it from an angle many visitors to the town probably won't see.

Reaching the harbour we decided there was no better setting for fish and chips, so that's exactly what we did. We sat with this view eating our fish and chips on our laps, while shooing off the way-too-friendly seagulls - you'd have thought they would've learnt we don't share chips from the Padstow seagulls.

Then it was time to head back up the steep hill to the car and head back to London.

Sun on Saturday: Carnewas & Bedruthan Step

January 24, 2015

Not really knowing what to expect as we pulled into the National Trust car park we got out the car and headed over towards the cliff path. And oh what a view! I'm not sure either of us really expected this, but it wasn't a view we were going to give up on so quickly. I mean, would you?

We actually visited twice as the first time it was already early evening and the sun was starting to set - there's some sunset shots from that visit further on - we saw that you could get on the beach, but as the tide was already coming in and we didn't want to rush our time down there we decided to come back.

Bedruthan Steps became popular over a hundred years ago when Newquay developed as a holiday resort, the Victorians would visit in their carriages. I guess just like us today in our cars. It's still an impressive view, I wonder though how many of them made it down to the beach. There's also a story, some would say legend of a giant called Bedruthan using the beach stacks as stepping stones as a short cut across the bay. The Trust think this seems to be a late 19th century invention, but why would anyone - even a giant - want a short cut here?

We did. Down these steps.

And then down these ones (and more) too! But just look at that beach.

Infact the rocks and coastline is ever-changing, which means it's challenging for the National Trust to provide access to the beach and these stairs reopened in 1995 after five years of stabilisation work, as well as rebuilding the 20ft of staircase that had been washed away. I'm glad that's been done as I wouldn't have wanted to miss the beach with its rocks, caves and untrodden sand!

I had an uncontrollable urge to walk on every single bit of untrodden sand, while MOH took to skimming stones - what else? In the end I left a fair bit of sand untrodden as I didn't want to spoil it for anyone else, although for quite a while we were the only people on the beach.

The rocks were pretty interesting too and I photographed them many times - the textures and colours of each capturing me. But none more so than the one with the tide washing over it. Totally mesmerising.

With its amazing view and breathtaking beach it is truly an amazing place to visit, and if you're ever nearby make sure you take the time to see and experience it for yourself. After climbing back up the steps - there's quite a few - we got our breath back by simply breathing in the breathtaking view once more before turning, admiring the craftsmanship of this wall and heading back to the car park where the seagulls were keeping watch!

And before I go, the sunsets are amazing here too - here's a couple of shots from the sunset on our first visit. Another wow!