Postcards from Cornwall

Early on in the Summer, back in the heart of the heat wave, I took a long weekend and travelled down to Cornwall with my family. With a lovely house in Falmouth, close to the beach, the port, the old town, the beach huts, the ice cream, it was the perfect way to kick start what has been a rather wonderful Endless Summer, (which is still going for me for a few more weeks- sorry for smugness!)

I am always very quick to look far away for holidays, flying miles to a tropical climate or galavanting around Europe but it is trips like these that make me realise that you can look a lot closer to home, to feel that escape and have that true holiday feeling. It is also a really lovely familiar feeling, reminiscent of childhood holidays, throwing everything in the car and driving for what seems like forever on the long winding countryside. Seeing the sea for the first time is as exciting as ever, and well this time we parked up and were splashing about in the warm, yes warm, English Chanel within minutes. We stopped at The Hidden Hut, tucked away near Portscatho and St Mawes on the Roseland Peninsula. This little hidden gem is a BIG must for anyone heading down there. A rustic little cafe, sits on the top of the bay with beautiful views over the water and the countryside, we tucked into homemade sausage rolls and fresh salads, literally we had been in Cornwall for half an hour and home felt a million miles away. The Hidden Hut it is open from March to October so still plenty of time if you are heading down out of Summer, you don’t need to book, just rock up. With a walk around Falmouth, fish and chips for tea, well what a way to start the weekend!

With the Heat Wave on full, we spend the next day at the beaches closest to our house. The water was warm and clear, with golden sand, at a glance it felt as if we were in the heart of the Mediterranean, but in away it was kinda better. We were in and out of the water all day, and walked along to Castle Beach beach to fill up on Cornish ice cream, (the best ice cream if you ask me ) at Castle Beach cafe, as we indulged in strawberry and clotted cream cones, surrounded by the pretty pastel coloured beach huts, looking for crabs in the rocks, sun kissed, covered in sand, suncream and ice cream, is there a better feeling at the end of a Summers Day? Washed up fresh and clean we headed down to the port for dinner on the water. We ate at The Stable, feasting on sour dough pizzas, fresh green salads and the most amazing chocolate brownie, all washed down with local strawberry and rhubarb cider. Seagulls were a plenty, dive bombing tables at times. The evening was warm, the boats were bobbing on the water and that seaside smell that I swear you only get in England, that evening was one of most favourite this Summer.

Easily we fell into a slower pace of life and hopped on a little boat over to St Mawes, which took about 20 minutes. St Mawes is that idyllic, pretty, white washed Cornish Fishing Village, we walked along the costal pathway, stopping off for a little nose into the most beautiful gardens. Walks onto the beach, watching the boats come in. After coffees at the beautiful Hotel Tresanton, a higgledy piggledy charming hotel, (I’ll be back to stay the night) we headed on up to the St Mawes Castle, an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII. With views out to sea towards Falmouth it was a rather good spot to take in the surroundings and, well, to inject a little education into the trip.

With dream house hunting, gentle walks, cream teas looking out to sea, little shops stocking buckets and spades, postcards and rock, St Mawes is the perfect Cornish Town.

The weekend was slow, simple, calm and rather lovely. Full of cream tea and sea air, it was time to jump on a 5&1/2 hour train back to London, sad to leave, but full ideas to head back soon, with the realisation that you really do not have to fly across the world to have a wonderful holiday, feel as if you have escaped the everyday and to create happy memories that will last a life time……..especially when England has the hottest Summer in years!