A Postcard From Cornwall
Updated: 10 hours ago
I'm a northern woman who enjoys pasties, dry cider and rambling around the countryside. The past two Augusts I've taken a weeks holiday in beautiful Cornwall so I'm writing this letter to you as my postcard from those adventures.
August is a busy time in Cornwall due to the school holidays, so tourist attractions fill up quickly. We chose a mixture of tourism combined with much quieter walks to take in some sea air and peace.
Gardens
(Both of these are partner gardens to the RHS, depending on the time of year you go could get you in for free or at a discount)
As us Northern people patiently wait for our version of the Eden Project (I'd love it to be called "Th'Eden Project") to be built in Morecambe (2028), I've had the OG Eden on my 'to visit' list, twice. Neither times disappointed and both were just as sweaty and delicious in the rainforest biome.
The Eden project is built on an old clay quarry and is miles ahead in terms of climate education. As well as being a beautiful and inspiring place to visit, every inch considers the climate impact from flushing toilets with rainwater to offering vegan ice creams and vegan menus in the cafe. It's an incredible place to see so many variations of plants.
Another special place to visit, The Lost Gardens of Heligan has 200 acres of rediscovered gardens, wild spaces, meadows and a rope bridge to explore. Developing since 1990, it's now one of Europe's largest restoration projects.
(We ran out of time to visit RHS Rosemoor too so that's on the list for next time!)
Walks
I use walking as a lovely, slow way to discover my new surroundings. You can't go too wrong with a backpack full of picnic and an old camera. Here are a few walks that I've loved in Cornwall, my little cocker spaniel had the time of her life running through the hills.
Brown Willy - Cornwall's highest hill is a straight forward walk up from the carpark up to Showery Tor, Rough Tor and Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor.
Cardinham Woods is a magical place to visit and has different walking and cycling routes for all needs, most of the footpaths are accessible too.
Seaside Towns:
With tales of King Arthur, Tingtagel is steeped in lore and history, the small town hosts a huge suspension bridge across to an island with castle ruins (run by English Heritage) as well as dramatic coastal rock stacks.
We opted for a coastal walk to keep away from the busy crowds. * This is the link to my AllTrails route
Would it be a trip to Cornwall without a trip to the quaint fishing village of Port Isaac? The home of Doc Martin and tiny winding streets.
Car-less days
As you arrive in Cornwall, it quickly becomes apparent just how difficult it is to get around on public transport or the impassable country lanes by foot. To set the scene, we had travelled down in my 16year old Hyundai i10, in a heatwave and in school holiday traffic. Let's just say the ten hour journey was a test of human endurance...
I was adamant to squeeze in a minimum of two 'no car days' to stretch my legs and find a different way to navigate the area.
The public transport around Wadebridge where we were staying was clean, efficient and had a digital map keeping you up to date with where the bus was, the only down side was the frequency of the buses and that they stopped for the day at 5:45pm...
We arrived in Wadebridge and walked up the Camel Trail to Padstow. A lot of people cycle this route and it makes for a lovely walk too. From there you can enjoy the estuaries and wildlife (we spotted plenty of Little Egrets). Padstow is also a great place to enjoy a local cider or ice cream before getting the tiny ferry across to Rock beach (perfect for a sunset fish and chips) and the bus back to Wadebridge.
Another car-less day we had was a trip to Haywood Farm Cider. Two keen cider drinkers on a mission to find some tasty treats! The cider farm wasn't far from where we were staying and would've been 15 minute drive in the car, however we wanted more than just one pint for our efforts in the sunshine and decided to make a day of the trip.
Hoping this postcard reaches you safely,
Wish you were here!
Take care,
Molly
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