Cornwall

The chain ferry at (I think) Torpoint is a funny way to get your motor over the Tamar, though it's slower than the bridge, and the bridge gives you a good view of Brunel's amazing rail bridge IIRC.

Random thing I really enjoyed on the same trip that took in Plymouth: we skirted into the eastern bit of Cornwall Xmas to take a look at Trethevy Quoit: https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/sites/trethevy_quoit.htm - it's in a field right next to some houses but is surprisingly atmospheric and with very convenient parking if you don't mind driving up a tiny country road to get there. The parking was helpful as we had my mum with us who isn't really in the market for long walks these days.

A few minutes' drive away there's an avenue and circle of small stones: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/hurlers-stone-circles/ this one is effectively open country, is picturesque in that slightly bleak Cornish way (mind we went on New Year's eve for added bleakness)but there's a car park right there

Advantage of hiring a car in Exeter: probably end up being quicker for where you're going if speed is important, you could take the A38 over the north of Dartmoor rather than going the long way round on the bigger road to the south. I've never hired a car there but I think there's a hire place right by Exeter St David's station. Exeter easier to get out of by car than Plymouth.

Advantage of hiring a car in Plymouth: less driving miles in total, excellent train journey as noted along the Exe estuary and down along by Dawlish.

I can recommend a car hire firm if you want Tracer, we got very good service from them when picking up a car at St Austell station.

Thanks for the offer Neil. We're going to go through Exeter though. A kink in my plan has already reared up - all the car hire places next to the train station appear to close up around noon on Saturdays - and we get there at 1:30?! I'll call around tomorrow - surely I can work something out?

So far: Boscastle is beautiful. Hayle Travelodge less so, although I did get to see 6 policemen arresting someone at midnight, not sure what for. We probably should've just stayed in Penzance for an extra day, but we wanted to go to the wildlife park there, which was fun tbh. Miserable pissy rain has been an issue but mostly on the way here, it was pretty frightening driving down the M27 past Portsmouth and Southampton in the most torrential downpour I'd ever driven in and also the first time I'd ever driven on a motorway. This hotel in Penzance has worked out great though, the restaurant is fantastic and it's on a hill so got a view of the bay, St Michael's Mount etc.

On a less positive note my laptop screen is fucked, I've never really taken this laptop anywhere before and it turns out it doesn't like to be moved. Which is a bit of a bummer because I bought Untitled Goose Game just before we left

What did you get up to in Boscastle? My parents are going to be with the kids on their own without a car for a few days so I'd be grateful for any advice.

By the way I sorted the rental car. Turns out websites aren't that useful for getting things done in Cornwall.

There's not much there, just went walking round the hills round the harbour, great views. We went to the witchcraft museum which is cute but small. We had planned to go to Tintagel castle which is a short drive but my wife wasn't up to it so we skipped it

they voted for brexit in big numbers.

I'd always say head for West Penwith. If your wife is OK with a bit of tramping through fields, take a look at the Modern Antiquarian forums: there are so many astonishing ancient prehistoric sites just lying about the place and you'll be practically the only people there.

In terms of beaches, Sennen Cove and Gwynver (just next door; you can walk across generally, depending on high tide) are amazing and the walk to Land's End from Sennen is gorgeous (just don't go too close: Land's End is the most disappointing theme park in the world).

The Old Success in Sennen Cove has rooms. If it's warm you can have a pint on the roof garden. You're practically in the sea.

Go to Chysauster! Amazingly preserved 1st-century village: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chysauster-ancient-village/
You can stand on the headland there and look across to the sea where the trading ships would arrive at Mousehole and Newlyn. The view hasn't changed in 2000 years.

I'll shush now. God, Cornwall.

Next step independence

― A frenzied geologist (Tom D.), Thursday, 24 April 2014 15:58 (five years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Cornish indie, fuxxors

― PhetamineGrrrn (wins), Thursday, 24 April 2014 16:04 (five years ago) bookmarkflaglink

That’s good stuff

See what you mean about lands end. Would've gone to Chysauster but walking is a problem. We went to Marazion and I got the wheelchair out and wheeled my wife along the sea path and we watched the tide come in over the causeway to St Michael's Mount, the sun's out today so it was nice. Found a nice little pub in Penzance to have a pint before dinner

I totally skimmed the thread so apologies for the inappropriate 'tramping across fields' response. You're doing a great thing - glad the weather is good for you.

No worries at all, your suggestions looked great and I'm not the only ilxor in Cornwall this week so might be useful to others

There are both Devon and Cornwall threads but not a combined one, so I've revived this one BUT I'm really interested in both. My wife and I are doing a Devon/Dartmoor/Cornwall holiday in late July/early August. We've already done a fair amount of research, but I'm open to suggestions! We're planning to do some moor hikes, of course, but would take recommendations on specific ones. Interested in (in no particular order) pre-Christian sites, Arthurian mystique, Du Maurier sites, natural wonders, pastys, pubs, historical oddities, etc. We'll be staying a few days in St. Ives, with a night at Jamaica Inn, one outside Sidmouth, one night in Exeter, a few nights unplanned so far.

We've timed the trip to culminate with seeing Steeleye Span play in Sidmouth, ahead of the Sidmouth Folk Fest.

if you pass thru plymouth let me know!

There's a good chance we will! We were talking about staying a night there, but I'm not sure the current itinerary (my wife is more the planner).

I loved my visits to Bodmin Jail, it is a common-as-muck tourist attraction but the building is historically interesting and has a creepy aura that no amount of lottery funding spent on it could make it more or less creepier.

I really love the coast between Zennor and Penzance - particularly St Just and Sennen Cove round to Logan Rock. There are loads of archaeological sites in West Penwith; many you can access just by driving around that area and looking for brown signs.

Julian Cope's site is great for sniffing this stuff out: https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/412/cornwall.html

Carn Euny is great and you have to go to Chysauster if you can: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/chysauster-ancient-village/

I started to learn a tiny bit of the zombie language Cornish but didn't want to mention lest Tom D mock me.

Not at all, that's a proper language.

There's a fair chance I'll be in Sidmouth during the festival, unfortunately I spend a lot of time there at present. Sidmouth during the Folk Festival is a very different prospect to normal Sidmouth, really the job is just to wander around, it's fun. In the old days every pub had some scratch folk stuff going on, these days not so much, sometimes you can find good stuff in The Swan. My other fave pub in Sidmouth is The Volunteer, but afaict their festival offer now is motley cover bands. There's a really good (quite bumpy) coastal walk from Sidmouth to Branscombe, recommended to finish for lunch in the excellent Fountain Head in Branscombe. Any part of the South West coastal path that's convenient is usually worth it.

St Ives is beautiful, I think it's a bit hollowed out by holiday homes these. days, AIUI the community mostly sold up and moved to Carbis and the edges of town. The Barbara Hepworth garden's unmissable, the Bernard Leach studio is missable but interesting.

I really like Penzance but haven't been there in years. I really like Falmouth and was there a few years ago.

There's a decent little run of standing stones just north of Liskeard: Trevethy quoit (which is an excellent quilt which sits oddly in what seems to e an unloved playing field out the back of a little row of unremarkable houses, but is atmospheric for all that), then the Hurlers Stone Circles and Craddock Moor stone circle (didn't make it to the Cheesewring, heard people like it).

Mark S is the best thing about Plymouth. Ivor Dewdney's (pron: dood-knee) pasties are the second best, it's not true that he killed his brother and turned him into a pasty. There's a good dusty old bookshop down by the Barbican.

There's supposed to be a very good gastropub in Tavistock. The Cider House in Newton Abbot is something of a natural wonder, proper old-fashioned cider pub, there are basically no places like that left anywhere.

Stone things I've enjoyed on Dartmoor: Nine Maidens stone circle, Mardon Down stone circle, Grimspound abandoned village. I should know more about neolithic shit on the moor than I do.

Exeter: the best and friendliest pub in Exeter by a mile is The Hour Glass, the food there is good too. The cathedral wouldn't be in my top 5 but would be in my top 10. There's a surprising number of decent East Asian places in Exeter, my favourite being Rogamo on Sidwell Street, which has no atmosphere, no licence, erratic service and some of the best hand-pulled Xi'an noodles I've ever had.

I've tried not to crap on about churches and / or modern architecture but I can crap on about either if you want.

Sone of my favourite ever rambling in England was between Par and Looe via Fowey and Polperro (an odd little place), should be ideal that time of year.

Not at all, that's a proper language.

Thanks for the thoughts! Keep 'em coming, we won't get to everything but love to know what's out there. (We do have the Julian Cope book and have marked a few places from that for sure.)

Also, my wife requests more info on "modern architecture" as mentioned upthread.

don't start with grimspound abandoned village

Trying to remember the Cornish language bookstore people like

Not quite what I said, but Rubicund in Falmouth.

That'll be those brisk sea breezes.

Okay, here's the one thing you'll want to know about the Cornish language if you want to know anything. The word for music is "ilow." Which is a ghost-word, based on a misunderstanding and a typo, but it has been accepted since there was no other good candidate.

I love ilow

Also this storefront: https://cornish-language.org/kowsva-shop-at-heartlands/

Maybe you can bring me back a souvenir;)

Although I might just order online

Could get you one of those Cornish alphabet books.

We'll be down there in the summer, but taking kids to beaches mainly.
Jam before cream, btw, and I say that having grown up in Devon...

What are the good beaches?

Mark S is the best thing about Plymouth.

― Tim, Tuesday, 20 February 2024 18:41 (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

no longer true, they just found a v large unexploded ww2 bomb in a garden in keyham up beyond stoke village: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-68156374

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339093341_Haunting_Vocabulary_and_Celtic_Lexicography_Towards_a_Taxonomy_of_Ghost_Words

With small people we have tended to minimise driving (and see friends nearby) so have only been to Rock, Harlyn, Mawgan Porth sort of areas, which were perfectly lovely but I imagine it's more lush the deeper into Cornwall you go - would love to explore more, and also revisit the Isles Of Scilly one day. My one memory of Land's End is my brother throwing up from car-sickness when we were kids...

I'd recommend any of the four great beaches at Newquay, but I'm a crude pleb who can't stand Julian Cope and don't gaf about cosmic leylines or whatever bollox he has wrote about. Get to the fucking chip shop at Towan after walking across all of them, tides permitting, and get attacked by seagulls while you eat - that's the real england!

lol taken under advisement

Trying to remember the Cornish language bookstore people like

There's a great bookshop in Falmouth called Beermoth (iirc) that has a bar and sells wonderful Cornish beer.

For coastal walks I can recommend Fowey > Polpero, finishing off at the Three Pilchards Inn for fish and chips and cider. It's a pretty tough up-and-down walk but with beautiful views.

If you really want to push the boat out, go to Burgh Island Hotel for a night or two, it's full-on 20s Art Deco opulence. Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" was set on a fictionalised version of the island. You get there on a Sea Tractor and there's a pub owned by the hotel on the island.

My only advice is not to bother with Land's End, one of the most disappointing tourist spots in the world.

do not trust satnavs if driving near Polperro, speaking from experience