Jan 8

Jan 8 Escape to the Country - Cornwall

Happy 2023! We’re starting the new year in a part of the UK that’s totally new to both of us - Cornwall.

Due to the ongoing rail strike, we decided to rent a car at Heathrow airport and drive the 5 1/2 hours to Cornwall. Here we are, driving on the left, through the rolling hills of Devon. This was the Monday after the New Years holiday weekend and the traffic heading back to London was significant.

The main route from London to the Southwest counties runs right by Stonehenge. We had both been there before, so we didn’t bother to stop. But it was pretty cool to see up on the horizon.

The view from our Airbnb apartment in St Ives was as advertised. We figured that if the weather turned we could, at the very least, enjoy the view from inside. The weather in Cornwall this time of year is most often described as ”changeable.” We’ve been pretty lucky so far with highs in the 50’s and short rain showers.

Fortunately, St. Ives is a vibrant seaside town, full of independent shops and cute cobbled lanes.

We loved this little bakery. So far, they’ve had the best pasties - the local, moon-shaped pastry filled with savory combinations of meat, potatoes, veg and cheese. I’ll get a snap of one for the next blog!

I guess we need the carbs for all the wind-swept walking we’ve been doing. The hill on the right is the back side of the peninsula that protects the St Ives harbor.

Here’s another view from slightly higher up. Most of the graves in this cemetery date from the 19th Century.

Here’s a closer look at the harbor at low tide, with rainbow!

Land’s End is about 16 miles down the coast from St Ives. It’s 5 pounds to park and we were one of about a dozen cars. I love the off-season!

Here’s the famous sign marking the most westerly point in England. The sign is actually behind a fence and you have to pay to stand next to the sign, even in the slowest months. Yeah, no thanks.

The first and last postbox seems to be “out of use.” Maybe they should charge for that too!

After you pay to park, walking along the dangerous cliffs and the views are free!

If you don’t want to see the beautiful coastline, the Land’s End complex has a café, a shop, a petting zoo and “attractions.” Too bad the “Aardman - Shawn the Sheep Experience” was closed. I would have happily paid for that!