Keen Blog – Cornwall – October 2020

Our planned trip this week has been through many cycles. It started as a trip to Los Cabos in Mexico. We changed it to Mauritius , then to Italy. We thought about Turkey until it joined the quarantine list but now we are in Devon and on our way to Cornwall.   We will spend some time in Mullion Cove which is not far from where we spent a week in 1985 on our honeymoon.

It has been a strange year but actually we haven't done too badly in terms of travel. We got our trip to Singapore and Bali in early in January and in July we had a week in Malta.  Mrs K had a long weekend in Salzburg with the girls to celebrate Holly's 30th on the sound of music tour and then Mrs K and I were lucky enough to be invited to a wedding in Poland in September. Both Malta and Poland went on the quarantine list within a week of us getting back to the UK.  I hope Cornwall doesn't go the same way.  It seems unlikely but the hotels down here are almost all booked up.  Clearly a lot of people are stay-cationing down here.

It’s one of those weird coincidences in life that we have 3 separate connections in Sidmouth so we stop off there to visit Dad and my sister, say hello to very good friends and enjoy the kind hospitality of other friends in a holiday chalet overlooking the sea. 

Our morning starts with a rainbow and will end with a glorious sunset. 

In between there is a full english breakfast in Sidmouth and en route to Mullion Cove we stop at Looe which is an incredibly beautiful town on the south coast of Cornwall with hills overlooking the port littered with houses. There are families throwing in lines for soft shelled crab and they are being collected in buckets by the dozen. "What are you going to do with them?, asks Mrs K. "Throw them back.", says one young lad.  We celebrate that by visiting a nearby cafe and ordering two crab rolls.

We arrive in Mullion late afternoon after a drive which (as always in this part of the world) takes longer than we thought. But since we were here in 1985, the roads are much better and we have upgraded our car.  Our hotel is a bit dated but very smart and we quickly decide that we will be eating here each evening. 

There is the aforementioned sunset to welcome us back. Tomorrow we plan to walk to Lizard point along the coastal footpath but the weather forecast is not great.

Monday morning, it's blowing a gale out there. The hotel is perched on a hilltop looking out to sea and the wind is whistling past our window. But we are determined to do the 7-mile walk to Lizard point. The reward for me might be a nice pint at the other end. Mrs K is motivated by the exercise alone and goes for a warm up in the gym before breakfast.

We set off from the hotel. The first bit is one of the hardest sections as we descend to the small harbour and up the steep hill the other side. The rain is coming in horizontally and the path is muddy and rocky, which makes it slippery. No problems with social distancing up here. In the first 5 miles we meet 2 friendly cows and see three farmhands working on some fencing – no other walkers. I made a mistake in forgetting to bring waterproof trousers which means my lower half is soaking. Some sections of the path are quite rough and it is slow going but as we approach Lizard point (about 3 hours later) the weather starts to improve and my trousers get a blow dry. At Lizard point, there is just one café , but we tuck into a massive Cornish pasty.

The next task is to get back to the hotel. One option is to walk back along the coastal path – that is quickly discounted. Uber? Not out here. In fact, we can’t even get a mobile signal. A shopkeeper is all too happy to give us the number of a local taxi company, but without a signal it is not much use. Fortunately, as we are standing in the middle of the village thinking about what we can do, our taxi arrives. It’s not your conventional type of taxi. In fact, it is a double decker with a grumpy driver, but we have it all to ourselves. It is 4 miles back to Mullion by road but it seems that our bus has to visit all the neighbouring villages en route. Eventually we are dropped off by the cricket club in Mullion and we hike the half a mile back to the hotel. I am looking forward to that beer.

Part 2

It’s our last breakfast at Mullion Cove. It’s a lovely day and we can see Penzance across the bay from our table.  It seems appropriate to try the full Cornish breakfast as we have some travelling and more walking to do today.  Mrs K pushed the boat out last night, knocking back a glass of prosecco before dinner. She doesn't normally drink so was in fits of giggles in the restaurant for a few minutes, causing some quizzical looks from other diners. Many of you have seen this pattern of behaviour before and it was only temporary, but it took me back to our trip down here in 1985 - some things never change.

I have been trying to find the tiny coach house that we stayed in back in 1985.  Helston has changed a lot in 35 years. I would say the town is about 10 times the size it was back then, partly due to tourism but also due to growth of the naval base - RNAS Culdrose.  Needless to say, we don't find it.

However, we do have a photo which we were able to re-produce (sort of). This is from a small village called St. Keverne.

That is my old banger in the photo. I’m talking about the Renault 12 of course. You can’t see its dented roof – that was the result of both being put on top of the car after we were carried out of the reception. I was 22 and Mrs K was 19.

On Tuesday we walk round the Loe lake on the Penrose Estate near Porthleven.  It is separated from the sea only by a substantial sand bar.  It is about 6.5 miles and mostly flat and we manage to avoid most of the torrential showers. Again, stunning scenery and very few people.

A few have been concerned for our (Covid-19) safety. Thanks for that. Today however we faced a much greater threat as we walked from our hotel at Fistral beach into Newquay.  The footpath took us through the Newquay golf club. Apparently, it is safe to walk across between raised mounds as golfers tee off over our heads. As we cross, a senior member tees off and his ball narrowly clears the footpath. The woman behind us is oblivious.  I must say though that the site of this course is stunning, right on the beach.

An errant golf ball next to the footpath

I think I have been to Newquay before but probably as a boy (my Dad will confirm). Mrs K and I are not quite in the vibe of the place yet. In fact, Mrs K would need to walk through town barefoot and I would need to find my shorts and flip-flops, grow my hair and dye it a bit blond, grow a beard, get a body piercing and learn to ride skateboard. And, of course, learn how to surf. I tried it once before with unspectacular results. In late afternoon, people are flocking to the beach in their wetsuits and carrying their boards down the many steps to the surf. I am guessing the sea is pretty cold but it is as nice an evening as you could reasonably expect in October.

The place seems to be very busy. We try to get into the Fish House restaurant on the beach, the no.1 rated place on TripAdvisor. It is fully booked and even the waiting list is full.

En route to Fistral, we stopped at the Eden Project and looked at some very large plastic greenhouses. I notice the sky dishes down here are very big too.

On Thursday we plan another walk along the coast to Watergate Bay, about 5 miles. My plan is to go at low tide so we can walk along the beach for a decent part of it. We are told the Watergate Beach Hotel does a nice lunch so that is the target. We might walk back too but it depends how good the lunch is.

On Friday we head back to Sidmouth. This was a just a Covid-affected mini blog so thanks for reading. Stay well.

15/10/2020