{"id":99533,"date":"2020-09-16T10:35:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T09:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/?p=99533"},"modified":"2020-09-16T14:51:49","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T13:51:49","slug":"the-cornish-coast-time-away-and-beauty-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/alison-keenan\/the-cornish-coast-time-away-and-beauty-day\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cornish Coast, time away and Beauty Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

I want to start this blog with a thank you for all your lovely comments and for keeping in touch with me while I was away on holiday. Like so many others, we are trying to take annual leave before the fine weather here at home finishes. Seems crazy that I was only back at work for a couple of days before Colin and I headed off once more around the British coast.<\/p>\n

This time we were travelling to Cornwall but decided to break our journey up and stop in Plymouth. It\u2019s not a place either of us have visited before but we had a really good day mooching around even though the weather was pretty grim. Social distancing was being practised and most of the harbourside restaurants had seats outside. I was glad I have brought my waterproof with me but I didn\u2019t dampen my enjoyment of a delicious pizza that we shared for lunch. It was possibly the nicest stone baked pizza I\u2019ve had since Colin and I were in Rome on our honeymoon five years ago. We had hoped to enjoy the view across Plymouth Sound but unfortunately because it was so cloudy and wet we couldn\u2019t see a great deal. Of course it\u2019s here that\u2019s Sir Francis Drake the intrepid explorer is immortalised in a fabulous statue just metres away from the green where he reportedly finished his game of bowls before heading out to defeat the Spanish armada in 1588. If the weather had been the same as it was for us he might not have even seen the Armada on the day! The best bit for me though was Smeaton\u2018s Tower Lighthouse standing tall and somewhat imposing at the top of the green.<\/p>\n

From there we headed down to Saint Austell which is where my cousin Marianne lives and checked in to a beautiful hotel on Carlyon Bay. The view from our bedroom window was right out across the sea and we had the most fabulous meal in the restaurant there. The following morning we visited Fowey and then had lunch with the family before taking a tour around Charlestown.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

This time we visited the Shipwreck Museum which was fascinating if not a little worrying to think that every single one of these vessels had been considered seaworthy and safe before they set sail! We had a delicious fish and chip supper and some delicious scrumpy before getting a taxi back to our hotel. Marianne\u2018s husband Len picked us up in the morning and the three of us went for walk along the cliff tops from from Mevagissey to Pentewan. Marianne made us a lasagna for lunch which I was more than ready for and then we drove to Penryn. We found a really nice Airbnb with views across Falmouth, and were delighted to find it wasn\u2019t just an en suite room but had a huge bathroom and separate sitting room too which was laid out ready for us to have our breakfast. Adrian and Debbie were our hosts, and we were there first post-Covid guests. The place was immaculate, beautifully finished and extremely comfortable. I would highly recommend it if you\u2019re ever visiting that part of the country \u2013 here is the link<\/a>.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

The following morning we woke to bright sunshine and decided to walk to Falmouth. From there we continued to Swanpool Beach, had a pasty at lunchtime and then walked back to Falmouth.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

There is a lovely little train that you can catch there, and it took us home to Penryn, and that night we drove to Porthleven for dinner. This is the sunset just before it poured with rain!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

From that day forward we were blessed with much brighter weather and less rain and continued around the coast to Penzance, Mousehole, and Hayle.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

We walked the coastal path from Porthtowan to Chapel Porth and then Saint Agnes to see the tin mines. We were delighted to find that we actually covered 25 miles in three days and so felt we more than deserved yet another pasty! My sister Jenny and her partner Linda were also in Cornwall at the same time and were staying in a little cottage in Mullion Cove. We joined them for the last couple of days of our holiday and had a beautiful evening on Poldhu beach. This is the sunset from there and although we were sitting wrapped in blankets it was still stunning.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Hayle beach though was an absolute winner and definitely our favourite.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

A little bit breezy so we decided to try and find a windbreak but bought a tent instead! It was lovely sitting in it as the sun set.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

As it was another beautiful day on the Thursday, we decided to visit Saint Ives before heading home. Again not a part of Cornwall I had seen before but I was very taken with this picturesque seaside town.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

We caught the train from St Erth to St Ives which gave us a cracking view of the entire Hayle coastline. Colin filmed it from the train and just caught it as we rounded the bend, so I thought you might like to see it.<\/p>\n