Jun 25 - 30 2021
Art for Art’s sake
On our way to St
Ives, our next stop, we broke the journey at the National Trust Lanhydrock
House and Gardens. Built in the 17th century, but restored in the
Victorian era, this mansion is noted for its gardens and woodlands. Our limited
time precluded woodland walks, but we enjoyed exploring the house and gardens.
Pressing on, we arrived at Ayr Holiday Park, on the outskirts of St Ives, early
in the evening.
 |
| Lanhydrock Gardens |
 |
House and chapel
|
Saturday morning
was dull and grey as we walked down the steep road to Porthmeor beach, to the
west of St Ives. We then picked up the South West Coast Path again, following
it west, round the delightfully named Clodgy Point towards the Merry
Harvesters, a stone circle of dubious authenticity. Porthkervis Bay made a
suitable picnic stop before heading back along the path to the campsite.
 |
| Porthmeor beach and St Ives |
The forecast for
Sunday was for heavy rain all day, so we had booked tickets for the Tate St
Ives. Donning our waterproofs, we trudged down into town, arriving at the
gallery in a rather soggy condition. It made for an interesting morning; we
liked a fair few of the exhibits, but some of the installations and artworks
left us scratching our heads. A cup of coffee in the café fortified us for the
walk back in the rain.
Thankfully the next
day was dry, so we set off again on the coast path, this time heading east. The
path rises steeply as it heads round Porthminster Point, before arriving in
Carbis Bay (no doubt still recovering from the G7 summit a couple of weeks
ago). The path was wet from Sundays’ rain as we continued; we were glad of our
walking boots, unlike some folks who were wearing sandals or flip-flops. Emerging
from the damp woodland, we walked amongst grasses and dunes by Porth Kidney
Sands, before reaching Lelant. After a picnic on the rocks by the bay, we
walked to the nearby station and caught a train back to St Ives.
 |
| St Ives |
 |
| Porth Kidney Sands |
Time to move on
again, towards Land’s End. We weren’t sorry to leave Ayr Holiday Park; although
we had seen it recommended, we felt that the facilities did not live up to the
price. It was by far the most expensive site we have stayed on in the UK or
Europe (including Switzerland!).
Our route took us
round Penzance, which gave us the opportunity to visit more National Trust
gardens, this time at Trengwainton. These gardens contain a wide variety of
exotic species that thrive in the mild climate of this part of the country.
Although overcast, it made for a pleasant couple of hours wandering around the
25-acre estate.
Our destination was
the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Sennen, north of Land’s End, which we reached
in the late afternoon. After settling in, we went for a walk over the fields to
Gwynver Beach, about 40 minutes away. The Longships rocks and lighthouse, off
Land’s End, were visible in the hazy evening light.
A real bonus of the
Sennen site is the proximity of the bus service, the Land’s End Coaster, which
we used on every day of our stay.
Botallack was our
destination the following day and we arrived at the village in warm sunshine. A
short walk from Botallack leads to the famous Crown Mines, with their old
headframes and ruined engine houses perched on the cliffs. These relics of
Cornwall’s once flourishing tin industry will be familiar to the legions of
Poldark fans, as the area was a filming location for both productions. I was thinking
of the lines from the Show of Hands song “Cousin Jack”, about displaced Cornish
tin miners:
“Where the copper, the clay and the arsenic and tin
run in your blood and get under your skin”
After a couple of
hours exploring and taking lots of photographs, we headed back to the village.
A glass of local cider in the Queens Arms proved a good way to while away the
time until the bus arrived. Back at the site, we planned the next day’s trip…
No comments:
Post a Comment