Yesterday was all
about being reminded just how lucky we are to live in Cornwall. As well as Penelope Keith’s TV bonus (see THE
GOOD LIFE IN CORNWALL below), it was a glorious day out for myself and Janet
courtesy of our daughter Annabelle.
I say “courtesy
of,” as Annabelle is down from London for a week’s holiday with us, and she
never fails to “get us out” and see more of the incomparable delights on our
doorstep.
Yesterday that
meant a trip over to Levant Mine and Beam Engine and then an utterly magical
clifftop walk down west towards Cape Cornwall.
You’d need three
lifetimes to exhaust the pleasure obtainable from such walks. Such peace . . . such rugged beauty . . .
such historical fascination. (The “real
Cornwall,” as I like to think of it.)
There was hardly
a cloud in the sky and scarcely a breath of wind. With other people countable on the fingers of
one hand (well, almost), and the vast panorama of the azure blue Atlantic spread
all around you, there is surely no finer way to refresh the spirits.
We even seemed to
have the sea to ourselves, so to speak.
Just one ship on the far horizon, a fishing boat chugging away in the
middle distance, and a little yacht, barely detectable, in glorious isolation.
And ashore, so
many reminders of Cornwall’s mining past – the chimney stacks, the ruined
structures, the derelict stone engine houses.
At the half-way
point between Levant and Cape Cornwall, Janet and I chose to return to the car
while Annabelle hiked on to Cape Cornwall for us to re-rendezvous there.
Part of her
reason (a rather big part, I suspect) was her knowledge that they sell
Roskillys ice cream there, which she just loves.
As we drove into
the National Trust car park at the Cape, the lovely lady on the admission gate
gave us a huge smile and said “Lovely to see you.” We didn’t know her from Adam – but the really
nice thing was, we were convinced that she absolutely meant it.
Then we all
tucked into that delicious ice cream, together with a well-earned cuppa, as we
admired the stunning beauty of the Cape and looked across to the Longships
Lighthouse and Land’s End glistening in the distance.
I told my Devon
pal Brian Thomas all about it in an email this morning, and he replied with a
special memory of his own:
“Your
yesterday excursion sounded fantastic. I can see it in my mind now. The last
time I did the Cornwall coast was a few years back with my friend Dave and we went
all round the Cornish tip ‘from 'Zance to S'Ives’ and on up the north coast for
a spell before coming back via Porthleven, Redruth etc.
“It was a glorious blue sky day with a single large cloud
hanging directly over the centre of the county all day, but never blocking the
sun on the coast. We had pasties bought in Helston at Sennen Cove and it was pure
magic.”
Indeed it was – pure magic – yesterday. Especially on that clifftop walk. That had everything – almost. All that was missing was Ross Poldark and Demelza galloping by!
