Friday 26 June 2015

Skywatch in Cornwall

We have just returned from Cornwall where we have been visiting a friend who is ill. We usually visit him out of season, in the spring and autumn, when the roads are quieter and places to stay are cheaper, but he was bed-bound and fed-up and in need of cheerful company so we phoned and booked into a B&B and popped down for a couple of days.
The landscape of south Cornwall is marked by the ruins of the tin mining industry, dramatic remnants that punctuate the sky.
I've posted images of this area several times before and we were here just a few weeks ago but on this trip the fields and hedgerows were awash with wild flowers.

Crevasses in the old stone walls provide the perfect place for small plants to flourish. If you click and enlarge this photo you will see the different varieties, including a very small blue plant like a miniature cornflower.

And both wild and cultivated flowers were blooming all about the town of St Ives.



The weather was kind and everyone was in holiday mode, soaking up the sunshine,
playing pitch and put on the green
and shopping!
St Ives has everything that you hope for in an English seaside holiday - I love it! 
The narrow streets of this former fishing village are delightful to wander through
with it's many small homes and even smaller garden spaces lovingly tended.

We walked to the coastguard look-out station, perched dramatically above the rocks (with a sky for Skywatch Friday)

and around the headland
to Porthmeor Surf Beach
and Porthmeor Beach Cafe, the best tapas bar in town. (Where I ate my tapas with such greed that I forgot to photograph them.) It's a favourite place to sit and watch the sun go down, the food is absolutely delicious and the staff very friendly - what could be better!
I remembered to photograph dessert.
On our second day we had lunch at another favourite spot, and another beach cafe, this time Portminster Beach cafe where I ate Cornish clam chowder. Doesn't it look attractive?
And it tasted just as good as it looked!

11 comments:

  1. Such an outstanding place that I would like to see for myself!! That cottage is magnificent! And the shore is so beautiful! Glad you were able to bring cheer to your friend! Nicole xo

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    1. Yes, I'm sure that you would really enjoy poking around St Ives, Nicole - and the beans would love being on one of the sandy beaches. (I was tempted to swim in the inviting-looking water and waded out until the sea lapped my waist. FREEZING! I chickened out!

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  2. Enchanting photos! I enjoyed them thoroughly.

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    1. Hello there, Kalp anaa, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos of our short stay in Cornwall, it's somewhere that I'm always happy to return to.

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  3. What glorious photos! Really enjoyed these photos of 'home' on a sunny day.
    And thank you for your kind comment on my blog. Nice to meet you!
    Axxx

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    1. I look at your blog with interest, Annie, because you are living the life that I've often dreamed of but never quite managed to act upon!

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  4. I visited St. Ives last October, and your beautiful photos made me remind the nice memories at that time. A small piskie I bought there have been sitting in our garden and watching our garden since then.
    Thank you for sharing nice pictures.

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    1. So pleased that my photos have brought back happy memories for you, Poirot. It is always nice to have a small momento of somewhere that you have visited - I trust the pixie is a lucky one!

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  5. I was surprised to see how blue the sea was particularly in the hillside shots. It almost looks Mediterranean. What a lovely little break and the chowder does look delicious.

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    1. The sea is the most tempting colour because the sand on these beaches is very white. Oh, but the water was cold! I'm contemplating getting a wet suit now that they have become so much cheaper to buy and then I'll be able to plunge into the water regardless of the temperature.
      That chowder was good!

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