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| Looe Harbour |
When Kevin left Canberra Grammar School last year after more than 20 years of service, his colleagues presented him with a gift certificate for us to stay in a 5-star B&B in Cornwall. We decided to make use of it over Easter as I was feeling desperate to get out of London and into the country for a few days. It's been a very tiring and stressful time for me, settling into my new job - much as I am really enjoying it. My days are long.
So we gladly made the five-hour drive to Cornwall. We've visited the region several times before but there is so much to see, and we had not explored this particular area previously.
The route from Epsom to Callington is truly gorgeous - heading west and firstly passing close to Winchester, across Salisbury Plain and right past Stonehenge. Then through Exeter and across the top of Dartmoor National Park.
The rape (canola) fields are just starting to bloom and soon all across England there will be blazing expanses of yellow against the extraordinary verdancy of the rest of the landscape. These Australian eyes will never tire of seeing that rich green.
En route we decided to stop at the National Trust property Cotehele. It's a mediaeval estate originating around 1300, though the the main buildings were constructed during the late 15th century. This house is one of the least altered of the Tudor houses in the United Kingdom and the impressive Great Hall still has its original timber framed ceiling. Things were built to last in those days!
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Kevin at the entrance to Cotehele |
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| This is the original timber-framed Tudor ceiling |
The buildings themselves are remarkably homey, yet we marvelled that the family occupied this mediaeval property right up until the 1940s. I can't imagine living in a place like this - it's just so at odds with the modern world. The layout is higglety-pigglety with labyrinthine corridors leading you up steps, around corners... one minute you're in a cosy bedroom with its own little prayer-room adjacent, and the next you're in a grand hall. With the modern perspective of a HR person I also couldn't help but worry about the lack of egress if there was ever a fire!
Cotehele's grounds spread down to the River Tamar where the estate has its own quay. In the 19th century local industries relied on shipping their cargo from here.
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| Cotehele Quay, on the River Tamar |
The gardens at Cotehele are really lovely - a nice combination of formal areas, orchards and small areas of 'wilderness'. In another few weeks the orchards will be in full blossom which I'm sure will be spectacular, but we had to content ourselves with drifts of daffodils and fritilliaries.
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| Fritilliaries - how I love them! They appear for just a few weeks each year, little chinese lanterns in the meadows of England. |
And so, after several hours exploring Cotehele we arrived at Cadson Manor.
This is a really high quality establishment - everything is pristine, the bed linen crisp and the towels fluffy. Our hosts were incredibly friendly and attentive, but relaxed at the same time. The family has farmed here for generations and Brenda started the B&B business back in the 90s. I could listen to Brenda's lilting Cornish accent for hours.
Right opposite the house is a big hill that is the Cadson Bury Iron Age fort, now owned by the National Trust. We climbed to the top, keeping a wary eye on the bull in the lower field as we crossed it, and were rewarded with beautiful views across the Callington area.
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| Cadson Manor |
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| Climbing the hill opposite Cadson Manor |
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| On top of the hill opposite Cadson Manor - this was once an Iron Age fort with a dry moat below |
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| The view! |
And the breakfasts - wow! Cereals, fresh fruit, warm fruit compotes, juices... followed by a hot course of your choice - everything from vegetarian sausages to kippers and omelettes. No fewer than six different marmalades and preserves to slather on three different types of toast... following which Brenda will ask if you have room for some freshly warmed croissants! (we didn't)
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| Kevin looking perplexed about where to start... |
Having done justice to breakfast on our first day we headed off to explore the local area and discovered Looe Harbour. Our hosts told us that Looe used to be a bit rough around the edges, and not particularly appealing to the tourist trade. A few years ago somebody woke up to the fact there was money to be made and tidied up the place. It really is a pleasant town now - not on the level of Padstow or St Ives, but we can only imagine it is absolutely thronged in summer with families enjoying traditional British seaside activities.
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| Selfie in the sunshine at Looe Harbour |
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| A Looe boat owner shows romantic sensibilities |
From Looe we drove for a few minutes and stumbled upon Polperro. It's one of those little harbour towns you find all over Cornwall - established long before the motor car was in existence, meaning you need to park outside the town and then meander a kilometre or two along a canal and through narrow laneways with cottages, shops and pubs towering above you on either side, until eventually you reach the mouth of the harbour.
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| Polperro Harbour |
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| Window trims painted in jolly sea colours - typically Cornish |
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| Looking out to sea - Polperro |
The next day dawned with a light frost, but sunny once again, so after another of Brenda's mammoth breakfasts we trundled off to a National Trust property that we'd somehow missed seeing on previous visits to Cornwall - Lanhydrock.
Wow.
We hadn't really done any reading on the place but Kevin's eyes lit up as we approached the car park as in recent years a gigantic cycling facility has been established to complement the more traditional National Trust pursuits. If you don't have your own bike you can hire one, and I'm certain Kevin has put this place on the list for our next visit to Cornwall.
In the meantime we walked along one of the impressive tree-lined avenues leading to the great house. The grounds are extensive - enormous, actually. How had we missed this place in the past?! It's got to be the jewel in the crown of the National Trust in the south-west.
At length we reached the main entrance to the house, where we stopped briefly to gird our loins before doing battle with the couple of billion (or so it seemed) children racing hither and thither, maps in their hands, legs at full velocity and shrieks threatening to shatter crystal. Silly us, we had chosen Easter Sunday to visit and the National Trust had arranged Easter egg hunts and various treasure trails to keep the kiddies occupied while the parents enjoyed a day out-of-doors.
I'm all for developing the next generation of humans to appreciate the preservation of historical properties, but I'm also in favour of parents making at least a token effort to educate their children about how to behave in certain environments.
I made a mental note to write to the National Trust suggesting there be designated 'child free' days at all their properties. I would happily pay more to visit on those days...
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| Don't be misled by the appearance of tranquility... screaming hordes of little monsters await! |
Lanhydrock was originally a Jacobean property but a fire in 1881 meant the house was refurbished in high Victorian style. The interior was not at all to my liking, I have to admit, but it has been incredibly well preserved and every room is furnished with the possessions of the Agar-Robartes family, to the extent that you feel they are still living there. It's a living museum of sorts.
Most of the trees in the grounds were still bare, Spring having arrived very late in the UK this year. However some of the rhododendrons and magnolias were in full glory - the latter with blossoms as big as your hand. Utterly gorgeous.
And so, the next day we reluctantly bid farewell to Cadson Manor and the rolling green hills of Cornwall.
On the way home we stopped briefly to explore Lydford Gorge, with its woodland walks, Whitelady Waterfall and Devil's Cauldron swirling pool.
At Lydford Gorge we were both reminded of our beloved Tasmania, and that's not so very strange given that this area is right next-door to the Tamar Valley region - from where the Tasmanian region surrounding Launceston takes its name. The main difference is that if we'd been in Tasmania on a public holiday morning we'd most likely be the only ones in the car park. Although we were one of the first visitors this particular day, by the time we left about 45 minutes later the car park was FULL. Ah, overpopulated England...
We felt like we'd been away longer than just two nights, and I returned to work on Tuesday feeling refreshed and ready for the challenges of a new working week.
Although we didn't plan the trip for this reason, our first wedding anniversary occurred while we were in Cornwall. It was nice to be away somewhere special to celebrate.
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| Cheers! Celebrating our first wedding anniversary with French champagne at Cadson Manor |
Until next time,
- Maree xo
