Easter in Cornwall

There is always something new to discover on every trip to Cornwall!  With the help of local knowledge, we have found some bits we love in the past few years and this Easter we took the opportunity for more exploring, and a spot of celebration too – of our 5th wedding anniversary!  As with any bank holiday weekend in the UK, it always (always) starts with rain and Easter was no exception! We are hardy Brits and always go prepared on any staycation with waterproof jackets, umbrellas, fleeces, hat/scarf/gloves as well as sun cream and summer clothes…  That way a little weather challenge won’t spoil the fun!

We arrived in Cornwall early on good Friday having risen before the birds and drew into Mevagissey with the rain! Umbrella up, we had a peaceful mooch around this fishing village!  Even in the Cornish ‘mizzle’ (mist and drizzle – it is the wettest type of rain) it was pretty and the fishing boats brightened the day up!  Initially the only place open for coffee was a pub, but thankfully Number Five was warmly welcoming early visitors for coffee and breakfast!  The rain didn’t let up during the morning and so we enjoyed a cosy lunch with friends at The Old Grammar School in Truro.  The place was buzzing which is always a good sign, the food was perfect sustenance for a dreary day!

Easter Saturday dawned much clearer, if not a little Baltic!  We packed our warm clothes and headed off to the beach, but not before confirming through Twitter that the pasties were out of the oven at Etherington’s in Scorrier.  These are the best pasties in Cornwall – my Gran agrees, you heard it here first!  We wrapped them in tea towels to keep them warm and fresh and they made our stomachs rumble all the way to the south coast where we had a beach picnic at Kynance Cove.  It was a chilly day but with a pasty in one hand and a cup of tea in the other – a beach picnic is a great way to enjoy the scenery and make the most of the improving weather!  Kynance Cove is a lovely place to explore – rocks to climb, rock pools to look for fish and crabs in and plenty of little caves.  The area is also famous for a rock called ‘serpentine’ which is dull and grey when dry but with sea water on it lights up into reds and greens!

I hadn’t expected to see daffodils lining the hedgerows and filling the fields!  I had assumed an April visit would be too late to enjoy their splendour as most are in shops or homes by then!  However luck was on our side as there is big business in Cornwall to grow the daffodils just for the bulb and so there were fields of them blowing in the wind!  We took an early evening walk between Gunwalloe and Loe Bar (longshore drift in action) and we delighted to see so many!

The reason we were exploring this part of the coastline was because we had dinner plans at Kota in Porthleven for our anniversary (which I have already reviewed). A real foodie treat – we had a fantastic early evening supper and enjoyed the local fayre and creative menu! A good place to toast a special occasion indeed!

Fortunately the weather just improving!  Easter Sunday was a glorious blue sky day – meaning another early start!  We headed for the magical Lost Gardens of Heligan, which thankfully are now found and open to the public (which I have already written about at length)!  Stunning gardens, acres of woodland and some gorgeous farm animals to admire – more like Narnia than a garden with plenty to see and enjoy!

Even after a long day strolling around at Heligan, the sun was still shining come evening and so we shot up to the top of Carn Brea to take in the view.  There are countless old mines as well as unbroken views of the north coast and plenty of rocks to scramble across.  Back at the bottom and we had some Camel Valley fizz chilling in the fridge!  Thankfully it was warm enough for 2015’s inaugural garden sundowner!  There is something very relaxing about a glass of something fizzy sitting in the sunshine!

Sadly our time in Cornwall was coming to a close – but hey presto – Easter Monday arrived as a veritable scorcher so we needed to make the most of it despite needing to head home!  Another early start and this time up to the North Coast to see some stunning mining scenery (which I have already written about)!  What made our early morning walk even more special was the arrival of twenty or so dolphins playing in the sea at the foot of the cliffs!  A gorgeous morning – we had the cliffs to ourselves and it really felt like summer had arrived!

No visit to Cornwall would be complete without a visit to what I only wish was my ‘local’ – however this time was especially perfect as for once we were visiting on a sunny afternoon and so we sat out on the sun deck and enjoyed a little glass before topping up our Camel Valley bottle collection… Mr P became the nominated driver at this point and so I inadvertently dozed nearly all the way home… At least we have our lovely convertible car so there was no grumpiness about missing the lovely weather!

The #Take12Trips ‘challenge’ continues a pace and spending Easter in Cornwall was a splendid April staycation!