Category: UK

The Great British Holiday: A Perfect Week in Cornwall

This summer, we were in the incredibly lucky position to have six weeks off for travel (I know). I would probably hate me too if I wasn’t so damn excited!! So, after a ton of deliberation I decided on the following itinerary – a week in each place: Portugal, Southern Spain, Croatia, Scottish Highlands, Cornwall and Rhodes.

Again, I know 🙂 It really was the summer of our lives. I am still glowing about it.  Literally, I had the tan of my life! I would say it took a solid six months of planning, which I will write about in another blog post. Anyway, I would like to devote my first summer travel post to Cornwall, because, this place is my heart song. As a huge fan of Masterpiece Theatre’s Poldark, the Cornish Coast has been a destination I have been dreaming about for years, the haunting landscapes and English countryside calling to me to explore.

 

Cornish country lane Cornwall UK
Cornish country lane
Land's End Cornwall UK AKA Poldark's Nampara
Poldark’s Nampara – Land’s End
Coastal road to Zennor St Ives
Coastal road to Zennor
Nampara, Lands End Cornwall
Kynance Cove on the Lizard Coast

 

Fishing Village of Cadgwith – AKA Dickens Novel Come to Life
Wonderful, idyllic Cadgwith

Wild, rugged, windswept, and heart achingly beautiful, the Cornish coast located on England’s south western tip is a magical place. Filled with sweeping cliff top vistas, crashing waves, rolling mist, turquoise waters, flower filled meadows, tiny fishing villages, and to-die-for cream teas, visiting Cornwall felt like being a part of every British novel I have ever loved. The holiday seaside town of St. Ives, filled with pirate lore and full to bursting with English charm was the perfect home base. I would visit every year if I could, and will most likely never get over longing for it. Some places have a way of working themselves into your soul, calling to you through the distances, in your dreams.  Cornwall is one of these places.

 

 

Brad Loves This Guy

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Cornish Hikes
Porthgwarra Meadow
Dreamy Porthgwarra
Cream Teas, St Ives
Cream Tea – homemade blueberry scones served with strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream, served with a steaming pot of Earl Grey tea. Courtesy of Olive’s Tea Shop.
Path to Zennor, St. Ives
The coastal path to the medieval town of Zennor. *Note: we made it about 1/3 of the way there, before turning back for a prosecco, beer and/or cream tea break. Glorious views about 10 minutes into the walk!
St. Ives Day 1
Hello St. Ives! I’ve been waiting to meet you!
Coming up in my next post – our one week itinerary.

 

The Cliffs of Moher – Day Trip From Galway

I visited Ireland for the first time about ten years ago, and have been dying to show it to Brad for some time.  I knew the warmth of the people, the welcoming Irish spirit, the dramatic landscapes and the stirring live music would steal his heart. And, I really wanted to show him the Cliffs of Moher. Sometimes, a must-see sight ends up being a bit of a let down (I’m talking to you Sintra), but the Cliffs are an absolute showstopper. We stayed in Galway, which is a completely doable 1.5 hour drive from the Cliffs. The drive is gorgeous, full of castle ruins, rushing rivers, tiny fishing villages, and pubs along the way. In short, it has everything you could hope for from an Irish road trip.

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Dunvegan castle

Doolin – Pub stop time!

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Cliffs of Moher
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We arrived to the Cliffs of Moher during a fairly intense wind, and that light sideways rain you expect from coastal cities. I’m going to be honest, tt was looking pretty frigid. But, we came to see the Cliffs and that was exactly what we planned to do. We took a deep breath, jumped out of the car, buttoned our jackets, pulled on our hats, wrapped our scarfs tight around our faces, and just went for it. Let me begin by saying, the view is incredible. The green, verdant cliffs, windswept plains and ruined castles, all make for a breathtakingly dramatic scene. This is why people fall in love with Ireland. I think we actually lucked out with the rain, because the weather meant far less people in all of our shots, and it wasn’t too terribly misty, so we still had some great views of the cliffs.

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Spent a fair amount of time gazing out to sea, pretending to be in a scene from Harry Potter – in the 6th film, The Half Blood Prince, Harry and Dumbledore apparate to a rock in front of the Cliffs
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Windswept but happy!

After running about the Cliffs, exploring the ruined castle, and chatting to the grazing cows, we decided to pop into a pub for a bite and a drink. Typically I look up several options for meal/pubs while planning a trip, but the neighboring town of Doolin, filled with brightly colored thatched roof pubs and shops is tiny, so I thought it might be fun just to pop into a place that looked enticing. (Spoiler alert: they all did). Situated across from a rushing river, Gus O’Connors Pub fit the bill completely.  We grabbed a perfect seat right in front of the fireplace, ordered a couple coffees, plus two plates of fish and chips, with mushy peas. I have not yet hopped on the mushy pea bandwagon, but I continue to try it in hopes that I may develop a taste for it. The piping hot food was served almost immediately, and hit the spot after our windswept time on the cliffs. We relaxed in front of the fire, enjoying the warmth of the flames and listening to locals chatting about their day in their thick Irish brogues.

The Cliffs are so spectacular, I could have spent hours hiking the area, stopping for a picnic, breathing in the views. If the weather had been warmer, we could easily have spent the day.

Have you visited the Cliffs of Moher? Did you love it as much as I did? What other parts of Ireland would you like to see?