Monday 23 September

Fortunately my infection is getting a bit better, albeit slowly. I have less pain and spasms, however still feel very tender and bloated. First plus of the day I could enjoy a purr worthy breakfast of kippers with poached egg. Yum. Today the weather is probably going to be the worst day we have had being a bit showery and grey, so we decided to lay low and just have a Penzance day.

We also feel that we have seen a good range of things here, and don’t like to be on the ‘go’ everyday. A change of pace helps avoid burning out and we have a lot ahead of us. Additionally I think my body is saying that I need to take a pause.

The shower in our room is terrible with very low pressure, so we use the bath instead. We both enjoy a bath and there is plenty of water so it is no hardship. I enjoyed another leisurely soak, and Vern kept his laundry duties up before we kitted up and set off to town via the promenade. A clarification to new readers, Vern is a most excellent handy man and domestically able. This is his job on our holidays, as a treat for me who does other tasks he is not so good at like blogging!

Another privilege he has is determining which direction we go in, albeit I am allowed to input. Vern loves getting off the beaten track and exploring so we zig zagged along side streets and narrow lanes, admiring the Victorian architecture from the expensive to the humble and the different gardens right down to a couple of pots outside the door where there was not much distance between that and the footpath. There were a few southern hemisphere plants thriving and even a banana palm with fruit.

When we passed the Victoria pools we noted that the designer was a Latham! What a giggle; no direct relative that we know of, and I was disappointed that they were closed on a Monday. A geothermal soak would have been lovely and was on our list as an option.

Penzance is not considered particularly quaint, and being the larger of the seaside villages is more of a modern hub for the area around. We chose to stay here as recommended by uncle Rick Steves, due to its central location, less touristy prices, and better connections. Our opinion after doing quite a bit of exploring is that it certainly has its own charm, especially where we are staying close to the promenade. Dining has been very good and reasonable overall, and it has certainly been a good base where we have wanted for nothing and easily driven to other sites. Even simple things like free off street parking, walkability and more.

There is one charming street called Chapel street where the Egyptian house and other nicely restored buildings are. The main shopping streets are a bit kitch, full of garden variety locals, tourists and their dogs. There is a sizeable harbour-port and rail station at the bottom of town along the water front.

We selected a cafe and had a lovely lunch of quiche and sandwich along with fresh flowers. Across the road was a Boots chemist so I went over to see if there were any other herbals that may be suitable and supportive for my infection. I got an immunity probiotic blend thinking that may do me no harm, if not give a boost.

The weather, whilst grey did not rain other than a few spits here and there, and we looped home literally in a circle, coming back via the top of our street. There were some very impressive large Victorian homes-manors on big sections along Alverton? road. At home we rested a short while before heading out on foot again to a restaurant we saw at the top of town.

When we got there, it was closed. Grrrr, it was open at lunch time, but not in the evening. This meant my tired old legs had to walk more to find somewhere suitable on a Monday – when many places are closed. Eventually we ended up at an old pub called the Dolphin which was down by the harbour, nearly at the far end of the promenade from where we were staying. Many places were booked out, and we had to wait a little at the bar before they could accommodate us. Not really a hardship…..

The Dolphin is one of those gorgeous historical places that ooze welcome and belonging. We enjoyed tap ciders and were soon seated. They were sold out of a special duck breast dish with blackberries, so I opted for a John Dory, lemon, wine, cream, pumpkin veloute and smoked garlic mash with broccolini and Vernon had Cornish Rump steak meal. Both were very nice and testament to good English pub meals if you know how to choose the right ‘pub’. We finished the meal sharing a blackboard special dessert of a blackberry mascarpone tart with berry compote and ice cream which was a 5/5.

Reluctantly we had to leave the cosy dark timbered and white walled nook with its seafaring memorabilia and walk the 2km or so home via the promenade. My phone app said that we had done about 8km that day – two circuits around town. Whilst we didn’t see any instagram sites today, it has been wonderful just getting local and having a Penzance experience. And the pro-biotics seem to have really kicked in – either that or the ciders.

Our reflections on Cornwall are that it is a lovely seaside holiday centric part of England. The people are easy going and friendly. The seaside towns are nice, but did not overly impress us in comparison to the many gorgeous villages elsewhere in England, Wales and Scotland that we have seen.

The rolling countryside is pleasing to the eye, however not extraordinary. The cliffs, beaches and water are the standouts. Cream teas and pasties are hit and miss and I make better scones myself from any I have tasted or seen (I can generally tell by visual without tasting). We also prefer a good Aussie or NZ pie better than a pasty. In fairness, we did not try the local steak and ale pies in the restaurants as we felt that 17GBP average was too much for pie and chips. The seafood is lovely and fresh, and fruit and vegetables tasty and plentiful. Breads also good quality and cider and beers very enjoyable.

The tree lined narrow roads soon wear out their novelty and limit accessibility. You get over negotiating them to get to a place that is equally cramped, usually steep and potentially underwhelming. Some may find the area and villages charming; it is just our perspective that some things are over rated. We are not suggesting that Cornwall is not pretty and that it is not a worthy destination, rather that we honestly could not gush over it as being so gorgeous.

We expected to be blown away by the beauty and have found that it was not up to the level of hype. We would still recommend and are pleased to have experienced a bit of Cornwall, especially as a summer seaside holiday destination.