A Weekend in Cornwall and Bath

Post by Jeremy
Ever since I have known Liz I have told her about all the places I want to visit. The list just keeps getting longer and longer. I also often tell her we should move to …… even without ever having been there. Some places I just know I am going to love. Cornwall was one of those places.

We didn’t have a lot of time in the area so we just wanted to pick one place and avoid more driving. We chose Port Isaac area based on rave reviews by our friends, the Davis family. We actually stayed at a place called Port Gaverne which is about a 3 minute walk to Port Isaac, basically connected. We stayed in the Port Gaverne Hotel right on Port Gaverne, which is this beautiful, long, narrow finger of a bay. Finn loved Port Gaverne for two reasons: 1. There was a cat always wandering around outside 2. They used a tractor to maneuver the boats in/out of the water. We loved that this place was quieter, being outside of Port Isaac, which was quite busy during tourist season. We also loved their amazing breakfasts.

Port Gaverne Hotel and Bay

These pics are taken from the path to P.I.

Finn, like his parents, is a sucker for an ice cream shop. Cornwall is well known for its ice cream. Note the flake bar sticking out of the huge ice cream cone- classic British style.

Finn and I played in the beach/harbor area of Port Isaac on a low tide while Liz ran back to get the hiking gear.

I borrowed a boat to keep Finn from running back to the water while I got dressed.

Just like Pembrokeshire Coast Wales, this area had beautiful coastal paths for miles.

Walk along the coastal trail

Every Friday evening during summer months the Fisherman’s Friends (group of local fisherman) perform a free concert to fundraise for local charities. Liz saved us a spot up close while Finn and I went to the chippy to grab dinner. The wait was unbelievable, >1 hour. It was getting late for Finn and it started to rain so once we got our fish n’ chips we just headed back to the hotel. Seriously the best fish n’ chips I have ever had in my life. Well worth the wait. They were so good Finn didn’t mind the rain. I ran back and watched some of the concert that night.

Rainy fish n chips
The tidal swings are amazing here. The bays would basically completely drain leaving them open for exploration!
Port Gaverne



Tuning Out for a nap

That next morning we headed south to Polzeath beach. I was hoping there would be decent waves to surf, but they were pretty shapeless. That didn’t stop the British from going out. They are so stoked on surfing. Whole families would be in wetsuits trying to surf. That was fun to see. Polzeath is one of my most favorite beaches ever though. On a low tide the beach would open up forever, and it exposed so many cool little nooks, crannies and little pools to play in.

Polzeath





We loved where we had our home base. It was awesome to be able to go on fabulous little walks every morning, during Finn's naps, and in the evenings.

View from Port Gaverne Coastal Path


Port Isaac

South of Polzeath beach is a hopping town called Padstow. We went there looking for some good food. Rick Stein, who we had never heard of, is quite something special in that town. He owns heaps of places. We were able to snag a table at his café and had a very tasty seafood dinner.

Padstow
Rick Stein's cafe




Dusk in Port Isaac

We loved Polzeath beach so much we went back the nextday. I got a little bodysurfing in (in just trunks), and Finn threw hundreds of rocks into the water. This is one place that I know we will return to for a visit, but maybe not during August again.

Showing mus-cles amongst the mussels

Bath was mostly a stopover for us on the way back to the Airport, but we were pleasantly surprised having not read anything about it. It was a beautiful old city and was really fun to walk around. Plus they have a Thornton's! The town seems to cater to shoppers these days, but was a perfect place to stop on our way back to London. We stayed at The Henry House, a very pleasant and comfortable bed and breakfast.

Bath

Finn had a lot of fun dancing to the band playing at the park.

Liz thinks the Bath Cathedral is just about the prettiest she's been to.


We left Bath with plenty of time to get to Heathrow for our flight. It worked out perfectly.
And that is a wrap on our summer adventures in the UK. What a great trip!