Marco and I just celebrated our tenth anniversary. We didn't really have time for a long trip so we decided to visit a part of England we had not been to. We have friends from Cornwall and we have friends that have been there so we decided to give it a go. It didn't take me long to figure out that Cornwall was not city but a region of England.
Cornwall is basically a county within England. The people of Cornwall are referred to as Cornish and Cornwall is considered one of the Celtic nations. Cornwall is the most southwestern peninsula of England. In Cornish, Cornwall is Kernow.
The flag of Cornwall is black with a white cross. The Cornish people use the flag as a symbol of their identity.
The first time I remember seeing the Cornish flag was during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012. The flag is center on the Queen's Royal Barge, Gloriana.
We rented a car and headed west.... It took a lot longer to get out of the city than we expect, and once we got off the highways (carriageways) the roads became windy and quite narrow! Some of the roads had "LOW" painted on them instead of "SLOW" because of overgrowth. We also had a few issues with out GPS (Sat-Nav). As we approached out hotel (Trevalso Court Beach Hotel) the GPS decided to work.... As we turned onto the road the hotel was on, the GSP informed us that our destination was on the right and then it told us that we had arrived.... Thanks
The hotel we stayed at was on the outskirts of a village named Megavissey. We relaxed in lawn chairs and enjoyed the ocean view!
Later, we walked down the path towards the beach... These pink flowers were everywhere!
This is the view we saw walking down....
The gradual path then turned into steep steps and I decided to enjoy the view from here....
Megavissey, like most of the coastal villages in Cornwall, is a fishing village.
On the north side of the peninsula in one of the villages, the show 'Doc Martin' is filmed.
Sea gull waiting for a snack....
It was highly suggested that while we were in Cornwall, we should try a Cornish Pastry.
It is like a beef or chicken pie but in a closed pastry so you can eat it on the go... Very tasty!!!
We visited The Lost Gardens of Heligan. The gardens were part of an estate in 1766. As the gardens grew they became more difficult to care for. The family left in 1920's. Restoration of the grand gardens of Heligan became in 1990's.
The Giants Head
A Robin... the gardens are home to numerous animals and birds. This little guy was quiet friendly....
A natural retaining wall.... The gardens grow over 200 varieties of fruit and vegetables.
The Mud Maid
There are 3 ponds on the grounds...
The 200 acre garden is not just a 'museum' but it is also a working farm. Our trail passed through several gates (watch your step...)
This guy looked very happy and content. I think I would have looked rather suspicious trying to take him home :)
Driving through Cornwall, the fields were littered with sheep, cows and horse farms. These sheep are Devon & Cornwall Sheep.
The cows are Dexters
There are several green houses on the gardens. The vegetation was gorgeous! I think we probably only saw half of the gardens... I guess we need to go back :)
After The Lost Gardens, we went to the Eden Project. The Eden Project is a 35 acre global garden (bio-dome) that was built 50m-deep (54.7 yard) crater that was once a china clay pit. Cornwall is also known for their clay and china....
The domes to the left house a Tropical Forest while the domes to the house the Mediterranean gardens.
It was amazing inside! They birds inside the domes made you forget you were inside and gave a real feeling of being outside in a jungle.
We saw banana trees, cocoa trees, coffee plants, rice.... if it grows in the tropics, we probably saw it!
The humidity was so high in the Rain forest, there were 'Cool Rooms' for you to go in and cool off.
In the Mediterranean Dome we saw Olive trees....
Cork trees....
Citrus trees... Marco said he felt like he was in Sicily... the air was dry and very pleasant.
It was then time to say good-bye to Cornwall and head back to London.
We had a great time and definitely want to go back again! On the next trip I would like to visit Plymouth where the likes of the Pilgrims, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain Cook, and Darwin set sail on their pioneering journeys.
I hope you have enjoyed!!
