Cornish Caper

Every time I’ve been to Paddington station over the years to catch a train, I’ve looked longingly up at the departures board at the trains heading to the country’s southernmost terminus, Penzance, on the Cornish coast, and wished that was my destination. I could imagine the delight of the final stretch of the journey - the train skirting the coastline, the fairytale turrets of the castle of St Michael’s Mount rising from the sea as we rounded into Mount’s Bay, and then the excitement of pulling into the Victorian terminus to the sound of the waves and the seagulls. What fun it would be! - I have always thought to myself, while boarding a train to somewhere far less exciting - but somehow I’ve just never got around to it. That is, until last November, when an exhausting first term at school meant I couldn’t face a plane journey or a frenetic European city break over half term, and instead decided that a Cornish cottage and a lovely relaxing train journey were just what I needed to restore my energy. My best friend was happy to join me, and so we packed our bags, stocked up on snacks, and became those people of whom I had always been jealous as we boarded the train to Penzance.

The journey was wonderful, and such a treat to be able to sit and not move for five or so hours, watching the beautiful, ever changing landscapes flash by outside, listening to the murmur of conversation of your fellow passengers, dipping in and out of a book, and getting tea and biscuits from the trolley. By the time we pulled into Penzance, it was already dusk, but we could see the shadow of St Michael’s Mount emerging from the water and the lights of Penzance and Newlyn glittering up the hillside gave us a warm welcome. We strolled out of the station into the town, and then walked through the beautiful Victorian back streets to our rented cottage, a journey that offered plenty of intriguing glimpses of gardens full of luxurious exotic planting made possible by the famously mild climate, and alleyways and ornate buildings we couldn’t wait to explore by daylight. Both of us knew instantly that Penzance was going to be a town we would absolutely love.

We spent a week exploring this absolutely delightful town and its environs, and we barely scratched the surface. There is so much to see and do, and the public transport is excellent, so you can roam quite widely around West Cornwall if you decide to go car free. Penzance itself is beautiful, formed mainly of Georgian and Victorian architecture, and full of history at every corner. The main town has a plethora of independent shops and cafes, with a wonderful book shop called The Edge of the World, and some fabulous vintage clothing shops, as well as the amazing Egyptian House, which is the most unique building I’ve ever seen, and is available to stay in as a Landmark Trust property. We loved wandering the streets and finding plenty of hidden gems, and it’s also a foodie as well as a shopping mecca - The Honeypot Café does some of the best cake I’ve ever had, Barbican Bistro’s unassuming exterior - an old harbour building - hides a cosy restaurant serving the most exquisite fresh seafood, and Pizza Plz is a fab little pizza joint offering a ring-side seat to some of the best people watching in Penzance from its huge windows looking out over the town.

Besides shopping and eating, there is so much to do in Penzance that we struggled to fit it all in! There are the glorious Morrab Gardens to explore - free public botanical gardens - in which is nestled a private subscription library, the Morrab Library. We were warmly welcomed when we popped our heads around the huge front door, and told we could wander round at our leisure - which we did, delighting in the warren of rooms lined with Victorian floor to ceiling bookcases, many with their original copperplate paper labels still just about clinging to them, and with cosy armchairs and teacups and biscuits laid out for library users wanting a snack while they read. It is a little slice of heaven, and a place I thought must no longer exist outside of midcentury novels - but it does, and I encourage you all to go! Penlee House Gallery, which exhibits Cornish art and items relating to Cornish history and culture, is just a short stroll away from the Morrab Gardens, and is nestled in its own ample parkland. It’s a magical place, full of objects and art telling the story of Penzance and West Cornwall, and it also happens to have a brilliant café that should not be missed. We saw a fascinating exhibition there in which paintings of Cornish landscapes from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were displayed alongside paintings of the same landscapes completed in the last couple of years, as a commentary on how climate change and the impact of mass tourism has altered and in some cases destroyed the natural environment - a truly sobering sight in many cases. We were also entertained on two of our evenings at the wonderful community run Acorn Theatre, housed in an old chapel - we saw a brilliant folk band and listened to a talk on Cornish ghosts, and if we had been there a couple of days longer, would have been able to catch a local theatre company doing a version of Dracula, which I’m sure would have been an absolute treat. I was amazed at how much culture is on offer in a relatively small town - the residents of Penzance are very fortunate on that front.

Penzance also has an incredible Art Deco saltwater lido, Jubilee Pool, which was restored a few years ago after a heroic effort by locals to save it. It does have a heated section that makes a swim in winter just about bearable, so we did brave it, but we didn’t last long! The cafe warms you up very nicely after a swim, though, and offers fabulous views across the bay. Just a short walk from the Lido is the former fishing village and artist colony of Newlyn, which now feels more like a suburb of Penzance, but it does retain its own identity. They have an excellent contemporary art gallery (with another great café), but the best thing about Newlyn for us was its wonderful independent cinema, housed in an old mill. It’s a real hub of the community, housing a great bar and restaurant too, and we loved the experience of having a little cocktail before going in to watch a movie. It’s not often you can stroll home from the cinema along the seafront, either!

Somehow, despite all of this magnificence on our doorstep in Penzance, we also managed to squeeze in a day in St Ives, which is a lovely 90 minute bus ride away, where we visited the Tate’s outpost there, as well as the marvellous Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. It had been years since I last visited, and I remembered little, so it was wonderful to wander its higgledy piggledy streets that wind up the cliffside, offering tantalising glimpses of the sea beyond, and popping into its array of independent shops and art galleries. I was delighted to unexpectedly discover Talland House - the childhood holiday home of Virginia Woolf, immortalised in To the Lighthouse - and though it is now divided into flats and surrounded by more modern development, the view across the sea to the lighthouse remains, and it was incredible to be able to see the place and the view I have read about so many times.

Our few days in Penzance were magical - and made even more so by the fact that it being November, there were hardly any tourists around. The weather was quite kind to us, and we enjoyed some fabulous walks along the coast to the villages of Marazion and Mousehole, being buffeted by the wind and enjoying the treat of coffee and cake in cosy cafés to warm ourselves after our exertions. I have only ever been to Cornwall in the summer, and was worried that a winter break would be disappointing, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m already planning my return!