Exploring Penzance
On our way down to Penzance we stopped for cream teas in Lanhydrock. The scones weren't fresh, so it wasn't my favorite, but I haven't had one in so long that it was delicious anyway. We were going to stop at Trebah Gardens, but it was so drizzly out that we didn't want to stop and walk through the rain. We decided to go through Falmouth and stop at Pendennis Point. It was raining and really windy, but we had a good time all the same. We stopped for pasties at Philps in Marazion, but it was almost ruined for us because the lady who was working was so rude. We grabbed our pasties, got a quick look at St. Michael's Mount, and headed to meet our AirBnB host! We got settled in the cutest apartment we have stayed in to date and headed out to the Co-Op to grab some snacks to keep in the flat. I drank an entire bottle of wine and had a bath with my bath bombs in the wonderful tub they have here.
The next day, we got up and laid around the flat for a few hours because we didn't yet want to venture out into the miserable weather. We booked a table at a pub in Land's End and headed out into the rain.
Our first stop was the Botallack tin mines. When we got out the car, we were thinking it was gong to be a pointless visit because of how foggy and misty it was. One of the other visitors we had passed mentioned that it got better as we got farther down and had mentioned something about Poldark filming, but we didn't see any filming going on. The fog did lift as we got down lower. We walked along a path and Alice had gone ahead and I had wanted to go a different way to explore some. I took some pictures and headed in the direction she had gone. I called her name a few times because I could not for the life of me see where she had gone. I wandered a bit but thought I was likely to break my ankle if I kept going on the path I had started so I went back up. It was then that Alice called me because she was worried I'd fallen down a mine shaft. Turns out she was on the other side of a chimney stack and neither of us could hear the other yelling. It was a bit scary and the whole place was eerie.
Once we were back together, we kept on walking toward the buildings out on the cliffs. The wind was whipping all around us and the mist was drenching us but we kept going. We couldn't see too far out because of the fog, but the view was pretty nonetheless. We got down to the buildings and looked around for awhile. There was a part farther down that I was nervous about walking to but we went and it was pretty cool. Traveling without travel insurance is a bit worrying--if I fall over the side of a cliff, will they treat me? Who knows. I'm not the most steady on flat, dry ground when the wind isn't blowing, but we were on a curvy, hilly, rocky, wet, thin trail that was looking down a bunch of rocks, so my inner mountain goat wasn't exactly ready to risk it all. After making our way back up to the top where the buildings and tunnels are more in ruins, we headed out to our next stop: Land's End.
Land's End is an odd place. It is apparently not owned by England or the National Trust or whatever, but owned by a guy whose main goal is to make a profit. It was £6 (!!!) to park, which is pretty steep, and then there are shows and things that are like rides. It kind of cheapens the experience. It doesn't fit the atmosphere. The big building just doesn't fit the scenery. I think cute little shops along a cobbled street would be better than the giant white buildings they have there. You can just feel that whoever owns it is just trying to squeeze money out of you. We were lucky, the fog lifted enough for us to see the rocky islands. It was really pretty, the air was so fresh, and just listening to the waves crash was so relaxing. We spent quite a bit of time there, just looking, taking photos, having a snack, and enjoying the scene. We walked around the different paths and at the end we found the sign that shows how far away New York and other places are. They want £10 just to take your picture next to the sign, so I just took a picture of it from behind the bars.
It was then so foggy we couldn't see anything, so we decided to go have a look at Sennen Cove. It was really pretty, but we didn't stop for long, just long enough to take photos of the harbor and the beach. From there we headed to our Sunday Roast at The First and Last Inn Pub, where I learned that most of the time, roast potatoes are roasted in goose fat. Yuck 🤢
After our roast, we were going to head to Zennor, but seeing as it is just a church and that's about it, we decided to go to Porthcurno and Minack Theatre. The beach view was phenomenal, especially since the fog had lifted and the sun came out.
It's just odd because you don't expect England to look like this--at least I didn't. I think most people think London, sheep, tea, and green hills when they think of England. It just makes me love this bloody country even more. The weather may be miserable, but man is it beautiful.
From there we headed home where wandered through the Morrab Gardens, which were right by our flat, and then we drank wine and watched Strictly Come Dancing.
On our final full day in Penzance, we headed out to see St. Ives. St. Ives is really pretty. Beaches everywhere, little shops and cafe dotted around the beaches. It was really pretty.
We stopped and had cream teas and then walked around. We didn't spend too much time out today, Neither of us felt super well and we are tired. We came back to the flat and took a nap, I washed my clothes, and we finished off the food we had so there was less to take with us.
As I started to pack up my small amount of stuff, I found the biggest (dead) spider I have ever seen under my backpack. Big enough that I could use my shoes as chopsticks and pick it up to put it in the bin. All crumpled up it was half the length of a q-tip. Disgusting.
On my final day in the south of England, we started our way back toward Plymouth. We stopped at Kynance Cove, which was gorgeous. It was the first sunny day we've seen, which was nice. We hiked around, I slipped and fell once, ended up going down a pretty dangerous cliff face. I'm surprised neither of us fell down that bit, it was steep and slick. We had some food at the café and continued on hiking up farther and farther until we decided if we kept going we wouldn't have the energy to walk back to the car.
We then headed to The Lizard. Less impressive, but still a nice walk 😊 my hair just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It's unmanageable.
The next day, we got up and laid around the flat for a few hours because we didn't yet want to venture out into the miserable weather. We booked a table at a pub in Land's End and headed out into the rain.
Our first stop was the Botallack tin mines. When we got out the car, we were thinking it was gong to be a pointless visit because of how foggy and misty it was. One of the other visitors we had passed mentioned that it got better as we got farther down and had mentioned something about Poldark filming, but we didn't see any filming going on. The fog did lift as we got down lower. We walked along a path and Alice had gone ahead and I had wanted to go a different way to explore some. I took some pictures and headed in the direction she had gone. I called her name a few times because I could not for the life of me see where she had gone. I wandered a bit but thought I was likely to break my ankle if I kept going on the path I had started so I went back up. It was then that Alice called me because she was worried I'd fallen down a mine shaft. Turns out she was on the other side of a chimney stack and neither of us could hear the other yelling. It was a bit scary and the whole place was eerie.
Once we were back together, we kept on walking toward the buildings out on the cliffs. The wind was whipping all around us and the mist was drenching us but we kept going. We couldn't see too far out because of the fog, but the view was pretty nonetheless. We got down to the buildings and looked around for awhile. There was a part farther down that I was nervous about walking to but we went and it was pretty cool. Traveling without travel insurance is a bit worrying--if I fall over the side of a cliff, will they treat me? Who knows. I'm not the most steady on flat, dry ground when the wind isn't blowing, but we were on a curvy, hilly, rocky, wet, thin trail that was looking down a bunch of rocks, so my inner mountain goat wasn't exactly ready to risk it all. After making our way back up to the top where the buildings and tunnels are more in ruins, we headed out to our next stop: Land's End.
Land's End is an odd place. It is apparently not owned by England or the National Trust or whatever, but owned by a guy whose main goal is to make a profit. It was £6 (!!!) to park, which is pretty steep, and then there are shows and things that are like rides. It kind of cheapens the experience. It doesn't fit the atmosphere. The big building just doesn't fit the scenery. I think cute little shops along a cobbled street would be better than the giant white buildings they have there. You can just feel that whoever owns it is just trying to squeeze money out of you. We were lucky, the fog lifted enough for us to see the rocky islands. It was really pretty, the air was so fresh, and just listening to the waves crash was so relaxing. We spent quite a bit of time there, just looking, taking photos, having a snack, and enjoying the scene. We walked around the different paths and at the end we found the sign that shows how far away New York and other places are. They want £10 just to take your picture next to the sign, so I just took a picture of it from behind the bars.
It was then so foggy we couldn't see anything, so we decided to go have a look at Sennen Cove. It was really pretty, but we didn't stop for long, just long enough to take photos of the harbor and the beach. From there we headed to our Sunday Roast at The First and Last Inn Pub, where I learned that most of the time, roast potatoes are roasted in goose fat. Yuck 🤢
After our roast, we were going to head to Zennor, but seeing as it is just a church and that's about it, we decided to go to Porthcurno and Minack Theatre. The beach view was phenomenal, especially since the fog had lifted and the sun came out.
It's just odd because you don't expect England to look like this--at least I didn't. I think most people think London, sheep, tea, and green hills when they think of England. It just makes me love this bloody country even more. The weather may be miserable, but man is it beautiful.
From there we headed home where wandered through the Morrab Gardens, which were right by our flat, and then we drank wine and watched Strictly Come Dancing.
On our final full day in Penzance, we headed out to see St. Ives. St. Ives is really pretty. Beaches everywhere, little shops and cafe dotted around the beaches. It was really pretty.
We stopped and had cream teas and then walked around. We didn't spend too much time out today, Neither of us felt super well and we are tired. We came back to the flat and took a nap, I washed my clothes, and we finished off the food we had so there was less to take with us.
On my final day in the south of England, we started our way back toward Plymouth. We stopped at Kynance Cove, which was gorgeous. It was the first sunny day we've seen, which was nice. We hiked around, I slipped and fell once, ended up going down a pretty dangerous cliff face. I'm surprised neither of us fell down that bit, it was steep and slick. We had some food at the café and continued on hiking up farther and farther until we decided if we kept going we wouldn't have the energy to walk back to the car.
We then headed to The Lizard. Less impressive, but still a nice walk 😊 my hair just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It's unmanageable.
On to the next adventure! 😜
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