Cornwall | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Penzance Par one bridge too far.

December 24, 2013 by David Herd

The Par Inn Cornwall

Penzance Par one bridge too far.

Penzance Par one bridge too far, well rather than speak in riddles allow me to explain. Where Penzance is a bright & buzzy seaside town Par is quite the opposite, cold & bleak without too many redeeming features. My sincere apologies to the residents of this tiny Cornish fishing port.

I had a very good reason to visit Par, my grandfather Sam Tippett was born there around 1900. We stopped in the pub and asked if anyone had heard of the Tippetts but sadly no luck. Seeing we were in Cornwall I ordered a pastie, it was the worst I have ever tasted & I mentioned this to the barman. He said “talk to the fellow beside you, his wife makes them”. 😳

My friend Bill Austin & I had a good laugh about this and I surreptitiously hid the rest of the awful pastie in a paper bag ready to throw it in the garbage.

David Herd & Bill Austin in Par

Notice the small oven on the right? That’s where the terrible tasting pasties are lying in wait for an unsuspecting customer. 😥

A typical street in Par.

I did visit Par way back in the 60s to meet Minnie, one of my grandfathers (Sam Tippett) sisters. Penzance to Par is 61 miles or about 1.25 hours by car. Obviously I had a good reason to visit Par, otherwise I can’t see any features worth going there for.

Pop Tippett’s sister Minnie.

This is Minnie, one of my grandfathers (Sam Tippett) sisters.

This was Minnie’s home in Par

I should have taken this photo with me because I’m sure somebody in the pub would have known its location.

Penzance Par one bridge too far

Par is quite a lonely part of the English coast.

Penzance main street.

Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, in England, United Kingdom. It is well known for being the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London.

Beachside

Penzance is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles (121 km) west of Plymouth and 300 miles (480 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount’s Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan.

Granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated in 1614, it has a population of 21,168 (2001 census).

Main St Penzance

Luck was with us providing a beautiful blue sky.

Penzance Par one bridge too far

I can imagine it would be freezing cold in winter.

St Michael’s Mount

St Michael’s Mount meaning “grey rock in the woods”, also known colloquially by locals as simply the Mount) is a tidal island 366 metres (400 yards) off the Mount’s Baycoast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parish and is united with the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway of granite setts, passable between mid-tide and low water.

In prehistoric times, St Michael’s Mount may have been a port for the tin trade, and Gavin de Beer made a case for it to be identified with the “tin port” Ictis/Ictin mentioned by Posidonius.

Historically, St Michael’s Mount was a Cornish counterpart of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France (which shares the same tidal island characteristics and the same conical shape), when it was given to the Benedictines, religious order of Mont Saint-Michel, by Edward the Confessor in the 11th century.

St Michael’s Mount is one of 43 (unbridged) tidal islands which can be walked to from mainland Britain

In conclusion I guess I may be a little harsh on my description of Par, however travelling between Penzance Par you will find many interesting towns & villages worth a visit, St Ives for instance is a wonderful seaside village.

Without a doubt AGODA is the best online Hotel booking site.

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Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

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The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.

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St-Ives Cornwall Seaside Town

December 18, 2013 by David Herd

Low tide at St Ives

St-Ives Cornwall Seaside Town

St-Ives Cornwall Seaside Town voted the best by the British Travel Awards in 2010 and 2011. A civil parish and port in Cornwall. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing.

Huge seagulls

These are the biggest seagulls I have ever seen, twice the size of their Australian cousins. If you are eating fish & chips on the beach make sure you have a loaded shotgun beside you. 😆

St Ives Cornwall Seaside Town

If you are staying at a hotel or guest house you will probably have to leave your car on the outskirts of town. The streets are so narrow you can barely get a small car through them.

Narrow streets in St Ives

St Ives really is a hidden gem, put it on your bucket list.

St-Ives Cornwall seaside town.

In former times St Ives was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial emphasis and the town is now primarily a popular holiday resort, notably achieving the award ‘Best UK Seaside Town’ from the British Travel Awards in both 2010 and 2011. St Ives was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1639. St Ives has become renowned for its number of artists.

Low Tide

St Ives was named best seaside town of 2007 by the Guardian newspaper.

The beach at St Ives seaside town

St Ives is situated on the shore of St Ives Bay, its harbour sheltered by Smeaton’s pier. Close to the harbour, its streets are narrow and uneven while its wider streets are in the newer parts of the town on rising ground. The town has four beaches: Porthmeor a surfing beach, Porthgwidden a small sandy cove, Harbour by the working port and Porthminster which has almost half a mile of sand.

Lots of restaurants in St Ives.

The town has an Oceanic climate and has some of the mildest winters and warmest summers in Britain and Northern Europe.

The Hub

It is a very popular tourist resort in the summer, and benefits from an average of 1700–2000 hours of sunshine a year.

Lots of chairs overlooking the beach

Just sit back and enjoy the view of St Ives best Seaside Town.

Soak up the sun

Blue sky, big seagulls, nice sand & plenty of restaurants.

The Stooge Inn

There are many great little places to stay in this wonderful seaside village, I got a great price through this link.

Lunch with red wine.

Here I am having lunch with Bill Austin, my English friend from Wiltshire, thanks for visiting my St-Ives Cornwall Seaside Town photo blog, I certainly agree with the title St Ives is the best seaside town.

Check out some very good St Ives hotel rates here.

Lands End in Cornwall

December 15, 2013 by David Herd

Beautiful blue sky in…..

Lands End, Cornwall.

Here we are at England’s most westerly point. Wind levels in winter reach around 20-25 knots, which is windier than most of England. The highest temperature recorded is 28.9 °C, and the lowest temperature recorded is -3.4 °C.

Penwith House

This historic building dating from 1860 houses a hotel, a gift shop with maritime gifts, toys and confectionery. Coordinates: 50°3’56″N 5°42’51″W.

Beautiful old building

In 1987 Peter de Savary purchased Land’s End for almost £7 million from David Goldstone. He had two new buildings erected and much of the present theme park development was instigated by him. He sold both Land’s End and John o’ Groats to businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey in 1991. The current owners purchased Land’s End in 1996 and formed a company named Heritage Great Britain PLC. Attractions at the theme park include children’s playgrounds and recorded music. Twice a week in August there are firework displays. Nearby is the Land’s End Hotel. In May 2012, Land’s End received widespread attention as the starting point of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.

Blue sky and lots of wind.

Land’s End is a headland and small settlement in western Cornwall, England. It is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England. It is on the Penwith peninsula, about eight miles west-southwest of Penzance.

Rugged coastline.

This is certainly not a good place for a swim. 🙂

Lands End England’s most westerly point.

The sea pounds these rocks 24/7.

Lands End Hotel.

We were so lucky to have the beautiful blue sky, photos look so much better. What you can’t see in the shots is the howling wind that nearly blew us off our feet. 😆

Air Ambulance.

I guess this choppers working days are over. 🙂

Neihboring property

Not too inspiring realy 🙂

David Herd, intrepid traveller. 😎

Many thanks for visiting my Lands End post, please pass it on to your friends and Follow @David_Herd

St Ives is a 40 minute drive, put it on your list.