Overview
At the mention of England, certain images probably pop into your mind - the Queen's Guard outside Buckingham Palace, friendly pubs and really old castles. But what about visions of wide, sandy beaches, vineyards that produce award-winning wine, or the brilliant sun? It doesn't sound like England, but it is. It's Cornwall, England.
Cornwall is a county on the southwestern tip of England. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, it boasts the country's mildest climate and a prominent surf culture. Cornwall is England's top vacation region. It's a big county, about 1,400 square miles, so you'll have to do a certain amount of traveling if you want to see all of its major attractions.
Sights/Landmarks/To Do
St. Ives: St. Ives is one of Cornwall's most popular seaside towns. It was once an old fishing village, but these days, when the summer sun is out, the beaches are packed with tourists not fishermen. No seacoast town can truly be a tourist destination without a little tackiness, and St. Ives has its fair share of tacky surf shops. However, it also has one of the country's leading art communities and an outpost of one of the best museums in London, the Tate Gallery.
St. Michael's Mount: The village of Penzance, as in the "Pirates of," is home to the 12th-century castle of St. Michael's Mount. The mount is perhaps more significant than the castle, because St. Michael is supposed to have appeared over the cliffs to a group of fishermen around the year 495 to ward them off the rocks. Since then, it has been a place of pilgrimage. St. Michael's Mount is a church, monastery, fortress and private residence. Amazingly, it's been in the same family since 1660, and the current descendants still live there. It was given to the British National Trust in 1964.
The Eden Project: Your typical English garden tour revolves around oohing and aahing over lovely hedgerows and big pink peonies, but things are a little different at the Eden Project. This is one of Cornwall's newest and greatest attractions. Its biomes are home to plants and trees from all over the planet. In fact, the humid tropics biome is considered to be the largest greenhouse in the world. The purpose of the Eden Project is to show man's relationship and dependence upon plants. Outside, the great sculpture and interactive exhibits are as wonderful as the biomes.
Camel Valley Vineyards: Thousands of vines grow on the sun-filled slopes of Camel Valley, halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. Guided tours and tastings are all a part of a wine experience you just never thought you would have in England.
The Minack: The Minack is a breathtaking outdoor theater with seats that seem to be carved from the very cliff side they cling to. The stage is encircled by natural rock, with a backdrop of the English Channel and cliffs beyond. What's amazing is that locals say the theater was built by the hands of one woman, Rowena Cade, who enlisted the help of only two men. She held the first performance there, <i>The Tempest</i>, in 1932. Today, each season consists of more than 20 productions performed by theater groups from all over the world, rain or shine.
Hotels
The Atlantic Hotel: The Atlantic Hotel is located in Carbis Bay, just outside the popular village of St. Ives. Like most accommodations in Cornwall, the Atlantic Hotel is in a large home, but it differs in that it's a little more cosmopolitan than other hotels. Its restaurant, Waves, has a contemporary and innovative menu, a welcome respite from the heavy pub food that's the norm in Cornwall. The beach is about a 15-minute walk away. Beware that people plan their vacations to Cornwall a year in advance, so to get a good hotel room, reserve well in advance.
Web site: www.atlanticnewquay.co.uk
Watergate Bay Hotel: The Watergate Bay Hotel is in the north of Cornwall. The hotel's Extreme Academy is a notorious wind and surf playground for extreme-sports activity, even for something as deceptively relaxing as kite flying. Inside, the hotel serves "cream tea," a twist on the traditional English high or afternoon tea. You won't find any cucumber sandwiches here. Instead, they go straight in for the cream and the jams.
Web site: www.watergatebayhotel.co.uk
Food/Restaurants/Bars
Pasties: You have to try one of Cornwall's traditional, old-fashioned steak pasties. The pasty is one of the county's greatest exports. It's a pastry filled with steak, potato, onion and swede, a root vegetable similar to a turnip.
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