The Best of Cornwall with Kids: Pit Stops, Quick Stops and Photo Ops

 “The journey not the arrival matters.” –  T S Eliot

A thought before I move on telling you about Wales I'd give you a last glimpse of Cornwall. I thought it best to share with you a little about the wonderful places we passed through and while each one deserves much more I thought I'd just give you a taster., which is all we had.

Lostwithiel

Lostwithiel was a lovely town not far from Lanhydrock, with much more appeal than bigger Bodmin. We had too evening meals in Lostwithiel, despite all our plans for a week on home cooking. The standout here was the Globe Inn, which is well worth a visit. Rather than offering a children's menu they offer a child's portion of most menu items. We found the Globe Inn recommended in the visitors book at the cottage and it lived up to its reputation. We arrived late on a busy Thursday and were warned about having to wait but it wasn't long and it was worth the wait.

 I chose a lovely slow cooked lamb dish that was absolutely delicious and wonderfully warming. Rob decided to be daring a tried the Poachers Pie but I'm not sure he was rewarded for his bravery, but then I don't eat game so I am biased.

 Bodmin Moor

At Cutmadoc we quickly feel into a pattern of sleeping in, me, and getting up early to play board games and puzzles, everyone else. We were in no rush to get moving and this suited us just fine. On Sunday we pulled out an Eyewitness Travel Guide we had borrowed from the local library and choose an Inn for lunch in nearby Bodmin Moor, not far from the famous Jamaica Inn immortalised by author Daphne du Maurier.

The Blisland Inn may be No 5 in the list of places to eat in Cornwall but I would suggest that if you are travelling with kids you give it a miss. On entering there are two doors, one to the dining room and the other the bar. A big sign on the door stated that children were not welcome in the dining room and so we went into the bar. This part was still very quaint and cosy so we weren’t too disappointed. However we were informed that we would have to sit out the back in the family room, which was an empty room with a huge pile of toys in the corner and no more welcoming than a workplace cafeteria. Needless to say we snuck out without ordering while the lady behind the bar wasn’t looking.

Luckily a very nice young lady, Kelly, who keeps her horses in the paddock next to our cottage, had recommended another pub, The Old Inn in St Breward, for lunch and this time it was perfect. While they offered an al la carte menu we were quite contented with the Sunday Carvery. While this was not fine dining, and does not win a place in our best Sunday roast awards it was good sustaining food. The Old Inn is considered the highest pub in Cornwall and there is a lovely view from the dining room over the moor.

Padstow

After our visit to Tintagel we were feeling hungry and knew that it would be late by the time we got back home so used this as a wonderful excuse for a quick detour for fish and chips in Padstow. But not just any old fish and chips mind you, we visited Stein's Fish and Chips, owned by celebrity chef Rick Stein. I must say it was the best fish and chips we have ever tasted.

 The kids had cod bites, Rob had haddock and lucky me I had the lemon sole and it was divine. They were cooked in beef dripping and while perhaps not the healthiest way of cooking it, it certainly was the tastiest. We felt the price was reasonable when we saw just how big the servings were. As much as I enjoyed mine there was no way I could finish it.

 All we saw of Padstow was a quick drive past, right along the waterfront. It certainly looks a lovely town to visit and explore but no time or daylight left this day so takeaway to eat in the car was all the time we had in Padstow.

Marazion

After our visit to Glendurgan we decided to drive the long way home, via St Michaels Mount and St Ives for dinner. Marazion is an ancient town on Mounts Bay, east of Penzance which can also be seen from here. The highlight of course is the stunning St Michael's Mount sitting on a little island just of shore.

 Leaving Rob and the kids to play happily on the beach and at a nearby park I spent the time sitting in the warm car and enjoying a wonderful book of Cornish folk tales. As the story goes, a giant used to live on St Michael Mount. One day he asked his friend in Penzance to toss him a hammer so he could mend his shoe. Just as his friend threw it across the bay the giants wife stepped out of their house and the giantess was hit between the eyes and was killed. After this the giant, who previously was quite benign, turned nasty and eventually he was killed by Jack the Giant Slayer, who came across from Marazion where he lived. He dug a big pit that the giant fell into and was finished off with one blow.

St Ives

As we were going to St Ives we tried our hardest to remember the old riddle, but we forgot the bits after the seven cats, so we had to look it up:

As I was going to St. Ives,

I met a man with seven wives,

Each wife had seven sacks,

Each sack had seven cats,

Each cat had seven kits:

Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,

How many were there going to St. Ives?

Emma loves riddles at the moment so it was fun to find one relevant to where we were going. St Ives is an ancient harbour well known in the past for its abundance of both rats and cats. Today instead St Ives is filled with tourist accommodation, bakeries selling Cornish pasties and ice creams and cafes and restaurants to cater to the many tourists. The roads are so narrow that we felt we may get stuck and had to tuck in the mirrors.

 This pub looked lovely but sadly we didn't choose it and had thoroughly bland and unappetising fare, for which I am to blame as I thought it a good idea to order a pasty as we were in Cornwall after all. Perhaps a good idea at morning tea time, but served with chips and gravy for dinner, it was a not the best choice.

So now a month after leaving Cornwall I can finally say goodbye and move onto Wales knowing that we will always look on Cornwall as one of the best places for a slow paced relaxing holidays that we have found.