Coastal Views

Today I would love to share a little of the coastal towns we visited down in Cornwall. There were so many more that we would have loved to have seen but I feel sure we will return in the future and I will have a full itinerary for then. Early on in the week we visited the 'foodie' town of Padstow. This is home to the chef Rick Stein and his many restaurants and shops. We had lunch at his cafe just off the harbour front - steak and the tastiest plaice!

Mid week we made our way to the very popular St Ives which is again full of narrow cobbled streets and harbour front restaurants. Sadly the one cafe we were hoping to visit, which had come highly recommended was closed for the winter. St Ives is incredibly busy in the summer months because of its deep, beautifully sandy beaches.

Last Friday we squeezed in a visit to St Michael's Mount; this is one of the most photographed sights in Cornwall. When the tide is low you can walk across either the beach or the causeway to the island but when the tide is high you can take a boat across. As well as the castle there are a few houses around the harbour and at the end of the day, in the fading light, the island had an almost 'Harry Potter'ish atmosphere about it.

As we went to leave the island the postman came down from the harbour and drove across the sandy beach towards the island. I thought this looked so funny to see and I don't imagine that many postmen have such a scenic route when delivering mail!

I have one more Cornwall post to share with you tomorrow about the remarkable quest of one woman, then I promise to go full steam ahead with the festive season!