Escape on the Continent

Living in France we used to watch a Netflix show called "Escape to the Continent". The premise of the series was to be a vicarious witness to a British couple, in most cases, who wanted to escape their dreary northern rain soaked homes for warmth in the South of France. Said person or couple would visit 3 homes chosen by an estate agent based on their wish list and budget with 1 additional, quirky, surprise home. We the viewer would make our own decision and see what they decided at the end of the episode.

148,000+ British people live full and part time in France with the majority of them in Dordogne or Dordogne-shire as it has become known. Dordogne is a beautiful area that ticked all the boxes for many who left homes, jobs, friends and families for a new life in France.

Enter Brexit and Covid and things quickly changed for expats in France. British people are seeking reconciliation with the mess that Brexit brought about and some are staying in the UK, while others are applying for more permanent French status. A resurgence in country pride, investing in British property and “love the one you are with”, aka Steven Stills, is notching up. Housing prices are soaring and optimism is up and down, depending on which newspaper you read. Stay-cations have sharply increased in the UK. Limits on foreign travel reformulate vacation plans and people are finding beauty at home.

When the window cracked open back in April for an adventure to the rugged Cornish landscape, with limited fellow travelers underfoot, we vaulted at the chance. Bath has allowed us glorious journeys to local sanctuaries but nothing very far afield from this Lilliputian landscape.

Cornwall remains a hot summer tourist destination, one of the furthest southern areas in Great Britain. Every Cornwall beach is summer sardine packed with cranked-up city dwellers escaping big cities from London to Manchester. Pack up the car, the kids and drive for hours to the seaside, salt air and a cheap lifestyle.

You probably learned some new things about Cornwall after the G7 summit and why it's so appealing. You also may have learned that like all good things, the wealthy are buying property like a fresh bun sale and making it harder for locals by driving up the normal cost of living. Parts of Cornwall experience some of the greatest economic deprivation in the United Kingdom.

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Adventures start in Dorset

To get to Cornwall, a journey of a 278 miles, we begin with a meander through the equally detouring delights of Dorset and Devon.

Dorset holds the key to foraging for our new adventures; entry through the magical Durdle Door starting in Lulworth Cove.

The Jurassic Coast stretches from Dorset to Devon made up of rock formations from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Eras 185 million years of history.

Quite impressive to have all three together allowing geologists clues to piece together geological history. Jurassic Coast is a gorgeous geological area with rugged shell filled beaches, quirky rock formations, and high climbing paths perched above vistas to explore the natural beauty.

It's a trap!

Jurassic Coast's descriptive sign of the star holes and blow holes.

Sign on the white wall reads “From the time of dinosaurs, the ancient rocks of Lulworth Cove have been twisted by the power of the earth’s crust and shaped by the force of the sea.”

Knock knock. Who's there? The Dorset Durdle. The Dorset Durdle who? The Dorset Durdle Door, who left it open?

The Durdle Door is a naturally formed arch of limestone rising vertically out of the water on Man O'War Bay.

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On to Devon (my funniest memories)

People walking with their take out food jumping to get out of the direct line of seagull attack. Witnessing a grown man running from a seagull is a humbling/hilarious sight. Getting hit by the machine gun fire sound of a seagull unloading his bladder is equally harrowing and not funny especially where food is concerned...

Devon is much more than seagulls, it's sandy beaches, medieval villages, geological marvels and of course fishing villages or there wouldn't be so many d... seagulls! The Jack Russell terrier originated here.

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Cornwall Calling

St. Michael's Mount is the British version of Mont Saint-Michel in France. You can get your walk on water experience by walking the causeway at low tide from Marazion to the island.

Signs like this amuse me. They crop up in unlikely places reminding me of the human need to mark our importance on earth. Did King Edward really need that many likes?

His Majesty King Edward landed near this spot April 19, 1902.

Where did they get all the tin for the Wizard of Oz Tin Man? In Cornwall!

The Lizard is on the most southerly part of Britain. It was here that smugglers with blue boats roamed and untold ships met ran afoul of the treacherous jagged rocks hiding beneath the waves off LIzard Point. The area became known as the Graveyard of Ships. The name The Lizard originated from the Cornish name Lys Ardh.

Off in the distance you can see The Lizard's Wireless Telegraph Station. It is one of the only remaining intact Guglielmo Marconi stations. Nearby the first transatlantic wireless signal radio communication was received at Porthcurno . Sheep remain as impressed as ever with the historic site they occupy.

Poldark Fan? You will understand a bit about the mining industry based on the struggle of Captain Ross Poldark to extract copper from his mine in the BBC series.

Tin and copper mines were a big part of Cornwall’s revenues along with fishing, knitting and tourism. Cornwall was the mining center of the world in the 18th century. The tall smokestack engine houses connecting to the mines, we saw dotting the coastal landscape, brought up as many questions as there were answers. These stacks rising high on the ridges were steam power that would pump out the underground water allowing access to the minerals. Some of the mines were “submarine mines” extending 1.5 miles and almost .5 mile deep under the ocean.

Tin’s history dates back 4,000 years in Cornwall. Arsenic, a by product of tin and copper processing, had its own dirty history with poisoning

As the mines started to close, miners moved around the world to find work. Wherever there is or was a mine in the world, a Cornish miner is sure to be there.

As mentioned in a past blog, Joseph of Arimathea was purported to have brought Jesus with him on a journey to find tin to the oldest mine in Cornwall, Ding Dong Mine.

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Penzance and Newlyn

We found a charming airbnb in Newlyn near Mousehole, just pretend that all the vowels sound like U’s. Musehule.. Newlyn is right next to Penzance as in Pirates of Penzance. Gilbert and Sullivan may have vacationed here and ran into a Major General Stanley to base their operetta on. There is so much atmosphere here you could stage a Mutiny or two.

Bill Best Harris, a Plymouth librarian, is acknowledged on this plaque for his research and discovery that the Mayflower stopped in Newlyn, right around the corner from our airbnb, after leaving Plymouth for adjustments, fresh water and cargo. Newlyn is the last stop before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

The Atlantic recently had an article American has a Drinking Problem. It described how the pilgrims were headed to the mouth of the Hudson when the crew, fearing the Pilgrims were drinking too much beer, threatened mutiny unless said passengers were immediately discharged from the ship. The crew didn’t want the beer to run out before they set our on their return to England. Therefore Plymouth Rock was prematurely selected and named after their departure point from Plymouth England. But not the last point, according to this plaque.

Carbis Bay

St. Ives', neighbor to Carbis Bay, name recognition became instant with the recent G7. It has long been known as an artist colony. We found some entertaining addresses, like the Lobster's Residence and a creative art "installation" The Invisible Man St. Ives with a donation cup. I hope the world leaders stopped by here for some amusement and discussion.

Minack Theater

The theater was also in the news with the G7 when the global leader's partners enjoyed a performance by school children. We were personally blown away by the theater. It was a marvel of engineering and determination built by Rowena Cade and her gardener starting in 1930 until her death in 1983.

The Theatrical performance "Midsummer Night's Dream" set the wheels in motion for development of a theater sliced into the sheer rock hillside. Rowena dynamited the rock, dug it out, used a screwdriver to fashion designs in the stone. She would mix concrete with sand from the beach that she carried up in sack loads. She and her gardener were miraculous in overcoming the challenges. I honestly couldn't imagine how she did it with the slippery stone, rainy climate and sheer rock.

We met a lovely guide named Ann who had been working at the Minack theatre for over 35 years starting as a young girl, now a volunteer. It's been operating with private funds, tickets entrances, lots of volunteers, grit and determination. Ann knew Ms. Cade and said she was a force to be reckoned with. It was an incredible discovery and I'm glad it got the attention it deserves on the world stage.

Port Isaac

Doc Marten is a crusty Doctor whose lack of social skills, in the fictional town of Portwenn, Cornwall, offends the town people as much as he finds them ignorant. Knowing that my brothers enjoy this TV series about a cantankerous Doctor, I stopped to see the small village charm in the real town of Port Isaac.

Fern Cottage is the location of the hemophobic (fear of blood) doctor's office and home. The story line is that Doc Martin was a brilliant London surgeon who develops a fear of blood and retires to Cornwall to practice, begrudgingly gaining the respect of locals.

Here's for you dear brothers, Fern Cottage.

Port Isaac is a beautiful seaside village and we did see some film trucks in areas off limits to tourists.

Delicious Cornish pasties. Lavender's Cornish Pasties in Penzance were just as described, flaky crust, potato, onion, rutabaga (called a Swede in UK) along with meat of choice or cheese. Lip smacking good.

We learned that the miners would hold the pastie by the crimped edges and eat the middle so the arsenic poisoning, on their contaminated hands from the extraction process, wouldn't poison them.

King Arthur in Cornwall

Tintagel Castle

A spectacular historic site set on a jagged headland jutting into the Cornish Sea. 5th to 7th century established Tintagel as an important stronghold. Mediterranean pottery fragments show the importance of trade that graced this settlement. Mystery shrouds it with the connection of King Arthur to Cornwall and his conception by Uther Pendragon, King of Britain and Queen Igraine with the magical help of Merlin.

It was a difficult stronghold to breach making it a perfect location for a castle and settlement. Bridges have been built and rebuilt to make entry much easier than in the times of Merlin. Yes, I do believe in Merlin and King Arthur.

Merlin's cave where it all began.

The 8 foot bronze sculpture Gallos of King Arthur by Welsh artist Rubin Eynon is remarkably striking. The magnificence of its size, placement and transparency from another time were very moving. I wasn't ready to leave Arthur behind but couldn't quite fit him in the car.

The romantic tale of Tristan and Iseult took place in Cornwall and this is one of the places where the tragic tale, based on celtic legend, is rumored to have taken place.

What a magical place Cornwall is with so much to observe, absorb and synthesize. Our 4 day tour took so much in and left us with so much to think about.

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About Town

Swanny Mama's eggs hatched! Finally after losing her first eggs to freezing weather, success! 4 lovely fuzzy gray cygnets. She's wiggling with delight in this video.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/8ad4ae_b47dba74e08a4da8a0b3f9258d4beee8/1080p/mp4/file.mp4