Late in October, Callum had his mid-term break off from school while Tyler had a long 4-day weekend...so, we hopped in the car and drove four hours to the lush and dramatic region of Cornwall.
Situated in the furthest southwest portion of England, it boasts both the wettest and warmest climate on the island due to the warm, moist, tropical winds and current that flow up from the Caribbean.
Our inspiration for visiting Cornwall came from the BBC drama Poldark which has captured our imagination in its story of an 18th century rogue-ish gentleman set on the cliff tops of Cornwall. Besides that, it has some of the most dramatic scenery in all of England, so we had to make a trip.
We arrived at our working dairy farm B&B in the middle of the peninsula and were greeted by a rather prickly elderly woman. She made us a delicious full English breakfast the next morning to start our day off right. Another French family was also staying at the B&B with their 3 teenage children. We enjoyed visiting with them for two mornings and they invited us to come visit their farm in Normandy if we were ever in the area.
Our first stop in the itinerary was the small island castle of Mont St. Michael, just off the coast of Penzance. Still owned and inhabited by the St Aubyn family, it is reachable over dry ground at low tide, but then is completely surrounded again by 10-15 feet of water at high tide.
The tour included many interesting tidbits about the family and a collection of medieval armor and weapons. We had a cream tea and soup in the island café and were cut off from land by the high tide, so we had to take a skiff back to land.
We then drove across the peninsula to the Levant mine on the west coast. It contained the last original and working steam engine which was the height of technology at one time. These engines helped pump water from the lower levels of the mine since they delved several hundred meters below sea level. The Levant mine also extended a mile off the shore under the sea bed...astounding for the 1800s!
The kids favorite part was hammering rocks and searching for copper and gold. Callum narrowly avoided a smashed finger from the unpredictable hammering of his sister as he placed new rocks on her base plate.
We hiked a bit around the mine along the coast before driving towards St Just for dinner. As we approached the town, we spotted a signpost directing us towards Cape Cornwall, so we detoured over for a quick view at another cove. Tyler jumped out and hiked up the small just of land for a sweeping view.
Back in St Just, we popped into a local fish and chips place that was mobbed by locals and enjoyed hearty cod filets deep fried with fries (chips) and mushy peas. We were back at the farm by 730 for a night of fitful sleep with all four of us in the same room.
The next morning we started a driving tour around the coast, starting at the tiny village of Mousehole. We clamored around the tidal pools from low tide for about 30 minutes before exploring the village a bit. We found a café and took a couple of pasties for lunch as we wandered up and down a couple of streets.
Next, we drove a few miles and came to Lamorna cove. We all explored the beach for a few minutes before setting off on a rather precarious cliff-side hike above the water.
We held onto the kids' hands tightly as we navigated the boulder strewn path. After about 15 minutes, Laura and Claire decided to stay put while Callum and Tyler scouted out ahead and around the bend. They found a great area of tidal pools and rock climbed for a while before racing back to make it to the car before the parking ticket expired.
We stopped at a few more small coves based on Rick Steve's recommendation and some of Poldark fame. Somewhere in the middle of the peninsula, we came across a stone circle called the Merry Maidens.
We then came upon the startingly dramatic Minack Theatre in Porthcurno. This rock hewn open-air theatre perches upon the cliff hundreds of feet above the sea with absolutely stunning views across the cove. We spent awhile on the viewpoint taking pictures and enjoying the scenery.
Eventually, Callum and Laura hiked down the steep steps to the beach while Tyler and Claire repositioned the minivan at the beach parking lot below. We met up on the beach and enjoyed a few blissful moments of sun and surf as the kids frolicked near the waves. Unfortunately, they came a little too close and were obliterated by a rogue wave and soaked up to their belts. We then trudged back up the hill to the car and stripped them down and drove on to a couple of other isolated coves.
The big stop that Laura wanted to make was the Botallack mines where a bunch of Poldark scenes were filmed. We reached the mines about 30 minutes before sunset and Claire was napping, so only one adult could leave the parking lot to see the scenery. Tyler went first in search of the quintessential shot of the mine engine buildings on the coast. We thought one set of buildings off to the left were the ones we wanted, so Tyler ran about a quarter mile to get the shot, only to realize they weren't the right buildings. So he snapped a few pictures and then scooted back to the car to let Laura have a turn.
Laura ventured off and met up with an older gentleman taking professional pictures and tagged along as he showed her some of the best vantage points.
After the sun set, we went back to St Just for another meal, this time at a Free House, which is a kind of pub. We had a nice meal of salmon and soup and then retired again to the B&B.
The next day, we squeezed in a tour of the Geevor Tin Mine since Callum was so keen to go underground and pan for gold. The tour was very informative and interesting for Mum and Dad, but the kids favorite part was panning for pyrite (gold!). We even were able to go down into Wheal Mexico, an 1800s tin mine.
It was amazing to experience the cramped conditions where boys began to work at the age of 9 and life expectancy was as low as 27 for a miner at some points in history. We learned all about the science and art of mining as we wedged ourselves through narrow spaces where only the profitable seam of tin was mined leaving slanted and jagged gaps to squeeze through.
After the tour, we ate one final Cornish meal in the café overlooking the sea as the sun burned through the fog. We then took the scenic route home towards St Ives and enjoyed a brilliant green coast line littered with pastures divided by hedgerows and stone fences and dotted with mine engine smokestacks.
The trip was an enjoyable and complete success and just in time for our 10th wedding anniversary - the tin anniversary, apparently!
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