Christmas Eve saw us out and about for our
second day exploring charming Cornwall .
Disappointingly, Poldark Mine was closed but St Michael’s Mount was looking
magical as we parked and set off for an hour’s stroll along Marazion Beach
and back. Not only were the kiteboarders enjoying the stiff sea breezes but
thousands of gulls were also on the wing above the waves. (For more on what
caused that phenomenon, see here.)
Next stop, St Ives. We parked the car in a
carpark high on the hill above the town, which was perfect for panoramic views
but took a bit of effort climbing back up again later in the day. The weather
was bright and sunny, and the town was crowded with holidaymakers and
last-minute Christmas shoppers but it didn’t feel too packed, just had a pleasant holiday
buzz to the atmosphere.
There were plenty of narrow winding streets
lined with interesting shops and galleries to explore, as well as the
ubiquitous bakeries selling world-famous Cornish pasties in all manner of
ingredient combinations.
After some time spent mooching around the
galleries, we decided to buy pasties and find a seat somewhere around the
harbour to eat. Our pasties came with a warning, however: ‘The gulls here are
vicious. One will distract you while the others swoop down from behind, so be
careful where you sit and, whatever you do, don’t feed them!’ Forewarned is
fore-armed, as they say, so we found a bench with our backs to a building wall
and weren’t bothered at all by the scavenging gulls ... though I’m sure the
scouts on the rooftops were watching our every mouthful!
Lunch polished off, we walked further, round the harbour, to the little lighthouse at the end of the harbour
wall, along alleyways, up and down lanes. Eventually, our legs grew weary and
we still had that hill to face so off we set.
Rather than drive the main highway home, we
headed north through Hayle and then along the coastal road.
The scenery was
spectacular and, when we saw a sign for Deadman’s Cove, we couldn’t resist
stopping for a gander and enjoyed a bit of a wander along part of the coastal
path, though not too close to the crumbly edges.
It was the perfect way to
polish off another magnificent day in magical Cornwall .
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