If there’s one thing Brits love more than a bank holiday, it’s two bank holidays. The Easter weekend is always the perfect excuse to take a four-day mini break, which, for Southerners like me, nearly always takes the form of a pilgrimage to the west country. Since my sister has been at university in Cornwall, my dad and I set off on the long, long, long, long drive to the west.
On Thursday morning we set off from Sussex with the vain hope that we’d make the 6 hour trip in 5 hours. We didn’t. After a super appetising petrol station sandwich, a detour across the Cornish moors and a quick stop in Falmouth to collect Faith, we made it to Mousehole, our final destination.
Mousehole is pretty much everything we expected it to be. With the staple teeny roads, coastal views, lack of parking and abundance of cocker spaniels, it really is just like any Cornish holiday destination.
Once we’d actually sussed the parking, it was time to find the AirBnB (easier said than done). Our cottage, Bay View, was equally a Cornwall classic – think higgedly-piggedly floor plans, exposed stone walls and plenty of coastal decor. After a kitchen disaster (involving an entire pot of salt) we called it a day.
Cut to Friday morning and we were pleasantly surprised by blue skies and warm weather – the perfect conditions for a country stroll. We decided to take the famous coastal path from Mousehole to take in some of the scenery before the weather turned. Turns out, everybody else had the same idea. If the teeny tiny, single file pathway wasn’t already difficult enough to navigate, the swampiness of the mud and puddles from the recent rain definitely put us through our paces. After a quick stop for a picnic lunch with a view, we went on with our muddy adventure, wet feet and all. Safe to say, taking off the soggy socks at the end of the day was heaven.
After some Cornish cider and a good night’s sleep, we were ready to go again on Saturday. This time, we headed to Lands End, to see the sights from the country’s most westerly point. Whilst the scenery was, again, beautiful, my high point of the day has to be meeting the cows, llamas, pigs, cats and dogs that we came across during our walk.
Having braved the sea winds, we decided it was time for a pub lunch. However, Faith being vegan, a pub that served vegan food proved hard to find. Undeterred, we took to Google and soon found a pub with something for everyone.
Once the evening rolled around, we decided it was time for us to party Cornwall style. So, once again, we bundled into the car to Newlyn for a trip to the Admiral Benbow, a nautical themed pub. I can only describe the interior as something out of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. The interior was styled like a ship and there was more “boat stuff” than you could poke a stick at.
A tipsy Saturday evening over, we headed back to the cottage for some much-needed rest.
Easter Sunday saw the return of the rain – no more walks for us. We decided to take a mini road trip to the Eden Project. This is essentially a big glass bubble in an old china clay quarry full of exotic plants. It’s pretty much the coolest thing ever. After a walk around the Rainforest Biome and plenty of photos later, we decided it was high time to have a traditional Cornish pasty (and a vegan one for Faith). Then, on to then Mediterranean Biome for more plants and pictures.
Once we were all planted out, we decided to call it a day, heading back to the cottage for a few rounds of Scrabble and a BBC Agatha Christie adaptation (wild).
Monday morning rolled around and it was time for us to pack up and leave Mousehole to embark on the long, long, long, long drive home.
Just Emma Things 