BEST OF 2020

Welcome to Best of Cornwall By Penny Fincken

... or as they say in the , Kernow A’Gas Dynnergh! The Cornish language survives still and whilst you probably won’t hear Cornish spoken on the streets you may notice the road name signs that are being replaced with both English and Cornish. Cornish is recognised as a language by the European Union and is being taught in the local schools. It was spoken here for more than 2,000 years. Cornish is similar to the Welsh language and to Breton.

© Bella Wright

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Kernow is the Cornish language word for Cornwall and the first package holidays. Unfortunately today one has to you may also notice the Kernow flag in the county. This is the transport oneself and one’s own luggage. Many of the original flag of St Piran who is the patron of miners. It is a posters, produced by the railway companies, advertising black flag with a white cross. is believed to have holidays in Cornwall are now collectors’ items and command adopted these two colours from seeing the molten tin spilling quite large sums of money. out of the black ore in his fire. There are regular flights to Cornwall Airport The population of Cornwall is approximately 550,000 from London & Manchester throughout the year with many although this number rises in the summer months and during additional routes available in the summer months. the year up to 5 million visitors can be expected to make the journey down here. The county is scattered with small villages and hamlets with a few larger towns such as , The archipelago called the Isles of Scilly is located 28 and . miles off the Cornish coast. Divided by a stretch of the most The major one is which is Cornwall’s only city and treacherous of the waters surrounding Cornwall, the crossing has become the capital, being the centre for commerce and on the ferry, III, in bad weather is not for the administration for the county. It is special amongst Cornish fainthearted. Of the many islands of granite rock, only five are towns because of its unique past. still inhabited. A leisurely walk through the opes, streets and gardens reveals St Mary’s is the largest, with a generous harbour able to the city’s character and hidden heritage. A visit to the Tourist accommodate the ferry and the cargo ship as Information Centre will provide the visitor with maps, and well as visiting cruise ships. The other islands are Tresco, other helpful information. Truro Cathedral attracts thousands St Agnes, St Martin’s and . Cars are permitted on St of visitors from all over the world. This late Victorian cathedral Mary’s for residents but not for visitors. The other islands do was the inspiration of Edward White Benson, the first Bishop not allow cars at all. Transport for heavy goods is tractor and of Truro, and trailer and there is limited use of golf buggies. A favourite TRURO CATHEDRAL ATTRACTS designed by the holiday is to stay on St Mary’s and visit the other islands by architect John THOUSANDS OF VISITORS boat and then walk and explore. Loughborough FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD Pearson. The Isles of Scilly : ©simplyscilly.co.uk Building started Truro Cathedral in 1880 and was completed in 1910 and retains the south aisle of the parish church of St Mary’s that was formerly on the site.

The in the east of the county forms a natural border between Cornwall and ; or as some people say, ! The river is 50 miles long and rises just 4 miles from the town of on the north coast. As the land here forms a peninsula, wherever you live no-one is more than 13 miles The Boatmen on the islands are well organised and trips from the sea or one of the many wonderful beaches. leave every morning from 10.00am. However, at the end of It was Isambard Kingdom Brunel who brought the railway the day they have to leave on time because of the tides, and to Cornwall and in order to do so he built the magnificent do not wait, so you are well advised to listen to the departure Royal Albert Bridge over the river Tamar. Today it has been times. The islands are magical and a haven for all wildlife. joined by a road bridge. Crossing either of these necessitates There are also boat trips to the Eastern Islands to see the a cheer if one is returning from a journey ‘upcountry’. From puffins and seals, especially delightful in the spring. Paddington, London, to Penzance by rail takes 5+ hours and there is also an overnight sleeper service. The Abbey Garden on Tresco is a very special pleasure both for the variety of plants from all over the world as well We are fortunate to have retained three branch lines from as to see what has been achieved there. The islands are this mainline service: from Par to Newquay, Truro to Falmouth owned by the but Tresco is leased to the and to St Ives. Many people follow in the footsteps Dorien Smith family. It was their ancestor Augustus Smith who of the Cornish Riviera holidays of the 19th century when brought education and planning to the islands. the rail journey and hotel booking were combined, luggage could be sent ahead and passengers were met, formerly by Once you’ve spent a couple of days on the Isles of Scilly horse drawn carriage and latterly by a motor car. These were you will find all your worries have disappeared!

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ECONOMY The has been significantly influenced by metal mining for millennia and indeed mining for tin is understood to have been taking place at least 4,000 years ago.

During the Industrial period (1750-1900); it was the production of copper particularly which would set Cornwall on the path towards becoming, by the mid-19th century, probably the most important mining district in the world. Some 2,600,000 tonnes of copper and tin are estimated to have been produced from across Cornwall and Devon; much of this would have been mined during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The explosion of mining which took place at this time would reshape much of the Cornish landscape and also create new towns and villages to accommodate the growing industrial workforce.

Enormous fortunes were made by established landowners who held the mineral rights to the land. The left Cornwall during the century after 1815. Important wealth secured from these rights enabled such families to migrant destinations included North America, Latin America, create or extend grand houses and gardens located across Australia and South Africa. Indeed it is said that at the Cornwall. This led to funding plant collecting overseas and bottom of a mine anywhere in the world you will find a many of the species now common in British gardens, such ‘Cousin Jack’ (a Cornishman)! as the camellia and rhododendron, were introduced by these mining funded expeditions. The importance of the Cornish and West Devon Mining Landscape was recognised internationally in 2006 when Iron foundries, tin smelters, fuse works and gunpowder UNESCO designated selected mining landscapes across manufactories are just some of the many businesses which Cornwall and west Devon as a cultural World Heritage Site sprung up across Cornwall in the wake of metal mining. placing it on a par with international treasures like the Engineering innovations such as the Cornish high-pressure Taj Mahal and The Great Wall of China. steam boiler and the Cornish type beam engine were also to Farming is also important here. There are dairy farms, put Cornwall on the international stage in the 19th century arable farms and several mixed farms with sheep and pigs and the foundries which produced these, such as Harvey’s of as well. Many farmers have diversified and opened their , gained global recognition. farms to the public so one can see cows being milked, ice Cornish mineworkers followed this mining technology in and cider being made and some have children’s large numbers when it was applied to mines elsewhere in entertainment on offer. In Cornwall we retain the smaller Britain and overseas. fields as many of them are bordered by Cornish hedges. It is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 people Whilst these may look like innocuous hedges bordering the

Heartlands - Robinsons Shaft © Ainsley Cocks Trebah Gardens, Smith

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THE DIVERSE LANDSCAPE OF CORNWALL

lanes they are in fact stone walls built with earth between (and on our TV channels!) to thank for this. However the stones where the flora and fauna have their habitat. if the weather has been stormy, there may not be sea bass They display lovely wildflowers throughout the year but on the menu! if you are lucky enough to visit in springtime they are at So what are we left with to provide employment here? their best. It also means we have a patchwork of beautiful Well, tourism. This has become our major industry. We can fields. However, if you are an unwary motorist driving down offer almost everything here from relaxing on one of the a narrow lane and you pull in to let another vehicle pass, many beaches, any kind of water sports from sailing and please remember that the hedge is made of stone, or your surfing to diving and canoeing as well as horse riding, cycling car’s paintwork could be damaged! and walking - especially the 300 mile coastal path all of Fishing is another of the industries that has been which is passable. important to our economy. It is in decline due to smaller fish There are National Trust and English Heritage properties stocks but there are still the iconic boats and fisherman in and castles to visit. Numerous wonderful gardens, and be sure nearly all the harbours around the coast. In spite of satellite not to miss the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Trebah and the world technology and GPS systems it is still a dangerous occupation famous Eden Project. All types of high quality accommodation because of the violent storms that can occur. Probably the are available from camping in tents and yurts to boutique largest centre is at in the west, but some of the hotels and self catering cottages. Cruise ships regularly call at fishermen go out to catch to order for the many restaurants Falmouth, and St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly. The season and public houses that now have freshly caught fish on the has been extended here so although our busiest time is the menu. We have chefs such as Rick Stein, who is based at main school holidays in July and August, many attractions are

Padstow Harbour open throughout the year, even in February! CLIMATE Now, I can hear you asking – what about the weather? Well, on the whole the climate is warmer and we enjoy a more equable temperature in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly than elsewhere in the UK, mainly thanks to the warm winds of the Gulf Stream. Our spring arrives earlier, by about five weeks, than the rest of the UK, enabling the narcissi and new potatoes to reach upcountry markets first. It does rain here, sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean, but rainfall is less than on or in Wales. But we do have unusually high humidity which is wonderful for growing plants such as camellias and rhododendrons for which Cornwall is well known. If rain is forecast for the north coast have a look at the forecast for the south coast where it might be more favourable!

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Magnificent sea views across Mounts Bay and St ’s Mount Our first phase development of independent living apartments will be available soon. To register an expression of interest please contact Geoffrey Knights c/o Chypons or via email : [email protected]

Clifton Hill, Newlyn, Penzance, Cornwall. TR18 5BU (01736) 362492 [email protected] www.chypons.co.uk

CELTIC ORIGINS ‘Cornish’. The does indeed have a long history in the Cornwall is often referred to as the land of myths and legends, county. It could even be said that it was the first fast food as quite rightly as both the landscape and the weather can contribute the tin miners would take a pasty with them for the noon day to an atmosphere of storytelling. Throughout the year celebrations meal. The wife or mother would bake the pasty in the Cornish are held including the famous Obby Oss day in Padstow and range, and it would consist of a pastry case filled with best skirt Flora Day in , both at the beginning of May. The Obby Oss of beef, potatoes, onions and swedes. It would have a crust of festival is dedicated to the return of the Celtic sun god Bel and is pastry around the edge. The miner would hold the pasty by this believed to be the oldest dance festival in the country. Flora Day is edge which he would discard after eating the rest. It was said a pre-Christian celebration with dancing in the streets of Helston, that this was to appease the ‘piskies’ or little people who lived in the mines. But really it was a question of hygiene as the miners’ the being the principal one at midday. hands would be rather dirty. Today many Cornish families get Plein an Gwarry is Cornish for playing place and these were together on a Friday evening to enjoy a home cooked pasty, the sites where religious plays were enacted. Dotted around the usually baked in their Cornish range. Folklore has it that the devil county can be found many Celtic crosses some of which date from would never cross the river Tamar because he didn’t want to end centuries ago. An ancient rhyme tells us ‘By Tre Pol and Pen shall up in a Cornish pasty! ye know Cornishmen’. This refers to the tradition of taking your A Cornish Cream is to be highly recommended. A Cornish last name from the area where you live. Tre means homestead consists of freshly baked , cut in half, and given or farm, Pol is pool or pond and Pen is headland in Cornish. So a generous serving of homemade jam, usually strawberry. On for example the English translation of the word Penzance is ‘Holy top goes the large dollop of . This is all taken with Headland’. Many Cornish names begin with Tre, Pol and Pen and a freshly brewed cup of tea. The research is this: if you turn the this is reflected in the names of villages and towns throughout the with jam and clotted cream upside down, if it’s Cornish county. If they don’t begin with any of those syllables then they clotted cream, then it won’t fall off. If it’s been made anywhere will probably begin with Saint as it is said that ‘there are more else it will. Cornish clotted cream is so thick and well, creamy, in Cornwall than there are in Heaven!’ because of our climate and soil. The grass that the cows enjoy is FOOD full of nutrients, so the they produce is exceptionally rich and Cornwall is probably most famous for the Cornish pasty creamy. The milk is first cooled to allow the cream to rise to the and the Cornish cream tea. At the end of 2010 the European top, and then heated until the cream shows a raised ring around Union gave the Cornish pasty the status it so rightly deserves the edge and begins to bubble. The cream is then skimmed off. Be by decreeing that only made in Cornwall can be called sure to try a Cornish cream tea whilst you are in Cornwall.

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ARTISTS The popular television programme ‘Doc Martin’ was The quality of light in Cornwall together with its unspoilt filmed in the village of Port Isaac on the north coast and scenery has been attracting artists for many years, with the it too has ‘en plein air’ movement beginning in the late 19th century. attracted a large number The artists in the art colony in Newlyn were mainly of visitors, from British and Irish, for example Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes, the UK and Norman Garstin and Lamorna Birch. There is a marvellous abroad. And collection of their work at the Penlee Gallery in Penzance. of course we Doc Martin However, the artists who came to St Ives were a more also have the cosmopolitan group. Ben Nicholson and his wife, the sculptor extremely popular television series Poldark which is filmed Barbara Hepworth, moved to St Ives at the beginning of the at a variety of locations around Cornwall. Second World War. Other artists there included Peter , Terry Frost, Patrick Heron and Roger Hilton. Their studios Whenever we take a holiday or make time for a short were often in disused net lofts, as fishing was in decline, break, we choose our destination with care. We also have and they would have show days when the Great Western an expectation of what we might find at our destination Railway would organise excursions. and how we will spend our time on holiday. Do you want AUTHORS beautiful beaches? Wonderful scenery? Surfing? Extreme sports? Tin mines, ’s book Vanishing Cornwall reflects country houses, beautiful gardens, not only her deep love of the county but also her concerns fishing trips, wildlife jaunts, lovely for its future. Many of those concerns are still relevant today. locally grown food, friendly people, She lived at Menabilly near Fowey and her novels, , and relaxed atmosphere? Then , Frenchman’s Creek, My Cousin Rachel and The Cornwall ticks all those boxes and House on the Strand all had Cornish settings. Many of those many more. Enjoy your visit! novels were made into highly successful films, and were Duckpool A3072 filmed in Cornwall. Perhaps the most famous of these was Summerleaze Bude , directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Crooklets Widemouth Bay Rosamunde Pilcher grew up in Cornwall and went to school in Penzance. Her novels ‘The Shell Seeker’s and

‘Coming Home’, were set here. Both British and German Boscastle television companies have made them into programmes Bossiney Haven A39 : Atlantic Highway A395 which are extremely popular here and in Germany, Trebarwith Strand Launceston Austria and Switzerland. Many tourists from those Port Isaac A30 countries visit Cornwall to see the locations where filming Polzeath took place. Harlyn Bay Rock

Constantine Bay Padstow A388

Wadebridge Bedruthan Steps A389 A390 A39 St Neot

Bodmin A388 Newquay Watergate Bay Airport A38 Dobwalls Lusty Glaze A3059 St Columb Fistral Major A38 Newquay Crantock A392 Indian Queens Lerryn

A390 A30 Fowey

A3076 B3274 Polruan St Agnes A3075 St Austell Bay Mithian A39 Charlestown Chiverton Porthtowan Cross Probus Portmellon Truro A390 St Ives Godrevy Porthmeor A39 Gorran Haven Pool Feock Hayle Towans Veryan Porthminster A30 A383 Carne Carbis Bay A3078 A3074 Mylor Pendeen Hayle Stithians Penryn Flushing Porthcurnick St Helen’s Tean St Martin’s A3071 Penzance A394 St Just A394 Falmouth Newlyn Helston Swanpool Gyllingvase Cove Constantine Maenporth Bryher Tresco Gweek Helford

Porthleven A3083 Samson Lands End St Mary’s Porthcurno Isles of Scilly Mullion

Gugh Kennack Sands St Agnes Kynance Cove

The Lizard

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