exploring & escapades

Penzance is quirky, fresh, old, loved. Pirate flags and old, dark pubs. Seafood shacks. A long beach walk. Hydrangeas bigger than my head. Pirates, pirate flags. The sound of seagulls through the windows when I wake up in the morning. 

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The first thing I noticed about our weekend home in Penzance was the massive, perfect purpleblue hydrangea bush at the end of the driveway. And the hollyhocks. I loved them.

We were so pleasantly surprised by our flat too. The pictures had made it appear dark and cramped. In reality, it was a bright, spacious, well-lit home with floor-to-ceiling windows and flowing curtains and a soundtrack of seagull sounds. The location was great. On our first night there, we walked twenty minutes to the outskirts to what is technically Newlyn for dinner. Walked home along the water, sky still lit by fading summer sun, dark by the time we made it home. 

And in the mornings, we ran that way along in the water, in both directions. Through old and narrow streets. Along train tracks. Up a hill. One morning, there was a white horse running across the sand, St. Michael’s Mount on the horizon. 

Other days. We ate at a picnic table outside a local pub. We went to the local meadery, old and worn inside, but clearly loved by locals. We sat on a roof deck staring at pirate flags dotting the harbor as the sun dropped to golden hour. We went to another old and worn, cozy local pub, covered in ship parts and complete with a resident pub dog. We played pirate pinball for hours. We walked home in the dark. 

In the dark, Penzance was quiet, and it felt as if we had it all to ourselves. The sea seemed to stretch forever. Simple, beautiful, and timeless. 

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Cornwall, UK

When: July 2019

How long: 4 days (including 2 days of driving), 3 nights

Via: Drove our car 6 hours from Cambridge. We stopped in Portishead for lunch along the way. 

Stayed: Bright Flat nr Sea Front, Penzance 

Ate – Day 3: The Harbour Seafood Restaurant, St. Ives (lunch), Willy Wallers, St. Ives (icecream), The Tinners Arms, Zennor (drinks, snacks), The Dolphin Tavern, Penzance (dinner), Waterside Meadery, Penzance (drinks), Admiral Benbow (drinks)

Did – Day 3: St. Ives Harbour, Carbis Bay, pub trivia board games in the garden at The Tinners Arms, the deck at Waterside Meadery, pirate pinball at Admiral Benbow 

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You can read more about our first two days in Cornwall, here: Marazion, Lizard. Our third day started with a trip to St Ives and later to Carbis Bay and Zennor.