Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

My trip to Cornwall, bookended by weekends in London

My trip to Cornwall, bookended by weekends in London

Old Oct 9th, 2016, 10:54 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My trip to Cornwall, bookended by weekends in London

I haven't done a trip report in awhile. It's about time I did, so here is my report on my recent trip.

The trip came about because my sister, who had recently retired and was planning a trip to England, called me to ask what I thought about her adding a trip to Scotland to her England stay. And I said, how about Cornwall and I will come over and do that leg with you?

Cornwall was a part of England I have wanted to visit. Rosamunde Pilcher's books definitely influenced that.

Sis said yes, and the planning began.

I had a business meeting I needed to arrange in London, and I wanted at least a little time with friends nearby, so we bookended the trip with weekends in London

First up, the first weekend in London.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 11:10 AM
  #2  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I flew on a Tuesday evening and arrived around 10:30 on Wednesday morning. A business colleague landed within an hour so we shared a car into the city. I just went to the Heathrow site and they had a couple of services there where I could prearrange and prepay. I also arranged my colleague's return on the same reservation as round trip bookings were cheaper.

We arrived at noon but could not check in until 2. We stayed at a Premier Inn in the City of London. We were trying to keep costs down on this business portion of the trip, and if you are looking for a less expensive option in very expensive London, you might consider them.

Nothing fancy, but very clean, good breakfasts, and very good service.

http://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hote...ank-tower.html

For us it wasn't even a five minute walk to where we were meeting, and not having to deal with transportation the two days of meetings made it nice as well.

We wanted to walk and get lunch until we could check in, so set off. After a quick stop at an electronics store for Bill (he forgot his converter) and the ATM for me (I wanted at least a nominal amount of cash) good old Google Maps told us that the Hung, Drawn and Quartered pub was nearby.

And thus began my nearly two-week quest to try every cider I could get my hands on.

My first cider that day was Cornish Orchards. Along with it I had stargazy pie, and bill had a steak pie. Bill's was really good and mine was okay.

We walked about a bit. The Tower of London was maybe two blocks away. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed the people watching and the views before we went back to check in and take short naps before meeting up with others who had come in for our meetings.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 11:18 AM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
One of the things that did amuse us was the excerpt from the diary of Samuel Pepys hanging on the outside wall: "I went to see Major General Harrison Hung Drawn and Quartered. He was looking as cheerful as any man could be in that condition." 13th October 1660

http://www.hung-drawn-and-quartered.co.uk
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 11:46 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 61,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Waiting for more
jubilada is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 12:15 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 847
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
"(he forgot his converter)"

Converter? Did he bring a hairdryer.
Hooameye is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 12:48 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25,422
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
I've always liked Sam's comment there. I also like his wandering around during the Plague.
bilboburgler is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 01:24 PM
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hooameye - adaptor, sorry

Bilboburgler, I fear there is a gap in my knowledge and I had not heard of Sam before this. I need to read up.

Jubi, patience grasshopper. I had to go to the grocery store as I ran out of coffee this am. No one wants to see me tomorrow if I don't have coffee.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 01:31 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 61,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am being patient but eager.
jubilada is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 02:11 PM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The next few days were full of meetings, so nothing there that you want to hear about, trust me. But I will mention a few restaurants in case you find yourself in the area.

On Wednesday evening several of us got together and walked to Darbaar by Abdul, an Indian restaurant I had been following on Instagram. The food and the beer were very good. But the service was abysmal. Turns out it was the waiter's second night, and he was very sweet, but we were really hungry by the time we ate. We decided the silver lining was that we all got to visit longer.

It is in the broad gate area which seemed like it might be more of a business type district. Very close to the Liverpool station so we took the tube back instead of walking.

Www.darbaarrestaurants

I had bought 2Gb of data for my iPhone, so we used google maps on the walk over, nice and easy. I had a phone I was going to use while there, but my sister had it until I connected with her. 2 g was plenty for as much as I used it.

I also ordered an Oyster card last June, and loaded it with £30 so I was ready to go when we got there and didn't need to take the time to get one when there.

Thursday night we ended up at a pub and mainly ate apps, but I had another cider that I really liked. This time Aspall from Suffolk. No one is ever going to believe I dont drink much as I think I had a drink every day I was away!

They took us to lunch on Friday to a Pizza Express. They had taken us to one last year as well and the name made me think it was a sort of fast food place. I was mistaken, and Pizza Express is really good. So if you are wandering around London and need a fast casual meal, don't overlook these.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 02:34 PM
  #10  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Here is where I ordered the visitor Oyster card. It came very quickly.

https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-informatio...or-oyster-card
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 03:13 PM
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
At the end of the day Friday I was officially on vacation, and three of my colleagues were staying over so the four of us went to dinner. It is a long and rather silly story of how we ended up here, but we ate at The English Restaurant in Spitalfields Market.

It was a great choice, and you can look at the menus here

Www.theenglishrestaurant.com

There is a salad called Salmongundi that they billed as a 'very English salad' so we ordered one for thr table. The key seemed to be pickled vegetables but it was very good. There was a brief incident when David tried to stab my hand when I tried to take a bite. See if I bring him BBQ spices and rubs again (I live near Kansas City MO, known for BBQ)

After things settled down, we had dinner. It was all very good. I had duck breast on a parsnip purée, L had Guinea fowl on a pea and lettuce purée, and the boys had ribeye and fish and chips.

I drank Urban Orchards cider that night.

3 days, 3 ciders in case you are counting.

It was a very lively area. Lots of pubs and people about. A fun statue of thee stacked cartons with a goat at the top, and one of a sort of melting pear.

This was also very near thr Liverpool station and I couldn't stay out late. I had a date with my goddaughter on Saturday and I didn't want to be tired for it. So I peeled off at the station, taking the tube back to my new hotel.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 03:27 PM
  #12  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A word about the hotel I moved to, and why I chose it for the bookend weekends.

I booked the Hilton at Paddington Station. Please note that this is not the Hilton Metropole, which is also nearby.

The Hilton at Paddington station is right next to the station. You come out the door, turn left, turn left again, and walk into the station. And you don't even cross a street to enter the underground.

It is not a lovely area, but for our purposes it couldn't be beat. We were taking the train to and from Paddington to go to Cornwall. It coudn't have been any easier. And when we went to the airport to depart, we also took the Heathrow Express from Paddington.

I also got a very sweet deal. I booked when they were doing a worldwide sale at Hilton, and took advantage of the prepay non refundable option. I got a family room, which guaranteed us two beds, for £202/night. Breakfast and wifi included.

It's interesting. I read a lot of reviews, and there were a number of people talked about rude or sullen staff. Every single person we interacted with was great. Friendly, helpful, not a sullen person to be found.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 04:56 PM
  #13  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I haven't done a trip report in so long that I forgot that headings make it easier for the reader. I'll try to do better!

The Cookery School at Little Portland Street

Every time I visit I try to do something with just my goddaughter. This trip I gave her the option of a cooking class or going to see The Lion King. She chose the cooking class.

We decided on an all day Thai class. We really had a lot of fun. She is 13 now, and just delightful. We both learned a lot and also had fun with people watching. The boyfriend who clearly did not want to be there was particularly amusing.

When we arrived, the instructor greeted us with banana fritters. I didn't have any, but K said they were very good. The class was a good combo of hands on and demo, and we made quite a few dishes. The class was from 9:30-2:30 and ended with us eating the dishes for lunch. Let's see if I can remember everything.

Thai fish cakes
Thai spring rolls
Thai long bean salad
Hot and sour prawn soup
Green chicken curry (including making the curry paste)
Hot and sour grilled fish
Jasmine rice
Sticky rice with mango

I think the fish cakes and bean salad were my favorites, and th prawn soup really didn't come out.

If you are looking for a different experience, I would recommend this. There are classes on all sorts of things including afternoon teas, pastries, and British seasonal meals.

Www.cookeryschool.co.uk
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 06:35 PM
  #14  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Saturday Night Dinner at Nopi

I had tried to get into Nopi last September and couldn't get a table. Thanks to another Fodorite, this year I made a reservation as soon as they opened up. The evening was made even more special because a good friend had just started his sabbatical in London, and he was able to join us.

Nopi is one of the Ottolenghi restaurants. I'm a fan of his cookbooks and have made a number of his recipes. I was pretty excited to dine there, and it did not disappoint.

You can see sample menus here:

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/nopi/

We had already decided to have small plates so we could try different things. We started with the seeded lavash with burnt spring onion dip. We then shared

Roasted aubergine, saffron yoghurt, pomegranate, basil
Roasted butternut squash, red onion, tahini, za'atar
Sea bass, coconut salad, tamarind, date,
Twice cooked baby chicken, lemon myrtle salt, chili sauce

Everything was absolutely delicious but the star was the chicken, followed by the aubergine.

The cocktails were fun too. I hope I get this right, the drinks we had were the Dark and Stormy, Caipirinha and a chilli old fashioned. I then had a non-alcoholic lychee cooler sis and M had mint tea. The lychee cooler was amazing.

I like sorbet as dessert, and they had a delicious blood orange sorbet that both sis and I had. M had what I think they called a gingerbread pudding, bit the really interesting part was that it was topped with a celery sorbet. Naturally we all had to have a taste.

It was a lovely evening. The service was great as well, and so nice to see M. Bonus was that he and my sister really enjoyed each other's company as well.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 9th, 2016, 11:12 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25,422
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
my goodness, something useful that can be done with an aubergene!
bilboburgler is offline  
Old Oct 11th, 2016, 03:00 AM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,350
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am enjoying the TR and looking forward to the descriptions of Cornwall.
Vttraveler is online now  
Old Oct 11th, 2016, 03:54 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 61,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am so envious of that dinner, Toucan!

Bilbo, Ottolenghi is a whiz with an aubergine.
jubilada is offline  
Old Oct 11th, 2016, 04:54 AM
  #18  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It's true, he's made me an aubergine convert.

I forgot to mention that for three people, it was all of £125 which we thought was quite reasonable.

Will try to write more tonight.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 11th, 2016, 05:35 PM
  #19  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Is there a doctor onboard? Our train ride to Cornwall

I had booked our tickets online earlier this summer. All I had to do was go to the ticket machine at Paddington and use the credit card I had used to buy the ticket to retrieve them.

I walked over on Saturday between the class and dinner and got them so that it was one less thing to do Sunday morning. Easy peasy.

We had breakfast at the hotel and I dropped off a backpack with my business clothes and some papers at the bellmans desk. I had talked to them Friday night and told them I wanted to leave it and retrieve it when I came back the next weekend. Normally they don't hold things longer than a day, so I really appreciated them bending the rules. Probably made easier by the confirmed reservations the next weekend. And it was one less thing to carry on the train.

Around the corner we went, boarded the train, stowed our bags, and settled into our seats.

Shortly before departure, someone suddenly called out 'is there a doctor on board?'

There was a flurry of activity, and a doctor started tending to a man who passed out and could not be roused. The dr asked the train representative if they had a first aid kit, or way to test glucose. There wasn't anything on the train for testing blood glucose. Sis has diabetes so asked if her glucose monitor could be used, and the dr said yes. Sis to the rescue!

Bottom line is that the guy regained consciousness and they were able to get him walking and they took him and his wife off the train. He had run the London half marathon that morning and they said he was likely dehydrated. Poor guy.

We enjoyed the train ride, and the views. Especially the section at Dawlish along the sea. Approximately 5 hours later we arrived in Redruth for our transfer to the holiday lodging that would be our home for the next week.
Toucan2 is offline  
Old Oct 11th, 2016, 05:59 PM
  #20  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,694
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Our first night in Cornwall--The Barn at Little Trefula

We were soon settling in. We stayed very close to Redruth and St. Day. It was really centrally located for our different adventures that week.

The lodging was a remodeled barn. There was a room downstairs on the ground floor with full sized bunk beds. My sister took that one. She's got a couple of artificial knees so wanted to keep going up and down the stairs to a minimum. The kitchen and bathroom were also on the ground floor.

Upstairs was another bed (open loft plan) and a lounge area with a sofa, loveseat, and flat screen tv. Also a shelf of books . I slept up there.

We had a beautiful view across open fields, and an old tin mine off in the distance.

We had some tea and saffron toast in the garden, and settled in to the barn.

http://www.trefula.com/barn/home.html

I have friends who live nearby and they invited us for Sunday roast that night.

It was a great kickoff to the week--roast lamb, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, green beans, there may have been more. And blackberry and apple cobbler. Not sure how I rolled out of there.
Toucan2 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -