BBgt

Thanks, LCBoniti - I hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we enjoyed ours!

May 20 - Off to beautiful York! First a note on pre-trip logistics: I had taken advantage of advance train fares on our previous trip, but when I plugged in dummy dates for the three days of train travel for this trip, the fares I came up with were pretty high. Granted, I was looking at first class fares because two of our journeys were going to be pretty long and I wanted to treat Mom to a little splurge. By comparison, a 3-day 1st class BritRail Pass (available only to non-UK residents and purchased in advance) was considerably less expensive than individual first class tickets, and I liked the convenience and flexibility of the passes. I was still able to make specific seat reservations in advance, which wasn't necessary - it just made me feel better.

Anyway - we took the early-early train from Edinburgh to York (6:45 a.m.) so we could make the most of our one day in York. We had originally planned to either fly to Cornwall or take the train straight through, but were able to move our Cornwall cottage reservation to free up a night in between - hence our one night in York.

The train journey was wonderful - gorgeous views of coast and countryside, and a hot breakfast served at our seats. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and felt just a little posh. We arrived in York before 9:30 and grabbed a taxi to the Hazelwood Guest House. I can't say enough nice things about this guest house. Emma greeted us warmly on arrival and we were actually able to go to our room, as it had not been booked the night before. The room was a lovely twin on the lower floor, immaculately clean with beautiful hand-carved furnishings and a large, sparkling bath/shower room.

We left our luggage, took the map and advice offered by Emma and set off on foot to explore. The guest house is barely a five minute walk from Bootham Bar, which is where we headed to walk the city walls. We had a lovely walk on the wall to Monk Bar. It was another beautiful day, and I took some wonderful photos from the wall looking down into the gardens and across to the Minster. It was the perfect introduction to York!

From Monk Bar, we walked to the Shambles (saving the Minster for later) and then to the York Castle Museum. By the time we got to the museum it was nearly lunch time, so we had a delicious soup, bread and tea (funny how I remember some meals and not others) at the museum café. Feeling restored, we set off to explore the museum. We especially enjoyed the Victorian Street and WWI exhibit. I had to chuckle in the 1960's exhibit when I realized I wasn't the only one singing along to the 1960's music being played. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours at the museum, then decided we'd better move along.

We took a different route back toward the Minster, stopping briefly in the All Saints Pavement church, but still managed to pass through the Shambles again. I had high expectations for that "wow" moment of Mom seeing York Minster for the first time (I'd visited on my first trip to England 16 years ago), and I have to say we were very disappointed to find that the scaffolding for the York Mystery Plays completely obscured the view of that wondrous nave. I'm certain that the plays would be wonderful to see, but for someone who'd been so looking forward to seeing the Minster in all its glory, it was quite a let-down. We pressed on past the scaffolding, though, and spent a good hour and a half exploring the rest of the Minster, including the Undercroft museum. We had timed our visit to attend Evensong, and in this we were not disappointed. It was magnificent.

Feeling satisfied with our day, we left the Minster in search of dinner, and on the way back toward Bootham Bar happened upon the very atmospheric Hole in the Wall pub. We liked the looks of it, went in and were very promptly served one of the best meals of our entire trip (this one I remember!). Mom had ham and something (okay, I remember mine better than I do hers), and I had perfectly prepared Scottish salmon and new potatoes. Perfect ending to the day.

We returned to the Hazelwood to be greeted by Sharon, Emma's equally charming counterpart. As we were planning to leave before breakfast the next morning, Sharon asked what we would like to take with us on the train. She packed us the kind of to-go breakfast your mother would pack you - a little too much of everything (extra croissants and jams and yogurts!) with lots of napkins and utensils. It was just a lovely gesture and oh-so-nice to find in the guest fridge the next morning when we left. My tip for York - stay at the Hazelwood. They will definitely take care of you.

LCBoniti

York has been on my to-see list for a while now and obviously I need to move it further up. Hazelwood sounds perfect.

Love the first class trains! I did it from Edinburgh to Newcastle and then Newcastle to London. Purchased as soon in advance as available, it was not that expensive and well worth it, IMO. Love feeling posh.

Dang, the scaffolding! I know it has to happen, but dang! We had it on Glenfinnan Monument - not as upsetting as yours, but still.

annhig

What a nice place you found in York - and how lovely of them to give you a picnic to take with you.

Cornwall next??

BBgt

Yes - Cornwall next! But no time to start right now - sorry Ann. Probably tonight...

About the first class trains - one nice bonus was that there were very few people on our car on any of our train journeys. Very quiet and comfy!

annhig

I agree about First Class, BBgt - I usually go that way when I get the train to Plymouth for work as I can read my papers in peace and quiet - and get my free coffee and biscuits too!

And they have power points for laptops and mobiles with free WiFi. Post Plymouth I gather that there is a trolley service but not while I'm on the train.

Gardyloo

<i>...the friend I'm traveling with thinks "Its August, shorts and T-shirts is all I'll need" </i>

LOL. When we first moved to Edinburgh we would wait on a newsagent's steps waiting for the afternoon paper to arrive; it was the one that contained ads for flats and houses. On one very pleasant August afternoon we were commenting on how nice it was when the bundle of papers arrived, the headline reading "Sizzling Seventies Continue - No Relief in Sight."

BBgt

Ann - we had trolley service from York to Penzance and from Penzance to Newbury, but it was not complimentary. The breakfast on our Edinburgh-York journey was complimentary (well, part of the fare, anyway). My understanding was that the "free" catering isn't available on weekends.

Gardyloo - loved the headline. It's not too different where I live in the mountains. We hit 80 degrees the other day and everyone talked about how hot it was (and that was unusually warm for a June day), but the Denver folks all flock to the mountains for relief from the heat - 90's down in the city!

annhig

BBgt - I didn't know that it's not free at weekends but then I rarely get the train then and probably wouldn't go first class unless I was going a long way. [and if I were I'd probably fly!]

You usually get a hot drink and biscuits or cake - in the mornings I generally have coffee and croissants which get me going nicely.

janisj

>>My understanding was that the "free" catering isn't available on weekends.<<

Sort of, IME. Took First on a Saturday last August and will again on a Sunday this summer and neither had/has the full catering but I did get beverages and packaged biscuits/rolls.

Gardyloo - it is amazing how hot 70° can feel. Here at home it is 75 today and folks are talking about how cool it is, while when in Edinburgh or St Andrews, 75 feels quite hot.

BBgt

Now that you both mention it, I guess we did get beverages and the offer of biscuits. They just didn't serve a full hot meal on the weekend journeys like they did on the Friday trip from Edinburgh to York.

It's amazing how the atmosphere affects the "feel" of the temperature. At 9500 feet in elevation (where I live), 80 degrees and sunny feels like you're cooking, but as soon as the sun goes behind the clouds or goes down for the evening, the temperature drops dramatically. Humidity seems to make cold feel colder and warm feel warmer, in my experience.

annhig

Depending on the wind, it often feels warm here if it's over 60F!

tonight for example, it's not that warm, but there is no wind at all so it feels quite "close".

BBgt

And finally, to Cornwall:

May 21 - Fortified with our picnic breakfast from the Hazelwood, we left York on the 7:45 a.m. train. It was a good thing we had that picnic, too, because the train manager announced that the catering staff would not be joining us until Birmingham. One of the staff brought tea through, which we enjoyed with our fruit, croissants and yogurt. We had opted for the early train because it ran straight through to Penzance with no changes. The journey was uneventful and passed quite pleasantly, and once the catering staff joined us we were able to purchase sandwiches for our lunch.

We arrived in Penzance a little before 4:00 p.m. and took a taxi to our cottage in Marazion. The driver was a very affable man from Belfast who obviously loved his adopted home of Cornwall. Upon arrival at the cottage, he helped us unlock the rather stubborn keysafe and bid us a happy holiday. Our cottage, Gwelfor, was the last in a row of mid-19th century granite fishermen's cottages, with a walkway to the beach right outside the door. We were absolutely delighted when we saw the interior. The owners had done a fabulous job of maintaining the historic character of the cottage while appointing it with local art, comfy furniture and all the modern conveniences. And when we walked down the walkway and got that first view of St. Michael's Mount - WOW! What a gorgeous view. I had seen lots of photos, but in real life it was just so much prettier and more impressive.

After settling in to the cottage, we walked down to the Godolphin Arms and enjoyed a delicious (and enormous) dinner of fish and chips, complete with an amazing view of St. Michael's Mount. We went back to our cottage stuffed full of fish and chips and ready to savor our week in Cornwall.

May 22 - We had designated this as our "explore Marazion" day, partly out of necessity, as it was a Sunday and we couldn't pick up a hire car until Monday, but also to give us a chance to become acquainted with our home base for the week. We ate breakfast at the Godolphin Arms since we still had no food at the cottage, and were quite pleased to find that breakfast was as delicious and satisfying as dinner had been the evening before.

The tide times worked out perfectly that morning, allowing us to walk across the causeway to St. Michael's Mount mid-morning shortly after we'd finished breakfast. I had purchased the National Trust Touring pass for two people for one week, and it proved to be a great deal. We were able to validate our passes at the Mount and used them to visit National Trust sites all week.

Once again, Mom proved her mettle by making the climb to the castle that day, and boy, were we glad she did - the views and the castle itself were just gorgeous. We had another perfect day - sunny and just cool enough for jackets. Someone down below had informed us that a church service would be starting in the chapel at 11:15, and we arrived just a few minutes late and took a seat in the back. It was the first service being held at the Mount for the season, and a local children's group sang after the vicar's short (and very enjoyable) lesson. It was quite a nice thing to experience, and quite unexpected.

After the service, we toured the castle interior and gawped at the spectacular gardens below from the exterior. Once again, everything was made just that much more beautiful by the amazing weather. Perhaps I have Annhig to thank?

We left the Mount in time to cross the causeway again in the early afternoon, then spent some time browsing through Marazion. A few shops were closed (perhaps waiting for the Bank Holiday to open?), but there were several nice shops open, including one with lovely sterling silver jewelry that we visited again later in the week so Mom could buy me a pair of darling earrings (thanks Mom!). We stopped at Cobble Corner, a convenience shop with a bit of everything, and bought enough supplies to hold us until Monday. On the way past the King's Arms, we saw a board advertising their Sunday roast and stopped in to make reservations for that evening, then headed back to the cottage to relax before dinner. The Sunday roast proved to be delicious, and was a perfectly fitting way to end our first day in beautiful Cornwall.

annhig

Once again, everything was made just that much more beautiful by the amazing weather. Perhaps I have Annhig to thank? >>

of course, BBgt, who could you think otherwise?

i'm interested to see how you filled your days in Marazion without a car - it's not a place that would immediately strike me as a good centre for that so it'll be fascinating to see how you achieved it!

BBgt

Well, you had your fingers crossed, didn't you? Whoever had their fingers crossed, it worked!

With regards to a car - we got a car on Monday. The car-less day in Marazion was due to the fact that we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, so had to wait until Monday morning to pick up a car.

annhig

aha - that as probably just as well.

I'm still looking forward to reading about your week in Marazion, even with a car.

LCBoniti

I'm looking forward to everything!

As I told you on my Scotland thread, I'd love to visit Cornwall but it will probably not happen until Lee Mead schedules a concert there.

And I have to say, how lovely to travel with your mom. Such precious memories!

BBgt

You are right, LCBoniti - it was very lovely to travel with my mom and the memories will be priceless.

Monday, May 23 - We had arranged to have Enterprise pick us up this morning, and at 9:30 sharp, the friendly assistant manager, Sharon, arrived at the cottage and drove us to the office, barely five minutes away. After setting us up in a Hyandai something-or-other (very nice automatic, whatever the model), we set off to visit Trengwainton Garden. I had thought about visiting Penzance this day to check out some of Annhig's suggestions, but we just gravitated toward the garden and never quite got around to seeing Penzance - sorry Ann!

I'd driven once in England before during our week in the Wiltshire and Dorset countryside, and had even made a few brief (thank goodness) forays into Salisbury, Winchester and - yikes - Bath. So I wasn't as nervous about driving as I might have been, and we made the short drive to Trengwainton without incident. This garden is a National Trust property, so we got to use our N.T. touring passes again. We arrived pretty right at opening and made the full circuit of the gardens, which involves a slightly inclined walk along a wooded path up to a lovely park-like area with fabulous views out to Mount's Bay, then an easy walk along a flower-lined drive leading to the kitchen gardens and café. It was a beautiful day (of course), and we thoroughly enjoyed the amazing collection of exotic plants. We had a very nice lunch in the café and finished our visit at the gift shop. I'm not much of a shopper, but I have to say - the National Trust shops are hard for me to resist. They just have such lovely things - and mom bought me a beautiful bag with floral print that will remind me of our trip in years to come.

When we got back to our car, it was still early afternoon and we had no plans, so we rather randomly decided to go to the Minack Theatre and spend some time on the coast. The drive to the Minack was rather exciting (in that my heart rate doubled at least a few times!), but by the next day, I was more accustomed to the windy Cornish lanes. I kept remembering the admonitions I'd received on this forum about those pretty green hedges, and stayed well clear of the stone walls beneath. Actually, the whole driving on the other side of the road thing didn't bother me much at all (and anyway, there was no other side of the road - just enough room for one car!) - it was the unexpected appearance of oncoming cars on windy roads with limited visibility that kept me on my toes - and I believe led me to blurt out an expletive or two that probably had my mother blushing .

We made it in one piece to the Minack and spent a very nice hour or so visiting the exhibit and watching a rehearsal for the current show (name of which I forget). The views were as amazing as we'd been led to believe, the sea was even bluer/more turquoise than I'd imagined, and the theatre itself was indeed a living testament to a very determined and imaginative woman. We topped off our visit with a pasty in the café overlooking the sea and cliffs.

After leaving the theatre, we drove up to Sennen Cove and had a look at the wide, sandy beach, then drove back to Marazion on the A30, which was a bit anti-climatic after my first taste of driving in Cornwall. We stopped at the Sainsbury just outside of Penzance and stocked up for the week, then returned to Marazion, paid the weekly parking fee (35 GBP) at the Slipway carpark by the Godolphin Arms, and carried our bags back to our cottage. The only downside to the cottage was that it had no parking, but it really wasn't much of an inconvenience, and was more than made up for by the views of a floodlit St. Michael's Mount from our cottage windows that night.

annhig

I had thought about visiting Penzance this day to check out some of Annhig's suggestions, but we just gravitated toward the garden and never quite got around to seeing Penzance - sorry Ann!>>

oh no, say it ain't so!

You'll just have to come back then. It seems as if you had a pretty adventurous first day, getting as far as the Minack and Sennen.

Where next I wonder?

BBgt

Tuesday, May 24 - Port Isaac and Lanhydrock:

I'd received very helpful advice on this forum from JanisJ, Annhig and others suggesting that it was very doable to combine Port Isaac and Lanhydrock in one day trip, and they were absolutely correct - it was a very nice day and the drive didn't seem burdensome at all.

Port Isaac was high on the list of places we wanted to visit in Cornwall, mostly because we'd seen it featured in Doc Martin and Saving Grace and it looked like the quintessential Cornish fishing village. Early in our planning, though, I was discouraged by mention of the steep hill in and out of the village. Since Mom has a hard time walking uphill and I wasn't at all keen on driving into the village (which I later saw would have been a terrible idea!), I wasn't sure it was a good idea for us to visit. With a little more research I learned about a shuttle service between the main car park above the village and the village itself. Problem solved.

On yet another glorious morning, we headed up the A30 toward Port Isaac. The drive was under an hour and a half, with the last bit being a narrow, twisty (but beautiful) B road. We drove straight to the main car park and suddenly realized we had no pound coins between the two of us - not a one. Note to drivers: Make sure you have plenty of coins in the car for pay-and-display parking! Not a problem after all - a lovely older couple just parking had a jar full of coins and were happy to make change for me. This would be a good time to mention that we met lovely, friendly people everywhere we went in Cornwall. I'll mention it again, I'm sure, because it's true - they were everywhere!

Having paid for and displayed our parking ticket (the only one we purchased the entire week), we walked into Port Isaac. It was indeed a very steep hill, but Mom has no trouble downhill. I'd have been quite worried about our return if I hadn't known about the shuttle. The village is very recognizable if you've ever seen Doc Martin, but aside from its TV associations, it's a beautiful old fishing village in a gorgeous spot on the coast. We wandered around for the better part of an hour, then decided to have lunch at the Old School House, the iconic high-windowed building overlooking the harbor. It was an excellent lunch, too - delicious soup and bread for mom, and a cream tea consisting of warm, freshly baked scones with jam & clotted cream for me. We finished our lunch, walked out to the spot where Louise, the shuttle owner, was just pulling in, and hopped a ride up to our car. Perfect.

We retraced our drive on the pretty, twisty B roads to meet up with the A389 for an easy, 40-ish minute drive to Lanhydrock, a beautiful Victorian country house with extensive gardens. Lanhydrock is another National Trust property, so we were again able to use our touring passes. The walk from the car park to the house takes several minutes, but gives you a view of the huge, idyllic estate - complete with a small group of cows lazily grazing near the path when we were there. As we were admiring the exterior view, a man approached us and asked where we were from. We spent a few minutes chatting with him and learned he was a Methodist minister who'd grown up in Cornwall and spent a few years living in the States. Just another example of the friendly people we met in Cornwall.

We toured the interior, which was fascinating both because of its beauty without opulence (well, not on the Blenheim or Chatsworth scale) and relatively "modern" appearance. The house displays many features which were considered quite progressive in the late Victorian period, but visitors also get a look at the "below-stairs" lives of servants and children. When we'd finished touring the house, we walked out to the gardens and stopped into the small church in time to hear some of the local church ladies singing for visitors. By this time we were a bit peckish, so stopped into the café (set in the old stables) for a sandwich and tea. There was a handy little shuttle tram running between the house and car park, and Mom opted to take this while I walked. We drove back to Marazion - very easy drive on the A30 - and enjoyed a light supper at our cottage.

annhig

what a delightful day, BBgt - and I'm so glad that the advice you received about how easy it was to combine the two places proved correct.

In case others are intending to visit Lanhydrock in the spring, one of the most striking features of the garden is the long display of daffodils just above the house - they are quite spectacular. The camellias, Magnolias and Rhododendrons are wonderful too, but for me, the daffs are the reason to visit in the spring.

Those who would like to stay [or eat] nearby could do a lot worse than the Lanhydrock Hotel and Golf course - I have stayed a couple of times and the rooms are absolutely fine, and very quiet, and the food is good too - they have a very nice bar with a view of the course, and serve food all day, which is a bonus. Highly recommended.

http://www.lanhydrockhotel.com