Sunday 16 December 2018

Poldark Country

We have just been away escaping the Christmas hustle and bustle. We always enjoy spending a few days at Carbis Bay in Cornwall which is the next beach along from St. Ives. We learnt that the hotel where we stay is also the one used by several of the Poldark caste whilst on location. Apparently they were down earlier in May making the latest series but the skies were too blue, and the seas too gentle, so they abandoned the task and left. The film makers like the skies and the weather to be dramatic and moody for Poldark. They try to capture that special unique quality of light found in the area in much the same way as the St. Ives and Newlyn colonies of painters did at the dawn of the c20th century. 

There is nothing we enjoy more than a December morning walk along the cliff top footpath that leads from our hotel to the small town of St. Ives. On arrival we tend to have the town almost to ourselves, unlike the summer months when it is thronged with tourists; like the artists and film makers we too enjoy the special light which highlights the landscape in rather unique ways constantly changing throughout the day.

We always enjoy the particular moment when we round a corner on the cliff top and St. Ives suddenly pops into view. The first reason is because the views are rather special, and secondly we have successfully managed to negotiate the sometimes tricky pathway. 
'Epidaurous' by Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth lived for exactly half of her life in St. Ives. When she arrived just before the outbreak of war in 1939, she was a rather unwilling visitor. However, she found it impossible to leave, and when she acquired Trewyn Studio ten years later, Hepworth had an ideal environment in which to work. 
We bought ourselves the obligatory cornish pastie, just one between us, not wanting to spoil the prospect of our evening meal. 
He is pretending to look out to sea but has his eye on our pastie!

As the sun starts to sink, and for the first time ever, we decided to catch the little scenic railway back to the hotel. It must be one of the loveliest and cheapest railway rides in the country - just £1 each for a single ticket to ride back. 
The video below shows the whole train journey from St. Ives to St. Erth, in total only four stops, but we alighted at Carbis Bay which is just 50 seconds into this video. 

49 comments:

  1. What a beautiful part of the country to spend a few days in. All the better in the off season, minus the crowds. I think the Doc Martin producers liked to film in sunny weather by contrast to Poldark's. I loved watching both series. Such magnificent views! How I would love to try a Cornish Pastie!

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    1. The Cornish pastie is a hand held meat and vegetable pie developed as a substantial lunch for workers in what was once the thriving Cornish tin mining industry. It was also given to Cornish farmers, and fishermen too.
      Not all of Poldark is filmed in Cornwall some of it is filmed just down the road from where I live in the Cotswolds. Trenwith House, the Poldark family home, is a house called Chavenage House, and Warleggans' town house is at Dyrham Park, both of these properties are local to me.

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  2. Good video. I still have fond memories of walking the Devon and Cornwall coastal path with my cousin even though it was 40 years ago and all the pretty villages, beaches, and coves around every corner. Best Cornish pasties we had then happened to be in Devon funnily enough. Another good series filmed around the (Devon) coast is The Coroner. Can't understand why my hillwalking friends have no interest at all in beach walks. I love them. So much to see and enjoy.

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    1. I love beach walks too - rock pools to explore, fossils to find, and looking up at the different geological strata on the cliff sides along with watching the endless breaking of waves.

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  3. Looks charming! But I must ask -- as you were going to St Ives, did you meet a man with seven wives?

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    1. Yes of course we did, and each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives - so there was quite a crowd of us!

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  4. We visit our local beaches far more often in Winter. Your walk and train ride have piqued my interest for a visit to Cornwall. In regards to your inquiry of "how goes my life", 2017 just didn't let up with significant life changing events. This year has been one of quiet and slow restoration of mind and body. I have looked forward to your posts as part of the "enjoy good things" plan. Happily, at the end of the year and just in time for Christmas, I have my bounce back. Warm wishes for the best of the season.

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    1. Dear Susan - I am so happy to learn your news as I had been concerned for you, thank you very much for letting me know.

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  5. Dear Rosemary, thank you - your post make me think to change plans (maybe) - I gave my friend Anne for her birthday an invitation to spend some days in a fine hotel in Torquay with me (it seems so pleasantly old-fashioned). But now I wonder: St. Yves looks also marvelous!

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    1. Dear Britta - I can definitely recommend the hotel at Carbis Bay - it is very comfortable, lovely fresh white linen, and the food is both locally sourced and delicious too.

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  6. What a brilliant way to spend a few days at this manic time of year. That part of the world is beautiful and the cliff paths well worth the stroll. Hope your now feeling refreshed for the days ahead :) B x

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    1. Definitely feeling refreshed Barbara - I have a fairly stress free Christmas this year as we are off to my youngest son and his family.

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  7. What a nice trip to the coast, have never been there. It looks so beautiful and so quiet.

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    1. Devon and Cornwall are both lovely counties to visit and see some glorious beaches.

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  8. I would like to take that train ride, but in reverse. Maybe I will have time when I visit Cornwall next May.

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    1. I am delighted to know that you are returning again Betty - it is a lovely little train ride and I hope that you enjoy it too.

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  9. Dear Rosemary,
    Devon and Cornwall are on my list of places to visit in the UK. I have not watched the Poldark series, but someone recommended it not too long ago, and I may begin. We watch very little regular television and prefer our public station, and one from the USA, both of which show a lot of British programming. A few days away at this time of year is a lovely idea - almost an early gift to oneself.

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    1. Dear Lorrie - I only started watching Poldark once it was well established but then I became hooked on the storyline.
      It is always a pleasure to go away during December, something that we regularly do, and especially to Cornwall where its micro climate never lets us down.

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  10. Lovely views - Cornwall was where my late husband's family emigrated from in the 1860's.

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    1. I think many people emigrated to NZ and Australia from Cornwall during that period.

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  11. Such a joy to see these beautiful photos from Cornwall.

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    1. Thank you Janneke - so pleased you enjoyed them.

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  12. I've never been to St. Ives, but I want to go on that train and see those rooves covered in bright yellow moss! It looks so beautiful. Best, Jane x

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    1. The yellow colour lichen on the roof tops is very pretty - it grows on the south facing rooftops in great abundance. Sometimes it is a limey yellow as it is now, but at other times it is a deeper golden colour. It grows there because the air is pure and unpolluted - it is one of the defining characteristic of St. Ives.

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  13. I enjoyed the train ride and the amazing beauty of Cornwall . I visited years ago and Cornwall still is a special memory , such a stunning place !

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    1. I am pleased that this post rekindled your memories of Cornwall Jane.

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  14. Hello Rosemary, I have never heard of Poldark, but Carbis Bay looks good to me, and I'll take good weather over bad at any time!
    --Jim
    p.s. I'll amend that statement. When I worked in Cleveland, my office overlooked Lake Erie, and during storms it was quite dramatic, especially if a waterspout (like a tornado, but over water and not as dangerous) appeared.

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    1. Hello Jim - most of your fellow countrymen follow Poldark, it is a very popular historical series in the States.
      I watched a film last evening showing waterspouts and tornados and they are certainly a dramatic event to witness.

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  15. The Poldark people should take me with them next time; I've certainly had some "dramatic" days down on that coast! The coastal path can be exhausting with its constant ups and downs though the scenery make it well worth the effort, especially with the prospect of a pasty at the end of the walk.

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    1. Part of the footpath into St. Ives is easy, high but level. It is just the very steep climb from Carbis Bay with nothing to hang onto should you slip, and then it is the same at the other end only downwards.

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  16. The video is lovely.
    The houses are so different to ours by the sea :)

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    1. It was a lovely refreshing break Margaret.

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  17. How lovely to see St Ives, and I so enjoyed the video, Rosemary. What a lovely spot to enjoy before Christmas.

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    1. St. Ives has its own micro climate so if the weather is good, it is always much better there.

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  18. St Ives is beautiful at any time of year but all the better when it is quieter.
    Seagulls are everywhere, even down here in Australia where in Sydney at any rate they seem to have given up fish and feast instead on chips!

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    1. You would think that they would become really fat on chips and pies, but they don't. I wonder what their secret is? Will you be home for Christmas?

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  19. I haven’t been to Cornwall but it looks so peaceful . We are Poldark fans. My husband and I enjoy several English series, which is surprising to me because he has never been much of a television watcher.

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    1. I understand that the next series no.5 will be the last we shall see of Poldark.

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  20. Dear Rosemary,
    You know how to find the best spots. The beaches and rolling waves look so serene and beautiful. Thank you for including the railway ride...almost like being there.

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    1. Dear Gina - it was great to get away for a few days and return home feeling refreshed. I am now in the middle of wrapping parcels, but I am getting away lightly as we shall spend Christmas with our sons and their families.

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  21. Hi Rosemary,
    Wonderful place, great photos!
    I wish to you and to your loved ones, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, full of health, joy and love.
    A warm and big hug
    Maria de
    Divagar Sobre Tudo um Pouco

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    1. Hi Maria - Christmas Greetings to you and your family and may the New Year bring happiness and peace to you all.

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  22. Dearest Rosemary,
    How lovely St. Ives is for being in nature, yet close to the seaside and with hills to climb on your walk.
    Would have loved to walk there, wearing my Le Chameau for the December weather.
    You live in such a great area of the world, lovely architecture and nature.
    Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas!
    Looking forward to some quiet time, off from work and after all the singing in two choirs.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Dear Mariette - enjoy a peaceful and happy time with Pieter this Christmas and thank you for all of your lovely messages throughout the yearπŸ’œ

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    2. Enjoy reading your meaningful posts throughout the year!🌲

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  23. A wonderful place to escape at this time of year. I enjoyed your video. it bought back memories of our first journey on this special route. Sarah x

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  24. You know, in all my visits to the UK I have never made it to Cornwall, and it really looks quite enchanting. If ever I make it back there I will have to remedy this omission. All the best for 2019.

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