The coast with the most
We arrived in Cornwall and our first overnight stop was at Tregantle Fort. We found the spot on the Park4Night app, its a unique location with a strange sight of the fort on the horizon. The fort was originally built in 1865 to defend the coastline from French invasion, now it is used by the Armed Forces as a training base. Just down the road and in the fort boundary, you can access the Southwest Coastpath and a track that leads down to Tregantle beach. The beach is massive, with views for miles along the coast, it was pretty deserted while we explored. The walk down is quite steep and has steps in places.
Our journey over the border into Cornwall started on our working days, and we wanted to make use of our National Trust memberships, and so have decided that when we can, we’ll work from the various car parks. We can take advantage of a free place to park, with a beautiful location to take Darwin for his walk on our lunch break. We visited Antony, which is an 18th century house and is home to some extremely old and majestic trees in the grounds. One was a 230 year old black walnut and the other a huge ginkgo tree.
Cornish coast and cafes
On our first day off we visited Looe, the town is split by the river Looe and used to be classed as two separate towns. The local shops sell lots of handmade items and there’s plenty to see around the harbour. There’s also a lovely tribute to a friendly one eyed grey seal who used to visit the harbour called Nelson, a bronze statue was commissioned to commemorate him after he passed away in 2023. Fowey is another traditional Cornish town which we visited that afternoon, the food options here were great, with so many independent cafes to choose from. We bought salads from the Olive Branch and ate these in the harbour opposite another recommended small plates restaurant and cafe, called North Street Kitchen.
On Saturday we decided to head to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which is one of the newer Parkrun locations. Parkrun is a community organised worldwide event in which different locations host a weekly run or walk over 5km. Taking part or spectating the run at Heligan gets you free entry into the gardens, we joined in with the event with David’s mum and some of their friends from their local parkrun. The cafe at Heligan also sets aside space for a post run breakfast which we made the most of before exploring the gardens. The gardens themselves are subtropical with towering tree ferns and sculptures hidden amongst the foliage.
A small dogs birthday
It was our little dog's birthday during our trip (happy six years of being a little diva!) and luckily there are so many dog friendly and independent pet shops in the towns we have visited this week. Darwin was treated to some new dog snacks and a new toy. He also got to spend the day walking the glorious coast path to Hemmick beach where he enjoyed sunbathing (his favourite pastime). Hemmick beach is easily accessible either by taking the longer route along the coastpath, or heading straight down the hill from the Dodman National Trust carpark. This is step free but quite steep and the beach itself is lovely, clean and sandy. There are no facilities at the beach.
Finally Falmouth
Our last stop before our next working days was Falmouth. I visited the town years ago for a university open day and remembered it as being a town full of art and illustrators, mostly because of the creative courses the university is known for. It did not disappoint, there were so many galleries and the high street was vibrant and welcoming. We loved visiting the brilliant Bean, which is a gift shop in Falmouth high street, plus many other independent shops. The Museum of Folklore and Witchcraft was closed, but looked well worth a visit, so we’ll definitely be back!
Walking and running routes:
Lost Gardens of Heligan Parkrun - 5km, Parking at Lost Gardens Customer carpark.
Food we ate:
The Olive Branch - Deli style cafe serving sourdough sandwiches and salad bowls. Dog friendly.
Shops we visited:
Bean - Self described as a quirky independent biz. I loved it!