It was the first full week of October, and Cornwall was at its best. All the way down, we suspected good weather awaited us at that most enchanting end of the country. And it did.
The sun seemed always to be out, and welcoming. The waves beckoned. One would think that warm jackets and caps might be in order, it being October and all. But Cornwall did its utmost to dispel this notion and all of my layers seemed to lay useless upon the bed.
After our breakfast of fresh baked croissants (out of the oven by 7, on our table by 7:30), we walked for miles and hours along the Cornish coastline. Saw breathtaking beaches...
..Cornish cattle...
..and more breathtakingness!
I've got to get back over there.
Rosamunde Pilcher was the first to alert me to its charms, and once alerted I was greedy for more. The combination of World War II and Cornwall (with its enchanting town of 'Porthkerris', actually St Ives), one book was not nearly enough. On I went, through all of them. Somewhere, in each, was Cornwall, and at times a bit of Scotland thrown in. The storyteller in me deeply appreciated Rosamunde's ability to draw the reader into a world. It was a world I loved and had to see.
Others have written of it very well I am sure, but none of them quite so fetchingly. This charming women's magazine writer whose grown children continually urged her on ("Mum. You MUST write your novel. Everyone will love it. A smash hit!"). And, when it came out at last, they did! Everyone. A smash hit. The Shell Seekers.
She was shocked, as they pushed flutes of champagne into her hand. "Whaat?! A best seller? Oh, my.." And the success didn't change her, or make her 'grand'. It just made her write more.
And so now, with many best sellers on the shelves and movies/mini series on screens everywhere, the cliffs of Cornwall are regularly visited by those like me. We, who must experience for ourselves this terrifically gentle - yet real - world we found, and loved, within her pages.
We simply cannot get enough. We love it. A smash hit!
See you along the way!
the SconeLady
P.S. And don't forget 'Portwenn!' You know - Doc Martin. That, too, is Cornwall.
Port Isaac, Cornwall UK
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photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/boblinsdell/9455816275/">Bob Linsdell</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>
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