Adventures in Cornwall

On Saturday we awoke, scoffed down a full English breakfast (sorry, but no beer pairing here!) and headed into St Ives for a coffee before venturing off on one of the many interesting coastal walks around the area. We managed to walk about two miles south before the mud got a little bit too hardcore for the missus and we bush based through the shrubs to higher ground. We may have been defeated by the state of the walking trails, but this did not stop our adventurous spirit and we fired up the trusty car and explored the country side. First stop was Lands End for the token amusement park complete with Doctor Who ride and naff sign stating 'Land's End'. This is fine except that apparently you can't take a photo of it without paying for the honour. Needless to say I was rather rude to the 'owner' of said sign, basically 'cause there was nobody else around and I could be! After the excitement of Lands End the SatNav directed us along some trails that could loosely be interpreted as roads towards Penzance. The 'scenic' route was interesting but the increased journey time started to impact renal function and a pit stop was sorely needed once we got there. In the absence of any public dunnys we snuck into the local JDW house and made generous use of Tim Martin's facilities before beating a hasty retreat. The 'spoons basically smelt like a nursing home and there were three stereotypical CAMRA freaks sitting near the front door. They all had impressive 'Gandolf' or 'Taliban' style beards and the latest in sandal style footwear to accompany their beer festival T-shirts. Actually one had a live action roleplay T-shirt, but it still fit the stereotype! Anyhow at this point a pasty was in order, but a quick stroll down the high street revealed nothing but the same fast food party chains you get in London train stations. We admitted defeat and headed back to the car managing to find a little bakehouse on a lane en route. Two pastys and a Coke Zero later and we were on our way back to St Ives for a nap before dinner.

Dinner consisted of going to the St Ives posh noshery "Seafood Cafe". The food was ok and I had a bottle of St Austells Clouded Yellow to accompany my meal. This is supposed to be a Bavarian inspired wheat beer but its basically a Belgian Witbier spiced with cloves, coriander and vanilla. It was OK, but I didn't order a second bottle and chose to smash down the remaining two thirds of a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. By the time we left the restaurant it was getting late so we headed back to the B&B, satisfied that we had made the most of our day. I should also note that it was the first Saturday night in a long time that I only had one beer - maybe my horizons are broadening? Maybe not!