St. Mawes and more!

Our latest travel was to St. Mawes, a small fishing village nestled on the coast of the Roseland Peninsula on the south coast of Cornwall.

All over Cornwall there’s much to discover – so much unspoilt nature, century old castles, churches as well as seasonal events and festivals.

Further along the road from where we stayed is St. Mawes Castle, one of the best-preserved of Henry VIII’s coastal artillery fortresses.

We visited St Just’s Church, a Grade I listed parish church. It is described as one of the prettiest in England, this church sits proudly on the water’s edge amongst sub-tropical trees and shrubs.

The gardens ‘has been to many people the most beautiful churchyard on earth’

Next stop – Caerhays Castle and Gardens is located in a sheltered valley overlooking Porthluney Cove, halfway between Truro and St. Austell. Caerhays Castle is a semi-castellated country house built in 1808.

We had arrived and so did the gale winds! We were blown hither thither – my ears were flying

and Mum had to put her hood on so her hair wasn’t blown all over the place!

We walked through the gardens, which has a large collection of magnolias. As we were leaving, the rains came. Thankfully we managed to get back to St. Mawes without getting drenched. That afternoon, we happily huddled in the comfort of the house – and watched the rain pelting down and listening to the wind blowing at 60mph. That itself was a beauty to watch.

We couldn’t have gone for dinner. We resorted to take away pizzas from The St. Mawes Hotel Bar & Restaurant. The next day the sun came out and we went there for lunch – and so glad we did.

Their “from the heart, from the hearth” quality, authentic dishes were simply delicious.  Mum and Fiona loved what they had for lunch.

Dogs are welcomed in the bar and restaurant area but not the upper deck. It was fine by us!

The next night we dined at Tresanton Hotel. It is not as dog-friendly as their sister hotel, Endsleigh where we stayed just before coming to St. Mawes. We were relegated to a separate area where dogs dined – Dog’s Bar, LOL! FYI – only a few dog friendly rooms.

Besides the three main luxury hotels in St. Mawes (Idle Rocks, St Mawes Hotel and Tresanton), which all seem fabulous, you also have the choice to choose one of several St. Mawes Retreat luxury houses. As you know, we stayed at Penolva – and we sat by the windows and on the terrace garden watching boats bob in and out of the harbour.

There are a few shops in the village. We stopped in at Waterside Gallery, checking out local artists work.

We love coming to Cornwall. The light is beautiful here. The pace is slower, you feel connected to nature – the sea, the beaches. And the Gulf Stream that passes through here makes the weather much milder.

Of course in the summer, there’s a whole different vibe. Probably miles and miles of cars. Cornwall is beautiful year round.

May’s comment: Over the years, we have managed to visit both coastal towns and small villages in Cornwall. Here are some of the places where we have visited and stayed at.

St. Ives was the first Cornwall town we visited back in September 2013. We went primarily to visit the Barbara Hepworth museum and to look at her sculptures dotted around the town.

We stayed at the St. Ives Harbour Hotel & Spa – situated at the top of the hillside, we walked down a path to the beach.

Blog: Sunny St. Ives

Mawgan Porth was the destination for our December 2016/January 2017 New Year’s Eve.

We stayed at the Scarlet, and the beach was down the path. George did a couple of runners – he didn’t like the beach much! So we were scurrying back up to find that he had wandered into the neighbouring properties. Little monkey!

Blogs: Scarlet, O Scarlet, A Day of reflection, A Day of Hope

Land’s End – we went as far as we could go in Cornwall! Very windy! Next stop: Isles of Scilly. September 2019

We stayed at Land’s End Hotel, right at the very tip of the peninsula.

Blog: Wind-blown at Land’s End

Isles of Scilly – September 2019. We flew over from Sennen to St. Mary’s.

We stayed at Hell Bay Hotel on Bryher Island but we went island hopping.

Blog: Let’s go to the Isles

Penzance – September 2019. We stopped over on the way back from the Isles of Scilly and stayed at the ecclectic Artist Residence

Blog: Land Ahoy!

We were back there again in December 2021 during ove

Marazion – July 2021. We’ve never heard of St. Michael’s Mount. It was quite by accident that I came across it while researching where we could stay if we were to take the helicopter to the Isles of Scilly.

We had the best room with a view at The Godolphin.

Blog: Staycation with a View

Sennen Cove – December 2021/January 2022. Our last New Year’s walk by the beach as a trio.

Right across the road from the beach was The Old Success Inn.

Blog: Hopes for 2022

We look forward to discovering more of Cornwall! If you have any suggestions, let us know.