The Salt Path

Don’t Miss These Amazing Locations When You Visit England

The Blue MG Part 2…Three incredible places in Cornwall

Cornwall is a mind-blowing place. Imagine a county with thousands of years of human history, the most stunning scenery, centuries-old traditions that are still practiced today, and a local population that still, in some cases, adheres to “the old ways” (ie paganism).

The magic of Kernow is very real, and in the book “The Salt Path” by Raynor Winn, Ray and her husband Moth connect with its life-giving force as they walk the South West Coastal Path. Here are a few stops on their route that I used to visit in my blue MG Midget and that you absolutely must check out next time you are in England.

Tintagel

Are you a fan of King Arthur? Even if you’re not exactly a fan, no doubt you’re aware of the mythical “once and future king” who ruled Dark Ages Britain from his castle at Camelot with the help of Merlin the magician. Tintagel is believed to have been Arthur’s birthplace and possibly also the location of Camelot.

The ruined castle on the site today dates back to the 1100s (vs Arthur’s time of the 5-6th century). Regardless of the Arthurian connection, this is an amazingly important site. Extensive archaeology has been conducted here. Artifacts have been found that show that, in the 5th-6th centuries, goods from far afield were being imported and used here.

Imagine! Wineglasses from France and Spain, bowls from Turkey, olive oil from Africa. Whoever the inhabitants were, they lived in lavish style.

Tintagel Castle sits on a promontory that was previously accessible only by a tiring slog down and up many steep rickety wooden steps, but a modernist pedestrian bridge has recently been installed for accessibility. A gorgeous historical spot that’s definitely worth visiting.

Padstow

One of the most famous Cornish fishing villages, Padstow gets a rough ride in the book for being filled with rich tourists and overrun by Rick Stein restaurants. Now, I’m a bit of a fan of Rick. I’ve dined at the Seafood Restaurant, his flagship, and honestly, there are worse things that could happen to a town than it gets a few nice places to eat.

Padstow is one of my favourite places in the world. I’ve stayed in a four-poster harbour view room in the big hotel overlooking the estuary (actually I’ve stayed in most of their rooms!), and I’ve camped in a field up the back. Either way, it’s a fun place to be!

The issue of rich tourists is genuine. As comes up several times in The Salt Path, a lot of property on this idyllic coast has been bought up by wealthy families as vacation properties or short-term rentals, and this has priced the locals out of many towns and villages. It’s a huge problem in Cornwall.

You can see why people would be willing to spend their money on property here. Long sandy beaches where sandpipers run along the tideline, boats that will take you out to rocky islands to view puffins and seals, a beautiful bike trail alongside the estuary, and a quaint harbour where you can sit, with a cool pint of cider, watching the world go by.

A great time to visit is April 30th — May 1st. On those days, Padstow villagers still maintain the tradition of the ‘Obby ‘Oss — a centuries-old rites of spring ritual that sees two teams of villagers dancing with large wooden hobby horses around the village, the timed singing of songs, and lots of dancing around the maypole. It’s a bit of a bacchanalia, and it feels so special to be there.

The Minack Theatre

Imagine the scene, you’re sitting watching a mid-summer performance of Romeo and Juliet, the evening sun dipping slightly in the sky, the air scented by the abundant wildflowers in the area and beyond the stage, the ocean. A group of dolphins swims by. Sounds like heaven.

It’s the Minack Theatre, a cliff-edge outdoor amphitheatre hewn out of rock near Porthcurno by a visionary woman beginning in the 1930s and continuing until her death in 1983. It’s an incredible place. Skip the truly awful Land’s End and come here instead to have your soul restored. Even if there is no play on, the museum and tour are worth it.

Tagging my Salt Path reading group… Scot Butwell, Klara Jane Holloway, The Sober Vegan Yogi, Janice Macdonald, C.A. Jaymes, Evon, Angie Mangino, Michael L Butler, Mary DeVries, Jane Kelley

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