TRAVEL ALPHABET

The A-Z of My Favourite Travel Destinations — Mevagissey

Not Moscow, not Madrid, not Melbourne, not Munich, nor Marrakech

Although I do love Melbourne, it’s pipped by Mevagissey, a little fishing village on the inhospitable coast of Cornwall. My family and I spent a wet, windy week there in January 2012.

New Year’s Eve

The first thing we noticed was the streets were all very narrow but none were one-way. We got stuck going up the hill to our home for the next week as there was a car coming down. Someone has to reverse into a driveway for the other car to pass. We found Splash Point perched atop the cliffs overlooking the bay and after bringing in all our gear from the carpark, sat down to enjoy fresh bread rolls with ham and egg spread and a glass of orange juice that we’d bought in St Austell.

The second thing we noticed was how friendly the locals were. The ladies in the car that was stuck behind us had invited us to a fancy dress New Year’s Eve party and we planned what we were going to wear. I thought I could go as a tourist (I’d just wear my normal clothes) and Kiryn thought she would dress as paparazzo (she has quite a big camera). I lay down for a bit and fell asleep.

When I woke up, it was pelting rain and I decided I’d give the party a miss. I don’t even think I could negotiate the slippery path to the front gate in this weather! The others were going to head out at about 9, but one by one their resolve faded, and in the end, no one ventured out. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and then a Bee Gees Special. We could see (and hear) fireworks close by but it was too wet and cold to go out on our terrace to watch them.

New Year’s Day

After a breakfast of toast and spiced marmalade, I managed to get an internet connection for an hour before it died and I gave up. It was still cold and wet so staying in to watch TV was a wise option, I felt.

So, the first day of the year is finished and all I’ve done is sleep and watch TV. I hope it will be fine tomorrow so I can go exploring. If nothing else, I’m going to have to forage for food — we’ve just about eaten the pantry out, not to mention I haven’t had a drink for two days — my first dry New Year since I was 18!

I’d decided not to spend the second day of the year in the same way as I’d spent the first and when I woke up to a bright and sunny day, I was keen to get going. But by the time I had eaten breakfast, showered and dressed, the weather had done an about-turn and the rain was coming down in sheets.

Gorran Haven

We decided to drive via the back roads to Gorran Haven, a seaside village a few miles away. ’Twas a very pretty drive to a very pretty village. By the time we reached the village, the day had changed back to sunny, but still very cold. The beach was crowded with families and dogs who were running back and forth through the waves like creatures possessed. Crazy English families were swimming and surfing in wetsuits, but all were barefoot, in the freezing cold. Maybe the water was warmer than the air.

Land’s End

Since the day was looking brighter than we had seen since arriving in Cornwall, we decided to keep on going until we reached Land’s End, aptly named as it really was the end of the land. The weather closed in again, and we scurried to the warmth of the restaurant where we ordered fish and chips and lemon cheesecake with Cornish clotted cream for dessert.

It was blowing a gale and the rain was almost horizontal, but I wanted to go to the very tip, and I almost froze to death. Every time I took off a glove to take a photo, my hand felt frostbitten. I made it back to the car cold, wet and bedraggled, but alive.

We headed back to Mevagissey via Mount St Michael where we hopped out to take a quick pic, and Truro where we stopped to stock up with supplies (and alcohol!) We passed by Redruth which is where Demelza met Ross in the first of the Poldark novels. Ever since I read them back in the early eighties, I have always wanted to come to Cornwall. I’d love to spend 12 months here to experience all of the seasons!

I was happy to stay warm indoors and enjoy a steaming bowl of broccoli and stilton soup with a glass of red, followed by banoffee pie which I had bought this afternoon at Sainsbury’s. There are so many delicious things in the supermarkets here and they are all so cheap compared to Australia. Most items are less than 2 pounds and many are less than one. Bananas really are 68p a kg!

Day 3 dawned bright and sunny. Well, actually it was bright and sunny when I woke up at 9.30, so I thought I’d finally venture down to the little village of Mevagissey to try to find some wifi even if it was just on my phone. I had purchased 5 days of internet access from British Telecom for 15 pounds (AUS $23) and was allowed on for just 1 hour. And though I have tried again and again, I cannot regain access even though it says I am connected! Frustrating in the extreme!

I tottered down the hill to the village past some delightful little shops, most of which were closed, to the Fountain Inn, which was open and very friendly. I ordered a pint of cider (and got cider!) and asked for the password. The bartender replied, “password?”, to which I replied, “yes”. Finally, I cottoned on to the fact that the password was “password”. I didn’t spend a lot of time on the internet as there were a series of people coming in and chatting with me for a couple of hours. Finally, I got to answer emails and let people know I was still alive, but not until I had ordered another pint of cider! I bought a loaf of fresh bread from Martin’s Bakery and headed for home for a (very) late lunch of steak sandwiches.

I walked along the windswept harbour and climbed the stairs up to our house perched on the cliff top. It was almost 4 by the time we had lunch. We couldn’t even think about our roast chicken dinner until after 7. We stayed up late watching TV again. There are some great shows on TV in England; there’s always something good to watch — good movies, great quiz shows, and very, very funny talk shows.

On Day 4 I awoke at 9.30 again, had breakfast and went back to bed to read some more Poldark. At midday, I thought I’d better get up. I walked down to the village. On the way down, I noticed the little shop whose shop window I was admiring yesterday was open so I walked in to have a look and to get warm. The owner had the dress in the window in a large size. I tried it on and amazingly, it fitted. She then found two more similar styles that also fitted. They were all 19.95 but there was a 20% discount on everything in the shop, which brought them down to 16 pounds each. The only problem was she didn’t accept credit cards and I only have a few pounds of cash left.

I then walked the village in the rain trying to obtain some cash. Both cash machines did not spit out any and I even asked the postmistress to no avail. Apparently, I will have to journey into St Austell to a proper bank to get cash. I went back to the shop and just bought one dress and explained the cash situation to the lovely lady. She said she would open for me at 1 pm the next day, which made me feel special but also very obliged to return.

I then headed to the Fountain Inn for a pint of cider and to check my emails. I bought some more fresh bread from the bakery and walked up the hill to a lunch of roast chicken sandwiches.

On day 5, Lorelle drove me into St Austell and I managed to get 74 pounds so that’s my limit at Lulu’s Shoppe! We enjoyed a very large latte — actually a bowl with two handles — at Costa Coffee before heading back to Mevagissey. Lorelle dropped me off in the village and I secured the two dresses Lulu had put away for me, plus she had found two suitable skirts as well. She had opened the shop just for me so I thought I’d better buy them. I also fell in love with an elephant bag, an elephant coverlet for my bed and an elephant runner out of which I am going to make two pillowcases. All of this for 74 pounds. Bargain!

I then headed to the Fountain Inn for yes, you guessed it, another pint of cider, before heading up to our hilltop house. I ate a chargrilled prawn and chicken paella for lunch and started to read Dear Fatty, Dawn French’s memoir. I didn’t finish it before dinner though, so it’s on my must-read list when I get back to Australia.

Lorelle, Kiryn and I headed out to the Sharksfin Restaurant for our last dinner together which was absolutely delightful. We shared mushrooms in white wine, garlic and cream, and deep-fried brie for starters. For mains, I had beef pie and chips, Lorelle bangers and mash, and Kiryn a vegetable suet pudding. The meals were so large that none of us could finish them — not usual for me at all.

We reminisced about which were our favourite places of the whole trip. We each had to name five and I think we each had a different list. Very hard to choose! I chose Greece, Italy, Spain, Wales and Cornwall — but maybe it’s because these are the most recent in my memory. Also maybe it’s about expectations. I didn’t expect to enjoy Greece and Spain nearly as much as I did. I was not looking forward to either destination, but loved every minute of both! Athens and Santorini in Greece; Barcelona and Córdoba in Spain. I also loved what we saw of Madrid, Gibraltar, and Granada. Actually, I loved all of them. There are only a couple of places that have escaped my “must return to” list!

We enjoyed our last walk up the hill; the night was windless and almost balmy. The sky was filled with stars and the moon was waxing. Lorelle and I are both very sad to leave; Kiryn is off tomorrow to live in Cardiff. Lorelle is planning to visit before her 3 years are up.

I can’t wait until I have saved enough money (read as paid off my credit cards) to go come to Europe again. I have experienced so much everywhere I went, and have learnt so much. Now I can only hope I can remember what I’ve learnt when a question comes up at trivia. I don’t want to blurt out, “I know that! I’ve been there!” only to find I have remembered incorrectly! Oh, the shame!

Come join the fun of writing about your favourite places. The only requirement is that you do it in alphabetical order. They can be a park, a river, a village, a town, a city or even a country! It’s up to you!

Here’s Sam Millichap’s favourite T city.

Here’s Anne Bonfert’s favourite I country.

Here’s Michael Rhodes favourite B country.

Here’s Jerry Dwyer’s favourite B city.