 St. Michael's Mount is
seen silhouetted against the sky.
Back in March I had the opportunity to visit Cornwall, the English county that forms the south-westerly peninsula that divides the Atlantic from the Channel. This location results in Cornwall having a mild and generally fantastic climate--the flowers were several weeks ahead of those in London. To get there I--along with my friends Becky, Sarah, and Brent--took a train from Paddington station in London to Truro, the business centre of the count and home to its cathedral. The train ride was so full of problems as to be almost comical. Only a few minutes out of London we were informed that the train would have to stop because of members of the public who were walking on the tracks near Slough. At Taunton, Somerset, a long delay leaving the station was followed by an announcement revealing that the leading power car (there were apparently two) had broken down and, as such, the train would no longer be able to run at full speed. This was followed by an announcement at the Bodmin Parkway stop that, due to the broken front engine, not enough pressure was being delivered to the front of the train to immediately release the brakes resulting in another twenty minute delay while the braking system recovered. In the end, we arrived about ninety minutes late at Truro, bringing to total journey time to well over five hours. (I wish I could report that such problems are quite rare on the British rail network but, alas, it's not true.) As we were hardly in a rush to go anywhere the various problems were more of an amusement than a genuine bother. As we were conveniently seated close to the buffet car, we had easy access to (only slightly over-priced) cans of Guinness and Stella Artois. That helped. The scenery for the last portion of our journey was exceedingly beautiful. The train travels along the coast for several miles after it stops at Exeter (Devon) and we were all taken by the beauty of the place. When we arrived at Truro, we found John Eva waiting for us on the platform. John and his wife Mary are a wonderful couple who live just outside Truro. Ever since an accidental meeting with a stranded Lawrence student in the late '80s, the Eva's have been offering weekend home stays to students staying at the LU London Centre. For a small fee (which essentially covers there expenses) they provide housing in their lovely home, wonderful Cornish meals made with great skill by Mary, and personalized tours around the county. When we arrived at there home on Friday night Mary met us in the dining room with floor plates heaping with a delicious ham dinner. This was followed by a dessert (or pudding to use the British expression) of cheesecake which was in turn followed by miscellaneous 'afters': coffee, tea, cookies, and, amazingly, another cake. Indeed, during our three days with the Eva's we never had a meal that wasn't incredible in both quality and quantity. After dinner John told us about the various places we might visit on Saturday and after some discussion we came up with a plan. Saturday morning we loaded into the car (Mary stayed behind to watch rugby with her grandson) and headed to Mount's Bay, near Penzance. St. Michael's Mount has a striking resemblance to Mont St. Michel off the coast of Normandy. This resemblance is apparently quite intended the English island being modelled after the French and both originally housing monasteries.  A map of Mount's bay painted on the wall of a house on Saint Michael's Mount.  Mousehole, a quaint
fishing village near Penzance.
After our visit to Saint Michael's Mount we drove along the coast through the town of Penzance to a charming little fishing village called Mousehole (pronounced something like "mowz'll"). After a quick walk around the village we loaded back in the car and continued driving west towards Porthcurno and the Minack Theatre. The Minack is a remarkable outdoor theatre essentially carved into the side of cliff over looking the sea. It's all the more remarkable to find out that the vast majority of the work was executed by a single passionate woman by the name of Rowena Cade who made the theatre's creation her life's work. Even as a very old woman, apparently, she could be found carting large stones and drift wood hundreds of yards up from the sea to be used as construction material. The resulting theatre is breathtaking and I hope to someday be able to attend one of the many shows put on during their Summer season.  The stage of the Minack Theatre Part of the charm of Cornwall was how incredibly different it was in character from other parts of England I've visited. The warm and dry weather, palm trees growing along the sides of roads, rolling hills all make for an incredible experience. We finished up the first day with a trip to the picturesque town of St. Ives which is still an active fishing port. Sadly, my camera batteries gave way at this point so I can't show you anything of our next day's adventures at Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, or the Lizard Peninsula. So you'll have to take my word that it was all very, very nice.  |
 Brent with Sarah and Becky at St. Michael's Mount  A desert flower appears to thrive in the landscaping of the Minack Theatre.  A lodge on St. Michael's Mount, with the great house in the distance. John is seen in the foreground.  Yellow flowers. How festive. |
