On a recent trip in England Faith and I were looking for a one night stop-over on the north coast of Cornwall. We had left Falmouth a couple days earlier and stayed in a little spot called Tavistock for the first night of our weeks-long driving adventure. The following morning we headed up to Castle Drogo, an impressive place I'll write about some other time, which is on the northern edge of Dartmoor National Park and then back through Dartmoor towards the northern Cornwall coast.
We wanted a quiet overnight stop-over where we could relax a little, eat some nice food and go for a wander on foot. You know, somewhere in which we'd find few people. We decided upon Boscastle, and were very pleased with our choice.
This small village reminded me of an old harbour town a pirate crew may call home, although disappointingly there were no pirates...The harbour is natural, an inlet that has been protected by the construction of two harbour walls built around 1584...Yes, 1584.
The village itself works its way upwards into the valley above upon the rivers Valency and Jordan and it's old. It feels old and looks old but not in a decrepit, run down, way...No it's quite lovely in fact, so very quiet and rather picturesque. The villages appeal is enhanced by the contrasts of greens and blues all around and it's no wonder the area in which it sits is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We were impressed upon first sight and all the way through until we departed.
The name Boscastle derives from a 12th century motte and bailey castle called Botreaux Castle owned by the family of the same name however much to my disappointment nothing much remains of it. Even still, the village has a lovely feel to it, welcoming and was almost devoid of people, just a few locals.
In truth there's kind of two Boscastle's, one down on the River Valency which is where we stayed, and the larger more populated area up higher and on the River Jordan. We wanted some peace and quiet so opted for the Valency area.
The main picture above shows the inlet from the sea; It's quite an important little harbour for this area being the only significant harbour on this coastline for 30 kilometres. It was used to import coal and limestone and export slate and various other things produced in the area. The second image above shows Faith sitting near one of the harbour walls which you can just see to the left of shot. This image also shows how tidal the harbour is, the boats below are all bottomed out. The image below shows it a little better.
One of the harbour walls built back in the 1500's.
We checked into our accommodation not long after arrival, a place aptly called The Riverside as it sits right alongside the river, as do most things here. Our room wasn't large, but it had character and a nice view looking down the inlet towards the sea, although the sea was out of sight due to the sharp kink in the terrain as per the first image.
It was a quaint little room though and we were warmly welcomed by a friendly young lady with big...Blue eyes and a happy smile. She gave us some information about the restaurant and pub in the old building and for breakfast the next morning then we headed out to have a little bit of a scout around. Oh, just a word on carparking, there is none in the street and people are obligated to park in a designated paid car park called Cobweb car park up the main street a ways. It's not far, an easy walk from The Riverside and cheap enough.
Above Faith is standing in front of The Riverside. You can see the road behind which leads up and away to the right of shot and the larger Boscastle village and to the left on and up the high street and away towards the north east. You can also see our meals from dinner that night. Faith had fish and I had a stew. Oh, and there's Faith and I grinning like idiots too.
On wandering around this area one is struck by the quaintness of it and it's very easy to forget that it's the modern era. It's not just the houses but the lack of people and vehicles. Wandering around the village is, simply put, a relaxing and joyful experience. People seem happy, friendly and everywhere one looks there's stone architecture, high green hills and the ever-present sound of the river trickling along and out to sea We were also blessed with blue skies adding to the scene; We found it to be very pleasing.
We walked all the way to the inlet itself, a route that follows the harbour passing small houses, the old harbour walls and the stranded boats awaiting the tidal waters to liberate them from their beached resting places.
There's a few things to do in this little section with shops, a couple of cafes and even a witchcraft and magic museum. It is here we found a marker showing the height of the 2004 floods that struck the area. Just for perspective you can see Faith reaching up to the mark and she's six feet tall.
We wandered about for the afternoon and ventured along the South West Coast Path a ways however time didn't permit us the opportunity to do as much of it as we would have liked; A perfect excuse to go back again, wouldn't you say?
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We enjoyed dinner in the pub below our accommodation and the food and service was pretty good...Very good I'd say to be honest. After dinner we stayed around and chatted with a few people and there was a little music to listen to also.
One of the great things about travelling for us is the characters we meet and I think people also feel the same way about us as we always seem to have a nice time with complete strangers, as at The Riverside that night. Reluctantly though, we said goodnight and we headed off to bed. It was a quiet and restful sleep in a very comfortable bed.
We were out very early the next for some more walking and to see the area in different light. It was nice to see the village come to life and have an exchange or two with a few getting about their morning tasks. We then enjoyed a very nice breakfast and started to get organised to head off to Tintagel and ancient castle complex situated there.
In closing I'd say one could spend two nights in Boscastle, at least. There's enough to do there, and in the surrounding areas, to warrant the time; Maybe even longer too. We enjoyed our short stay though and if we are in the area again would certainly go back for a stay. The accommodation and food was very good and the locals were friendly and welcoming...I'd recommend Boscastle to anyone who is in Cornwall.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
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