Choosing to be optimistic about my two-year struggle to secure a ‘real’ job in the UK, I find myself more and more amazed by the England that exists outside of London. The numerous summer jobs and short contracts that now decorate my (not deliberately) diverse CV have at least given me an opportunity to see a lot more of England. Most people know that London is not England; it is it’s own bubble in England. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t exciting and full of incredible things to do and see. And as I contemplate moving back to London at any moment I’m not adverse to living there, it’s just that so many South Africans move there and rarely get a chance to visit the small, obscure villages and towns that burst with good old fashioned English charm.
I spent this past weekend in Cornwall. Ah Cornwall, I have heard on more than one occasion, Cornwall in the summer is such a delight. But Cornwall in the autumn, do people still go there? They do, and we did.
We went to
Lizard Point for a friend’s 30th and rented out the entire
youth hostel.
I can now say that I have stayed in a youth hostel, although I’m not sure it counts when you are sharing a room with all your friends and everything is clean and comfortable and just like a hotel. I’m not trying to offend youth hostels; it’s just not the generalised picture you imagine when the words youth and hostel are used in succession. In other words it was brilliant accommodation at a really low price!
The drive from Salisbury to Lizard Point took us 4.5 hours, which is pretty substantial just for a weekend. Leaving after work on Friday meant we couldn’t appreciate the Cornish scenery on the way there, only the way back on Sunday afternoon. If you have the luxury of time off to drive during the day it will definitely add a whole new dimension to your trip. The autumn colours are out in full force and it is beautiful.
Arriving at 10pm on Friday night meant that we would have to wait until the morning to take in the full spectrum of our surroundings. Lizard Point is the southern most point of England and this means spectacularly dramatic views of crashing waves onto the craggy cliff edges. The geography of Lizard Point not only results in awe-inspiring views, but also poses a ‘
notorious shipping hazard’.
It is for this reason that the prime location on which you will find the youth hostel is also home to the very necessary and very much still in use Lizard Lighthouse.
Lighthouses are charming. Foghorns are not!
On Friday night we gazed at the Milky Way and joked about turning off the blinking (literally) light that intermittently obscured our heavenly views. After a solid session of Sing Star we retired to our comfy bunk beds with the anticipation of the views that awaited us in the morning.
Fog. Fog all day. Fog all day and a foghorn. I hope you ships appreciate what we went through!
Being completely engulfed by fog is in itself eerie enough. Being surrounded by fog, hearing the foghorn go off every 30 seconds can be potentially drive you to…. drink! The solution; take the scenic route and walk along the cliffs (for the views) to the village. Hide out in the pub drinking local cider and eating genuine Cornish pasties. If the pub doesn’t have Cornish pasties on the menu you can always try the little shop around the corner. Take a wander down the street, you’ll find it! The shop is attached to someone’s home so don’t expect a parking lot and a billboard, it’s far too quaint. In fact, don’t even expect to be served by anyone in the shop! Pasties are laid out and ready to go, all labeled according to filling, the pricing is clearly stated on the honesty box. Buying home made marmalade from a table set up with an honesty box in front of the actual home where it has been made is worth any amount of money they ask for. In this case £3. Lizard Point may be popular with visitors, but it is by no means a tourist trap. It really is just a lovely small fishing village with spectacular views and the distant* sound of a foghorn.
*This is a disclaimer to anyone who disagrees about the foghorn. Yes it can be loud; put on some music and have a party!
I only like going on long walks if I can take hundreds of pictures along the way. And when I say hundreds, I actually mean more like a thousand! I just can’t take any chances; what if I miss THE shot. Rather be safe than sorry right? I am definitely going to go on a ‘get to know your SLR’ course so that the storage capacity on this computer is spared ‘thousands’ of fuzzy, obscure, ‘arty’ images. 
In 1946 Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare gave Stourhead to the National Trust, and what a good job he did. The closest us mere commoners will ever come to the lavish lifestyle of Lords and Ladies is by watching Downton Abbey and visiting National Trust treasures such as Stourhead.
