Base Camp Journal - We're in Cornwall again
This was the trip Robby and I were really looking forward to, because Cornwall is still our favourite region to visit. There are so many places we have yet to explore.
Making our way along the wide, uncongested roads, surrounded by so much greenery as far as the eye can see, I commented to Robby on how much cleaner everything is around Cornwall. All the main roads have the national speed limit, and with hardly any traffic, and there are only a couple of points near Truro where one encounters congestion. The bus service is operated by the local government, and the fares are cheap. Wind turbines can be seen everywhere, so there’s obviously been a lot of investment in renewable energy. The vegetation is the healthiest I’ve seen.
‘Drakeford is the only leader who signed that COP agreement, yet Wales is so far behind all this!’, Robby said.
When we arrived at Carnon Downs, we managed yet again to find an ideal pitch on which to install Bertha. This time in a section that contained only three other caravans, and it was just across the path from the shower facilities and water refill point. And we set up the awning, which these days we only bother doing for a longer stay. Normally we just want to get the electric, water and waste systems set up, then chill for an hour or so.
We took a walk into Carnon Downs village itself, one evening, which we never did before, to find out how far away the local pub is. There’s not much in the village, if I can call it that, but it seems like a lovely area to live, and there is a small store. That would have saved us driving to Sainsbury whenever wee needed something.
Kynance Cove
This location was the first on our bucket list, as Robby always wanted to go there, and maybe swim in the waters, but we never got round to it. Kynance Cove is in the southern part of Cornwall, where the coastline is impressive because of its tall cliffs, its many coves and large rocks that are further out into the sea. The area around Kynance Cove is like a much nicer version of the Blue Lagoon.
We parked up at some area near the cliff, owned by the National Trust, and made our way to the Cove itself, along a coastal path, one point along it giving the ideal vantage point to view the Cove and the clear azure blue waters from above. The water is crystal clear at the beach. The cove looks more impressive from that point than when we’re actually in the cove itself.
Further along the coastal path, there is a very quiet area of green, where we could relax away from all the tourists. Robby and I had a romantic moment there.
Lizard Point
This is the southermost point in Britain. Though it’s not as well-known as Land’s End, it still attracts a few tourists. Considering Lizard Point is only a mile from Kynance Cove, we did an exhausting amount of walking to explore this part of the coast. It takes about fifteen minutes to get to Lizard Point from the village, unless you’re parking up near the lighthouse - not recommended because it’s a single-track lane, and the village does have a couple of nice shops and pubs. Plus, the parking was free in the village.
The lighthouse is functioning. I think it also has a visitors centre and museum, but we arrived after closing time.
Organising a piss-up in a distillery
Since I’d become something of a connoiseur of gin over the past couple of years, and had made my own proof-of-concept, Robby had booked us onto a tour and gin tasting session at the Tarquin’s Gin distillery. It was definitely an educational and potentially very useful experience.
Tarquin’s gin is noticeably high-quality - I drink it while in Cornwall, just because pretty much every pub there has it, and it’s a nice change from my usual Whitley Neil pub gin.
The company rep talked briefly about the history of gin, and of how the company started. A man called Tarquin wanted to do some surfing-related things during the day and make an income manufacturing gin at night. Initially he did this in small quantities, using a small distillator, about the size of a teapot, and with a considerable amount of online research. Long story short, the company is today manufacturing ~600,000 bottles a year, and the process had evolved considerably.
We were shown the main facility they manufacture the gin. I expected a giant production line, but it’s actually a small industrial unit, little bigger than a garage. The facility appeared deceptively simple, with just a few large liquid containers, a single industrial-sized column distillator in the corner, a table with some equipment for bottling the gin and what I assume was a small lab area for testing samples.
I said it’s deceptively simple: At this scale, manufacturing gin to the same standard as Tarquin’s will be tricky and expensive. Consumer-grade alcohol can’t be used as the base, since it’s low-grade and prohibitively expensive in that quantity, the base liquids are as purified as they can be, and refinery equipment (a row of specially configured overflow/filter tanks) need to be wired to the industrial-sized condensors to separate the drinkable gin from the lethal (and quite nasty) byproducts (which have industrial uses).
Tarquin’s processes are very precise, and would be quite expensive and a feat of chemical engineering to replicate, and I’m guessing that’s why the company is so open about how they do it.
I’ve made notes of what I can remember of the process, since I’ve been planning for a while to manufacture my own brand of gin eventually.
After an intensive tasting session, during which I tried double shots of eight varieties of Tarquin’s - one of them being the Summer Garden - I came away with a bottle of Original, which I’m reluctant to open because I did the waxing and sealing myself. The bottle of Summer Garden I’m also reluctant to open because it came from the third batch of a limited number.
The Lobster Shed
After the visit to the distillery, we went to The Lobster Shed, which is on the estate of some health spar, not far from the coast. I wasn’t sure what to make of the place. It’s more of a canopy with retractable walls than a restaurant building. And it’s dog-friendly, which I like.
Apparently lobsters are a luxury food, though I’d never been tempted to try it before, mainly because I don’t like the way lobsters are typically (mis)treated and prepared. I made a point of checking that they were humanely killed before trying it here.
Robby wanted to try the Camel Valley wine, because that’s apparently one of King Charles’ drink of choice. I found it drinkable, but I was still a bit tipsy from the gin tasting session.
Perranporth
We returned to Perranporth, which is currently my favourite beach in Cornwall, as the weather was still good, and I figured it wouldn’t be too busy on a Monday. Even when it’s busy, it’s possible to find a quiete spot further along the beach, away from the other tourists.
The weather would have been warm enough for a bit of sunbathing, if it wasn’t for the strong wind carrying a barely visible mist in from the sea. As we did last year, Robby and I headed for the cove that shields us from most the wind.
In the distance, the wind had caused a sand cloud, by the entrance to the beach, where the ground was dry.
Falmouth
Last year we arrived by ferry to the harbour, during a festival. This time it was a short drive to a car park very close to the beach, and we had a pleasurable walk from there to the high street.
There are a couple of very friendly pubs we visited so far. We ended up buying a couple of Tarquin’s glasses to go with the gin I bought at the distillery, and Robby managed to get a free tankard, which we thought we forgot to pick up the other evening.
Of course, Robby had to get us a Cornish cream tea from the most traditional Cornish cafe we could find: Apparently it’s a custom to put jam on a scone, topped with a certain kind of cream. We ordered one in the cafe at the harbour.
I think I’ve invented the ‘Falmouth Shortbread’, while screwing around with a biscuit and the remains of the jam and cream.