CORNWALL: Newquay
Fun and games in Daish's Barrowfield indoor heated pool and spectacular sea views at Tintagel Castle
By Tim Saunders
The vanilla plant only flowers for one day, which makes harvesting it challenging. The average human being consumes 45kg of sugar a year compared to 1.5kg fifty years ago and the World Health Organisation is urging us to cutback… These are just some of the facts we learn at the Eden Project during our five-day trip to Newquay. This attraction in a reclaimed china pit at Par, about forty minutes from Daish's Hotel Barrowfield where we stay, is home to huge domes that house a massive rainforest and a Mediterranean environment. There are even birds in the rainforest. The heat is pretty exhausting and so the cool room is particularly helpful, especially for the elderly. There’s a typical Malaysian house nestled alongside some enormous trees and plants and a bridge where if you wait, a little steam escapes as you walk across it, which by this point is really quite refreshing. From the outset where visitors are encouraged to park their vehicles away from the site, there is quite a bit of walking involved, especially for little legs and understandably Henry’s scooter is not allowed inside. A digger in one play area catches his attention as does an interestingly designed slide. The overriding message from the Eden Project is that if we work with nature and respect it then it can help us. We must listen. A rainforest (which is vital for our weather system and covers six to seven per cent of the Earth’s surface - the size of 10 football pitches) is lost every minute (the single biggest direct cause of tropical deforestation is conversion to cropland and pasture). This is all very depressing but it is helpful to know that we can all play our own little part by making the most of our own gardens – rewilding - through not mowing, creating your own compost and attracting wildlife. We do do this.
Back at our hotel there is time to contemplate as we enjoy one of many long relaxing swims in the wonderful heated indoor swimming pool, open between 7am and 7pm. There's no booking required so we're able to go whenever we wish during these times, which really does set Daish's apart from many. Then it’s time for dinner. Our half board accommodation provides breakfast and dinner. I always opt for the homemade soup which is tasty and changes by the day from carrot and coriander to pea and mint. Mains include tuna salad through to fish and chips. Desserts include cake, ice cream, cheese and biscuits. Running a hotel is a massive undertaking and on arrival we meet Frank and his son, who run it like a well oiled machine. They are smart, polite and have a great Liverpudlian sense of humour, all excellent qualities for such a demanding task. Manning reception alone is a challenging job when there are 80 rooms in this hotel and varying check-in times. When necessary, Frank and his son are not too proud to become waiters; they get stuck in and are visible, watching what’s going on. Their excellent attitudes help to restore your faith in humanity. Customer care is at the heart of this operation.
Prior to our stay, the children receive a golden ticket and they’re really excited about what this means. They present it to Frank who then asks them to return the next day for a goody bag. That waiting is a very good lesson, particularly for impatient Henry whose eyes light up when he's presented with his present. The golden ticket is a lovely, memorable touch.
Sitting in the dining room is a great experience and we enjoy watching the waiting staff. With so many guests all around us it makes us feel alive. The majority of generally older people have arrived by Daish's coaches from Scotland and the West Midlands. However, there are some young families and our children hunt them out and make friends. They enjoy playing in the games room with them. We even manage a game of pool. After dinner we enjoy strolls along the seafront and explore Newquay. Entertainment is provided every night and includes a comedian, bingo, and music. We do a little dancing.
After a comfy night’s sleep we fall into a routine of after breakfast swimming and then leaving the hotel just before midday, ready to explore.
You can’t visit Cornwall without a trip to St Ives and this is about an hour away. It’s full of quaint narrow streets with an array of retailers including Porthminster Gallery where there’s an exhibition of Sir Peter Blake’s work as well as other artists including my favourite, Fred Yates. It’s a refreshing non-snooty family friendly place and quite rare for a gallery these days. There’s a delightful beach at St Ives, too.
At the Bowgie Inn (Cornish for cow shed), which is what it was many years ago, the now modern structure provides sea views and a pleasant environment to eat and socialise. A menu of local ciders and ales includes Lushingtons, a thirst quenching pale ale. Caroline has a bitter shandy and the children go for lemonades. While we wait for lunch there’s a nacho starter. Not just any normal nacho starter though, it’s like a spicy Bolognese with sour crème, which is a meal in itself and very tasty. My chicken burger and chips follows and I do enjoy this. Ale and steak pie is the choice for the girls while Henry’s sausage and chips pleases him. Local art adorns some of the walls.
A short car drive away is Holywell Beach where we park and saunter on to the sands where Caroline and I flop down and shut our eyes while the children tear up the sandy hillside and slide back down. What fun. We enjoy listening to all the different accents, some from up north and as far away as America.
Wherever you drive in Cornwall there are wonderful colourful wildflowers beside the roadsides.
Another gem of a discovery is Tintagel Castle in the village of Tintagel where there is a breathtaking landscape and fantastic breathtaking sea views. While we queue to go in, Heidi (12) hears some German tourists and introduces herself as a German student. The upshot is that the tourist is a teacher from Hamburg with her mother. Anyway, Heidi is keen to have a German pen-friend and the teacher takes her details to give to an appropriate student.
Tintagel Castle is an important medieval fortification that pays homage to that famous Cornish myth of King Arthur who was born here. There’s a clever sculpture of him at the top of this mesmerising windswept landscape. The excellent footbridge suddenly wobbles, sending hearts into mouths. “Is it called Tintagel because of the Cornish tin mining heritage?” one visitor asks. Interesting. However, it seems not to be the case because Tintagel is Cornish for the fort of the constriction… the process of becoming tighter and narrower, which is certainly the case for some of the paths leading to the historic landing ports where goods were delivered from across Europe once a year. The Latin name for tin is stannum and the Cornish word is sten.
On the way back from Cornwall, in Devon, stands Castle Drogo, the last castle to be built in England. Constructed between 1911 and 1930 it is an exercise in sheer opulence. The near 600 acre estate is a millionaire’s paradise and in fact Julius Drewe who ordered its construction was part of tbhis exclusive club having sold his shares in Home and Colonial Stores. Famous architect Edwin Lutyens designed this pad. It is built entirely of local granite. The gardens are inspirational too. The National Trust is celebrating its 50 year ownership of the property, which started with a one sentence letter asking if they'd be interested in taking it on. There are various games around the gardens to keep the little ones occupied. Henry loves the whack an alien game and the space hoppers.
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