Weekend in Cornwall: Driving on the Left and Surfing!

Beth and I took a super quick weekend trip to Cornwall; it was a jam-packed weekend. Ideally, it would be best if you took longer than a weekend to explore Cornwall, but it has been on my list since I moved here nearly two years ago, and I've nearly run out of time. We rented a car for the weekend, and I drove. It was my first time driving on the 'wrong' side of the road. Initially, it was a bit weird, but not nearly as bad as I thought. I was shocked. I thought the hardest part would be remembering to stay on the left side and turn into the correct lane. However, this part felt pretty normal. The one thing I found a bit tricky was not drifting too far to the left. Because I was driving on the right side of the car, I was close to the oncoming traffic. My instinct was to move left, but then I would get close to the curb. After the three days, though, it felt much more natural and was actually fun. 

On Friday evening, after work, we drove to Newquay. We stayed at the Mordon Bar and Lodge. It was in a really good location, was a good price, and was super clean. It was like a hostel/hotel combination. We had our own small room, but there was a shared bathroom, and we had bunk beds. When we arrived, we went straight to bed to get a good sleep. 

On Saturday morning, we woke up early, grabbed a coffee and pastry and drove to Land's End. It is the most Westerly point of mainland England, with stunning views of the sea lined with jagged cliffs. We admired the views, saw the famous sign post (snuck a photo) and wandered along the touristy shops.

After, we drove to St. Ives. We took the coastal route, which was stunning, but I was slightly stressed the whole time. The roads were windy and narrow, and I was trying so hard not to scrape the left side of the vehicle or be too far right and crash head-on into another car. We found some cool ruins along the side of the road, so we stopped to check them out and climb around; it was fun to explore.

In St. Ives, we drove around for a long time, trying to find parking. I ended up driving on the narrowest/busiest streets. St. Ives is an adorable little seaside town. It is quite touristy but adorable! We wandered along the charming streets and wandered into some little shops. We got a traditional Cornish steak pasty from the St Ives Bakery which was absolutely delicious. We sat on the beach and ate them while enjoying the sunshine. A seagull swooped down and tried to steal Beth's pasty; it was so funny. After, we got some ice cream which was stressful to eat because, again, you have to worry about the seagulls. We dipped our toes in the water and then returned to the car. 

We drove to Healeys Cornish Cyder Farm; it is such a fun place. For £14, we got to taste a bunch of delicious jams, see some farm animals (I loved the goats), learn about past/present day cider making and see the bottling and labelling process, and taste a bunch of ciders, wines, hard alcohols, and soft drinks. I couldn't taste too many because I was driving, but the ones I tasted were delicious. They had some really fun flavours, and their plain apple juice was to die for! 

When we were done, we drove to Perranporth, where the waves were gigantic, and the lifeguards weren't letting people in the water. We admired the adorable beach town streets and headed back to Newquay. We went to Newquay Beach and swam and played in the waves until I couldn't feel my fingers and toes and started turning blue, and then we drank strawberry wine on the beach. For dinner, we went to a cool place called The Boathouse which had various bars and street food on the beach. We ate pizza and drank pina coladas on the beach, which was amazing, and then we walked back to our hotel, as we were pretty tired. We wandered down to the hotel bar and played some cards and had a delicious watermelon and rum alcoholic slushy, then we went to bed. 

On Sunday, we packed up and went for a lovely breakfast at Fore Street Cafe Bar. I had a delicious latte and the most scrumptious scrambled eggs and toast I have ever had in my life. They were made with delicious spring onions, dill, and butter. After, we drove 10 minutes down the road to West Country Surf School for a surfing lesson. It has always been a dream of mine to try surfing, and Cornwall is known for its surfing. The surf school was fantastic. The instructors were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. They had a cute coffee shop that provided everything, such as the board and wetsuit and was reasonably priced. We did a 2-hour lesson. I did pretty well and stood up quite a few times. I found the balance pretty easy; it was more the timing of when to catch the wave and how to decide which to go for, along with trying not to get into anyone's way that I struggled with. I had SO much fun!! I'm already dying to try it again sometime soon. Luckily, Beth didn't tell me till after we got out of the water that there was a ton of jellyfish in the water... I somehow didn't notice. 

After our lesson, we drove to Padstow, a cute little fishing village. We ate fish and chips from Rick Stein's near the harbour, it was excellent! We strolled along the streets and in and out of the cutest shops. I loved every second of it. We got some ice cream and had a cider in the sunshine. We visited some beautiful art galleries and then returned to the car. We began the long drive back to London. It is around a 5-6 hour drive depending on traffic and rest stops. We dropped off the rental car around 10:30 pm, and I made the journey back to my flat, getting home at about 11:30 pm. 

It was a busy, tiring weekend, but it was worth it! It was so nice to be out of London for the weekend, and it was great getting to try new things like driving on the left and surfing. I loved every minute and had so much fun! Cornwall is my favourite place that I have visited in England. I love the beach vibes and the friendly, chill people! I hope to go back one day!