Monday, May 14, 2018

A Guide to Penzance

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Hallo friends! Today's blog post comes to you from the wonderful Cornwall, which is somewhere I've wanted to visit for a long time. I had a few people message me to say that Penzance was a curious choice for a first timer but I honestly loved it! We really wanted to stay at The Artist Residence Hotel after hearing so many wonderful things and I did find that there was a lot to see and do (and eat) in the area. Don't worry though, St Ives, I'm coming for you next. 

I'll start with the hotel. If you go to Penzance, you've absolutely got to get your little butt to The Artist Residence hotel. I've visited both the Brighton and London ones and loved this just as much! Myself and my little bruv had the lookout room right up on the third floor which was the perfect home from home. There's a big airy bathroom - which has a view of the sea, a bar cart for toiletries and, oh, only the best big copper bath in the land - your own very well equipped kitchen (should you choose to stay in one evening and cook), a chilled out living room space (complete with log burner and antique furniture), a balcony with a beautiful view across to Newlyn (perfect to sit on in the evenings and watch the sunset with a wee gin in hand) and a beautiful, beautiful bedroom that's tucked away behind a big wooden door and framed with exposed wooden beams. My favourite. Breakfast is included and I'm honestly still dreaming about the egg, avo & spinach toast now. If you're not staying there I'd still recommend a dinner at their Cornish Barn restaurant for some locally sourced meat and fish dishes (the calamari is incredible) and a truly lovely ambiance, or taking advantage of their happy hour where you'll find a particularly good espresso martini.

WHAT TO DO & WHERE TO EAT
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I'll start with where to eat. We had a few beautiful meals during our time there; I'd highly recommend The Tolcarne Inn which is - wait for it - a whopping 300 years old. It's got such a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere and is a real must for those of you who are seafood lovers; there's a chalkboard menu filled to the brim with seasonal catches that's updated every single day according to what's been freshly caught. Mackerel, cod, scallops, mussels, you name it. They also do a Sunday roast which I've heard is not to be missed! We had a beautiful lunch at Archie Browns, which is a health food cafe that does the best salads in the land and is your one-stop-shop if you're vegan or veggie or have any kind of intolerance. They also do an amazing matcha latte (and you know how much I love a matcha latte) so make sure to get yourself one of those. Penzance have also just been awarded the first plastic-free status for any coastal town in the UK which is a pretty big deal, so you'll see lots of shops and restaurants embracing it with Archie Browns being one of them! Also worth noting in both Penzance and Newlyn are The Cornish Hen (said to be the best pasty in Penzance, I can't vouch for that but I can tell you they do an incredible GF brownie), Jelbert's Ice Cream (said to be the best ice cream in the WORLD. That's right. I'm not even a fan of vanilla ice cream and they had me converted. You can have it with a flake in or with clotted cream on top), Mermaid Alley (we didn't have time to visit but a few people recommended it for their amazing milkshakes), The Honey Pot (for cake and tea), Mackeral Skye for seafood (again we didn't have time to go but this was the restaurant that was recommended to us most) and Polgoon Vineyard is a lovely little winery that make their own wine, cider and apple juices. There are also a good few fish and chip shops that do gluten free in Penzance, including Frasers and Pirates Rest, so you won't have to miss out on that if you're a fellow allergy kid!

And now, of course, what to do whilst you're there! My favourite, favourite thing we did was take a trip to Minack Theatre which is a stones throw away in Porthcurno. It's an entirely open air theatre, built by the badass Rowena Cade, which is built into the cliffs and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and is truly a spectacular sight. My photo doesn't show it in all its glory - hot damn do I need me a drone - but have a wee peek at it here. Of course you have to visit the famous Porthcurno beach while you're there too, where the sea is so turquoise you'll start to question whether you've actually accidentally ended up in the South of France. In and around Penzance there are lots of little cafes and shops to explore (No. 56 is one to note, it's homeware heaven), there's Jubilee Pool (we were there too early in the season to go but I've heard it's incredible in summer) and I'd also recommended taking a trip down to Mousehole for an afternoon. It's a lovely little fishing village about two miles down the road from Penzance and is the perfect place to paddle in the sea, to grab a bite to eat (FYI, Hole Foods Deli do a gluten free scone) and to buy a bag of shells to take back as a seaside memento.

And there we have it! I'm desperate to go back to explore more of the Coastline but Penzance was the perfect place to start.

Amy