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Above: Live from St. Ives!
Blog 5:
St. Ives, Cornwall, England, UK
2022 Part 1
St. Ives, or as I call it, my dream "Home away from Home." I knew, planning this trip, that I wanted ocean views while visiting Cornwall. Being a peninsula, the options were endless. What I ended up choosing was, St. Ives. Why, may you ask? Let me tell you or better yet just look at the pictures. St. Ives is the English Carribean. The city of St. Ives is located on an isthmus, almost at the Southernmost point of England. For those not familiar with geography, that is a narrow strip of land connecting two large land areas otherwise separated by bodies of water. While the water isn't quite as warm as the Caribbean, it does become host to some happy surfers, boat enthusiasts, fishermen, dog lovers, and an array of wildlife to boot! I had wanted ocean views, however, I never expected to feel the sprays of the ocean mist when the tide came in at night.
Since we arrived in October, I wasn't about to jump in the water to test the temperature. The air was still around 71 degrees Fahrenheit, but the surfers were wearing wet suits. Now knowing that we were looking out at the open ocean, meant that the water temperature generally didn't fluctuate anywhere near what I'd swim in. It was not my speed whatsoever. I'm far more for the shallow snorkeling waters Aruba, hovering in at 86 degrees. That nice surfer and the adorable golden retriever could enjoy the salty sea without me. Coming off the main road from Tintagel, we began heading South through Cornwall, our small black Citroen guiding Nick and me to our destination for the next two nights.
The roads were strewn with Palm trees and other exotic plants out on Patios and scattered on the streets. It was confusing, to say the least, as though I stepped through a vortex that took me out of the mild English countryside and into a tropical oasis. The streets unlike the small town of Tintagel, were booming throughout the city of St. Ives. Children were crossing the street, on their way to school. Local dog walkers with troves of pups on multiple leads crossed the street in search of a cappuccino. While it may have been the morning and most were off to work, there wasn't traffic as one would expect. Even in a small state such as Rhode Island had more traffic than Cornwall. The clever roundabouts, while known to us in Lil Rhody, have been essential to the English traffic routines since 1909, when the first was introduced to Letchworth Garden City. But unlike most historical anecdotes that have England leading us in engineering advances, we came in for the win on this one. While it took until the beginning of the 20th century for England use roundabouts, we as Americans have been using them since the 18th century.
A Mr. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, was a chief engineer and city planner. He was notably referred to as the designer of Washington D.C. roadways. He came to America from France, during the American Revolution to fight against the British. He, of course, stayed after the war was over, having fallen in love with our new country. While Thomas Jefferson proposed a smaller city plan for our government, Monsieur L'Enfant had other plans. He came to the President with something more elaborate, but also with the intention of creating something more inclusive. While Jefferson's plans were fine, they failed to incorporate those whom he so diligently expressed concern and love for in his declaration. L'Enfant wanted parks spread throughout his design, welcoming green spaces for relaxation. This would end up becoming the National Mall. A place where all men (women, children) could equally enjoy a walk through his beautiful city as he had envisioned. Unfortunately, he was never paid for his work or given credit for his designs. When he died, the etched plans were given over to the city surveyor, Andrew Ellicot, who made a few adjustments to his own likings and created the city we know today. This must have been one of the reasons, we don't get along with the French.
Now back to the roundabouts!
L'Enfant came up with the circular design calling them Traffic Circles to allow effortless movement of traffic around the city. With the population in America growing, it was most assuredly in need of some structure. With horses and buggies clopping around the city, he thought by making the turns wider, he would allow even flow and less chance of injury due to toppling carriages or worse, collisions. Especially with all that horsepower. Yes, my jokes are amazing.
While we had the first roundabout, the English ran with the idea and placed them everywhere. Aside from the major streets in London and other large cities, we saw, for the most part, small circular structures in the middle of the road. So small that we almost had to drove directly over them to continue on. I'm not quite sure why some of the roundabouts are forty feet in diameter and others are the size of hubcaps. But at least, the Brits know the purpose of a good roundabout and use them accordingly. This was coming from a tourist though, don't take my word for it, ask a Brit.
When we arrived at our Airbnb, or rather, the street that it was located on, Nick pulled over and we both went out to stare at the buildings. This was a beautiful site. Now, let me be clear, at this point, we weren't trying to take in the architecture. In all reality, we were lost and trying to locate the building our apartment was in. With all the homes, built on a hill, stacked on top of one another, they all started to look alike. Not to mention, when you're looking at it for the first time. Luckily, just then, a balding man with a round belly lying horizontally at the window of his apartment, one looking down at us from the second floor about the shops directly ahead screamed, "Are you lost?"
We nodded, as we most certainly were. I shouted up the name of the apartments and without sitting up he pointed to the building to our immediately left. We waved a thank you and left the man imitating an image from the Sistine Chapel to do whatever it is he was doing previously.
20221005_143510.mp4Our apartment was located down a cobblestone alleyway. It was located under another apartment that made a sort of bridge overhead. You have to appreciate older towns for their use of space. St. Ives is one of the oldest towns in England, the history of the Cornish language, similar to the Welsh, can still be heard here. The town was a very popular trading port with its proximity to Continental Europe. The brief walk, under the darkened overhang, led us to a building that had several apartments off-shooting from our own. Since this apartment was rented by an individual and not a fancy hotel, we didn't know what we were in for. The room was 250 pounds a night, but worth it being situated on the water with two balconies. Having oceanfront views, a washer and dryer, a full kitchen, a decent bathroom (if it were a camper) a small living room and a bedroom was fine with us. Honestly, I could have lived there with no problem. St. Ives is the not kind of place that you would want to spend all day inside your apartment. It's meant to be strolled throughout. Its beaches beckon to be walked upon. Its mysteries are buried in the sand. While the tide is up, the water can be rough and wild, but while the tide is out, you can explore the. Fishing boats and pleasure boats alike dock in his water. They lay anchor and then wait for the tide to come back in so that they can venture out once more. The goodies you can find on a beach can date back to early man. Shoreline Detectives, a British series we have come to love, investigates English beaches for archaeological finds. Using ground-penetrating drones and other technological advances in scientific equipment, marine archaeologists can tell the history of land once overrun by wildlife and vast forests that are now harbors and ancient shorelines. In Merseyside, archaeologists came across footprints under the sand of early man, dating back to 5,000 years ago. Unfortunately, once they are revealed, they are only in view for a day and then washed away forever. But how marvelous is that!
The town of St. Ives is named for the Irish Saint, Ia. While she was an evangelist and a martyr, she was also considered to be an Irish Princess and sister to Erc of Slane. The Church of Saint Ives was built by King Henry V in her honor and consecrated in 1434. It is just another example of history that is well and alive today.
After unpacking out few items for the next two days, we stumbled around town. Quite literally, with streets dating back to 500 AD, it's easy to trip over the uneven stones laid out between the narrow alleyways. Some of the streets are designated for driving and others are purely for walking. Partially for the safety of the visitors and residents alike. While some streets may be so narrow that you may think it inconceivable to drive down, Nick somehow twisted our car around each bend of the ancient roads. He desperately tried to avoid the oncoming cars driving directly at us up a one-way road, and luckily did. As with old towns, one can find themselves in a maze of streets. With one-way streets directing us through the main sectors of the town, it took us a few times to get the lay of the land. Exploring a bit, we found liquor shops, co-ops, artisan galleries, and an array of restaurants. Once you reached the top tier of the maze, you were met with a vast ocean view, looking down from the hill as though you were a God playing chess and each building your pawn. The streets either led to a highway that connected the other booming towns of Cornwall or could lead to the other side of the Isthmus where the popular Porthmeor beach resides. While they also boast the Porthgwidden, the Balmaluz and the St. Ives Harbor where our apartment looked out over, the Porthmeor was by the most spectacular of all. Aside from being the largest of the beaches its fun fare was non-compare.
While being the most known for surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, and tourists tanning on the beach, this is also a hot spot known throughout Cornwall as a favorite among locals. With views from your favorite restaurants to stay cool while taking in the sights, it's a beach you are not soon to forget, and nor will I.
The dinner we had planned for the evening was at none other than Rum and Crab Shack. I saw this restaurant when I booked our apartment and I have to say, I largely booked the apartment, one, for the view and two, for the fact that we needed only to walk about 100 feet and we were at this Pirate-Themed Restaurant! I love the stories and romanticized view of pirates. Primarily from the Golden Age of Piracy which only lasted about 40 years! Privateers or legal pirates were brought about by the crown hoping to employ its citizens to take hold of goods in transport on the sea by their enemies. By depleting their supplies, they would no longer have the capital to continue fighting. These merchants had their properties seized but were not killed or made to walk the plank. They were let go, once relieved of their holdings. Eventually, as with all good bedtime stories come to an end, privateers were scapegoated by the crown to other foreign governments and eventually criminalized. They, in turn, became rebellious against the crown making them actual pirates. Now I get to talk about something I've been dying to since I began this particular blog.
Pirates, as many of you would picture, were seamen from all different parts of the world who plundered ships, brutalized innocent civilians, and robbed the merchants who dared to cross their path with any sort of wealth. I could talk on this topic all day long, but instead, I will give you a list of my favorite fiction and non-fiction pirate stories at the bottom of the page.
While there are a few notable pirates known to Cornwall, what was insanely common in St. Ives was smuggling. To avoid paying taxes to the crown, boats were robbed of their belongings and then the merchandise was sold on the shore, for a bit less than what they would through general importation. There, the purchaser got a deal, the smuggler who paid nothing for the goods, made out like a bandit, because they were bandits. The only one hurting was the merchant whose ship was raided. So not seafaring pirates as one would expect, but indeed pirates. Hence, digital pirating makes sense, right? Millions to make a movie and content is stolen to avoid the ticket price. This causes the studios to lose money and in turn, the ticket prices go up. Life lesson, pay the ticket price!
As this day has gone on long enough, I will end this blog here and continue our Cornwall adventure next week when we explore the abandoned tin and copper mines of Cornwall!
For True Accounting of Pirates: The Wager by David Grann; Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas by Laura Sook Duncombe; Pirates Latitudes by Michael Crighton and In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Dark, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
For mischievous dealings on ships: The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn by Robert P. Watson, A Haunting in the Arctic,
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