Watergate Bay and a Monumental Mushroom.

On Sunday, friend Eve and I decided to take a trip further afield. It's tempting to head straight to Godrevy to walk, but I had heard good things about Holywell Bay, and also that there was an excellent and easy walk from Porth to Watergate Bay.  As they are in the same direction from us we decided to go for a mini magical mystery tour.  Plus, Watergate Bay is famous for Surfing, Extreme Sports and Jamie Oliver, but also for The Beach Hut, which sounds to me like it should be clapper-board and quaint, serving steaming hot chocolate, and lobsters grilled in butter on an open barbecue.  I wanted to check it out.

Holywell Bay in Autumn is a big empty beach.  It is huge, and has a little stream running across it, so I should think it's excellent for birds and wild-life.  Access isn't easy and involved a climb over dunes, and I should think it makes a welcome respite from the commercialism of Newquay, but on Sunday there wasn't much to hold us.  No cafe, and both the pub and the two shops appeared to be locked down for Winter. It would be excellent for walking but we'd already decided on the Porth to Watergate Bay walk so headed that way rather than lingering.

Porth is a nice little beach.  Very accessible, and I can imagine it attracts older folk, and maybe families with young children, but for us it was a place to park.  We'd planned on coffee at Porth but again were thwarted by out-of-seasonitis.  The ice-cream hut only offered instant coffee (the devil's own work) or ice-cream.  Brownie points for Callestick Ice-cream - in my opinion the best of Cornish. The friendly ice-cream man said he thought the walk was 'about half an hour, but he'd never done it'.  Clearly - as an hour later we were standing above Watergate Bay, looking down on it in all its glory.  No complaints about that.  It was another dazzling Cornish Autumn day, and we were walking in T-Shirts (and jeans, obviously) in the warm sunshine. We saw this fabulous mushroom.  In the years before health and safety I'd have picked it, and fried it in butter, but now I'm too scared for such recklessness, so I just took a photo.

So to The Beach Hut.  It isn't covered in clapperboard, and it doesn't serve barbecued lobster on the beach - not in November anyway.  In fact, it's quite posh, and people reserve tables, and I am not sure it should be  reviewed in a cafe blog.  When is a cafe a restaurant?  I think I am going to have to pursue this line of enquiry and would welcome any thoughts.  We had burgers, they were excellent, and the straw fries were as good as Chez Guerard, and that is high praise indeed from an ex-Londoner. We sat outside in the sunshine watching the surfers across Watergate bay, which really does deserve all the eulogies.  I remember it in the 60's and 70's when it wasn't built up at all, and it was always this amazing breath-taking view as one swept along the coast road between Newquay and Padstow.  The view is still there.  I can't help thinking it's a shame its become so popular, but it's good for business, and it was cheering to see a busy Cafe as a contrast to all the closed places.  The coffee was good too, and even the choice of music (the Zutons) fitted in with the lazy Sunday afternoon feel of the occasion.  A brisk walk back to the car did only take half an hour.  Strange that, must have been downhill.

Sunset Surf and a Katherine Jenkins-loving Westie

What a lovely weekend it has been, despite the lack of cake.  Headed for Gwithian. The car park is free in Winter, and was packed and the sea thick with surfers.  The waves looked amazing from the terrace of the Sunset Surf cafe, the gold of the sun reflecting on the curl of the waves as they broke. I wandered along the Dunes for a while, but I'm a bit wary of wandering too deep into the dunes on my own.  I once got a litle bit lost walking from Hayle to Gwithian across the Dunes on a very hot day.  They dip and dive, and paths criss-cross through the  peaks and troughs.  There were some very dodgy people about and I stumbled upon two men pulling up their trousers and looking very shifty.  It occurred to me at that point that one could be attacked and left to rot and probably never be found in amongst the dunes.  It frightened the bejeesus out of me. It was a very hot day, and I didn't have any water, and I might have been slightly delirious. 
Yesterday was altogether less terrifying.  A potter across the Dunes, and on to the beach, followed by a couple of hours sitting outside the Sunset Surf Cafe in the sun, with a cup of coffee, a bowl of good chips, and my note-book. Pretty fine.  They thoughtfully provide a web-cam so see here  http://www.sunset-surf.com/Surf-Check and share the love.
On the way home, I popped into the Clubhouse Cafe in Gwinear to see Annette, half-hoping for Carribean Cake, but was distracted by tales of a Westie that loves Katherine Jenkins.  Apparently every time the Westie hears her voice on the TV, he rushes to the TV, stares at her lovingly and then bursts into song.  Whilst I was laughing merrily, I found I'd been volunteered to make sausage rolls for 80 children for the village Christmas party.  I am wondering if the Westie was a diversionary tactic.

Coffee or Cake scores..which way to go

No cafe activity today. Planning a walk around Holywell Bay on Sunday and I feel sure a cafe will be involved somewhere, and very possibly lunch, so watch this space.
In the meantime I’m contemplating developing my own entirely subjective scoring system. I would be interested in any of my readers’ views about how this might work.So here’s my thinking. It could be very simple , like stars or rosettes, but with little coffee cups representing shots. So an okay place would be a single shot, a good place would be a double shot, and a splendid place would be an extra shot. Easy to administer, easy to understand, but a bit boring and probably already been done.

Or – it could be much more complicated with classifications in the labels along the lines of:

Instant Coffee                  NEVER GO THERE
Single shot Americano     OKAY
Double shot Mocha         Good but mixed
Double shot latte              Always a good choice
Extra Shot Cappucino     Brilliant
Affogato                         So good you want to move in

Tortuous, very subjective, relying entirely on my not very reliable memory and probably completely incomprehensible to anyone but me. At the moment I’m veering towards the tortuous and subjective.

Alternatively, the scoring system could be cake driven:
Bought Battenburg                    NEVER go there
Pre-pack muffin                        Okay
Bakewell tart                            Good but mixed
Carrot Cake                             Always a good choice
Millionaire’s  Shortbread           Brilliant
Deborah’s Rhubarb Cake*       So good you want to move in

*This means nothing to anyone except me, and Deborah, but suffice it to say it is the best cake I’ve ever eaten, although Annette’s Carribean Cake comes a pretty close second and you, dear reader, could try that at the Clubhouse Cafe in Gwinear. This product placement has not been paid for. (Sadly).

OR – we could go the simple but not very exciting way with cake slices. Or tiny cup-cakes. Again, I veer towards the over-complication.

I need help. I need coffee. And maybe cake.

aiee - help

Thank you people for following and commenting. I'd like to comment on your comments in a truly interactive way but for some reason, blogger won't let me.
I'm not ignoring you.  Eventually I'm sure I'll figure it out.  Or maybe someone will tell me.

Fog across the Tamar - England cut off

Only very slightly weather obsessed.  Drove down the M5 in drizzle, and through Devon in thick fog, got into Cornwall and the sun came out.  It's always good to be home. Quick trip up to Glos to see the folks - somehow always seems to involve either a Garden or a Garden Centre.  From a cafe perspective I prefer a Garden - often very good I've found, cafes at Gardens.  The RHS Garden at Harlow Carr has a branch of Betty's of Harrogate and you can't get much better than a Betty's afternoon tea. Sadly Garden Centres, in my opinion , aspire to mingle gardening and cake but often seem to fall down on delivery, with cakes that look large and self-consciously mass-produced home-made.   So this time a trip to the Garden Centre in Cirencester.  A wander around the very large collection of plants was preceded by an anodyne panini.  Next time I think we'll go to Westonbirt arboretum http://www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt and see very fine trees, and real cake.
Noteworthy tho - the Costa at Taunton Dene services.  Stopped for breakfast early-ish on Monday.  I ordered a Latte but when it came it was suspicously light.  'Are you sure this isn't a cappucino' I said to the young gal.  I opened the lid, gave it a bit of a stir, and was about to say 'this is a cappucino you know' but before I could, one of the othe Baristas said ' I've made you another latte'  I was very impressed - I hadn't complained - she'd just noticed.  I thanked her but I didn't get her name sadly.  People like to bang on about poor customer service - it's good to wave a flag for the guys that go un-noticed, so well done Costa.  If thats part of your training programme - it works, and if it's just that she's good, I hope you promote her.

A glorious Godrevy day - Sunshine, seals and Carrot cake

Today the rain is battering at my french windows, and the sun is hidden deep under cloud. It isn't cold but it certainly feels like Autumn. Most of my favourite cafes have pulled down their shutters, brought in their A frames, and double locked the doors as the half-term visitors drove away, and I guess they won't be open again now until February half-term - or perhaps even not until Easter next year.
I sympathise with why they do this, but its a shame because there are lots of us still here, and I hear there has been a late burst in visitor numbers with several of my holiday property-owning friends reporting an unexpected mid-autumn surge in bookings.
As a new resident I can fully understand that. I used to holiday out of season, and now that I live in Cornwall, Autumn is still my favourite time of the year. Take last weekend for instance. The sky was blue brilliance, the sun shining with enthusiasm, the air crisp and clear and the sea shifting between turquoise and deep dark green with high white water sending spray up into the sun-light.  I had been busy all week and been deprived of quality sea time so when I awoke early (for a saturday ) to a beautiful day, I segued from being asleep to being on the beach with barely a breath in between.
The bottom car park at Godrevy was empty again and the nice men from the National Trust have left us until next season, so I parked there and meandered along the cliff top to the far beach steps, clambered over rocks and poked in pools, sat on a particularly fine boulder looking out to sea and thought, with gratitude and not for the first time, 'I live here'.  It is such a privilege and constant delight, and I hope that I will never take it for granted, or stop being breathless at the views across St Ives bay, or from Godrevy up the coast towards Porthtowan and beyond.
Another benefit of this time of year is the resident seal population, who take up their rightful place in their cove cleverly chosen for its inaccessibility to anyone but seals, from either land or sea.  They won't be crept up upon by humans or killer whales in this little cove.  On saturday I counted 100 - so allowing for missing some and double-counting others, I think that's a fairly accurate count.
After a happy couple of hours bumbling around I was in need of a restoring cup of coffee and a piece of cake.  Fortunately the Godrevy cafe is one that does stay open all year round, and I headed back to the car,and the cafe - both of which are in the bottom car-park.
Godrevy cafe cakes all look lovely -and I had in mind to have some carrot cake.  I was almost diverted by the gluten-free brownies or the apricot oatie slice, but stuck to my original thought and ordered  an americano and piece of carrot cake, and tray in hand, went up the outside wooden staircase to the terrace which overlooks Gwithian beach.  Sadly the carrot cake was a bit of a disappointment.  It's usually very good, and I wondered if they had had a new cook making the cakes last weeek.  The cake was a bit too thick in texture - almost rubbery, rather than rich, light and moist as a fine carrot cake should be.  The topping was unsatisfactory too.  It was a plain icing, not a cream cheese or marscapone based topping, so the contrast between cake and topping that makes carrot cake such an enduring favourite was lost.  Shame - I have had excellent carrot cake at Godrevy previously so I hope it was just a blip.  The coffee was lovely, and the cake was edible, just not excellent.  It was a mildly imperfect end to a perfect morning walk - but nothing could spoil the beauty of the day, and I will certainly go back to Godrevy cafe.  I'll probably go for the brownie next time tho!

A heavenly breakfast at hellsmouth

October 15th and still warm and muggy here in West Cornwall.  Yesterday the day was mostly misty with the mist burning off to sunny skies late afternoon but on this bright Saturday morning the mist had cleared away early and the air feels bright and spring-like.  Riddled with cold, I'd spent most of yesterday in bed but that isn't possible today - it's too warm and sunny, and the beach was calling. Popped into the local nursery en route to buy cheerful cyclamen and little pink autumn daisies to cheer up the Court-yard pots, and then into the Surgery for a less cheerful flu jab. One of Cornwall's very few disadvantages is that its not so good for asthmatics - even mild sufferers like me - and last winter was blighted for me by three months of cold & flu symptoms so I am keen to avoid that.
Eventually got to Godrevy with the intention of a short walk and then breakfast at the excellent cafe at Godrevy but sadly I was just one of hundreds with the same idea, and the cafe car-park was full.  I drove up to the top car-park, thinking I could park and walk back along the coast to the cafe, but realised the flu jab was starting to impact, so I just gazed at the sea looking glorious under the blue sky for a few minutes.  I have to top up my Godrevy reserves when I'm busy doing other things and don't have time for a daily visit.  Fortunately we Godrevy lovers have a choice of three easy access cafes, so I simply drove along to Hellsmouth where there is a big car-park and easy access to the cliff path as well as the lovely cafe.
After a five minute viewing of the view I went down to the cafe where fortunately they serve breakfast til 12.  This is particularly welcome at a weekend when we want a really leisurely start to the day.  I actually ordered at 11:55 so only just made it.  As it was so close to lunch time I might have tried the Cafe's chowder which sounds delicious. Every time I go there I'm tempted and I'm sure one day the timing will be exactly right - but today I was after breakfast.  The menu offers a good choice of different breakfast options and sensibly offers two size options of the traditional breakfast.  I went for the girly heavenly breakfast which is quite huge enough - two slices of bacon, a good sausage, egg, tomato and mushrooms served with white or granary toast. Its all good quality ingredients and very tasty though I would prefer the bacon and the sausage a little more cooked. They were both cooked through but I veer towards the slightly burnt and crispy.  I'm sure if I'd mentioned that the very helpful owners would have obliged and I must remember to do so next time. I never seem to have room for cake when I go to HellsMouth which is a terrible shame because the cake is delicious.  Today there was a bakewell tart and that is just too irresistible so I brought some home and I'll have it later for tea.   Sadly by the time I was half way through breakfast the flu jab was really starting to take effect and I changed my original plan - which was to walk back towards Godrevy and take in the air and the sights and sounds and smells of the ocean - and decided another quiet day would after all be more sensible.
Lucky me though that I live here and can come back to this beautiful place whenever I choose.

cafes cafes all around nor any time to drink

So much for a regular cafe update.  It must be several weeks since my last blog following a lovely lunch in Perranuthnoe. THINGS have happened - diverting me from the important pursuits of walking,and sitting, and thinking, and drinking tea. So since Perranuthnoe I've managed only two true cafe visits, two (or three) campus canteeen visits, two restaurants and one very lovely pub. But the parameters are set - this is a blog about cafes.  Not for me to review restaurants and pubs - a subject covered many times and with great enthusiasm by others more august (and more read.)  The driving force behind this blog is the excellence of cafes in Cornwall, and my personal preference for them.  As an aspiring writer I like to think in cafes.  The actual process of writing often takes place in silence, sometimes in the middle of the night - but the thinking and working out and the chewing of pencils is helped by the hub-bub of life milling around and about me, and postively uplifted by a fine home-made soup or a piece of cake.

So - last week my good book-club friend Donna & I discovered a shared love of gardens.  Living in West Cornwall I'm often distracted from other beauties by the sheer unadulterated glorious wildness of the coast line, and my default is to set out from Godrevy and walk to Hellsmouth or to potter along the shore line, paddling preferably, either bare foot or in wellies, when the cold gets too extreme and my ankles start to freeze solid.  Finding someone with a shared interest then was a great impetus to go discover more of West Cornwall's bounty.  WE decided to go to Trengwainton - our nearest National Trust property - and as neither of us had been before  it was the obvious choice.  The gardens are spectacular and after three or four hours wandering around a cup of tea was in order.  Cafes at National Trust properties are very reliable these days in my experience, and like Doctor Who, I always look for the little shop and the cafe before leaving. The Cafe at Trengwainton is no exception, with welcoming friendly staff, a chalk board rich with appetising dishes sounding, looking and smelling lovely and an array of home-made cakes and desserts.
Sitting outside in the walled garden, basking in the warm late September sun Donna & I tucked into tea and cakes - for me a really good scone, soft and crumbly but holding its shape under a good spread of  butter & very good jam (no cream on this occasion) and for Donna a thick brownie - soft , chewy and with good chunks of chocolate.

Last week felt like true holiday for me.  Having decided to go to Uni in Falmouth the beginning-of-term feeling I always get in September was literal this year -so the trip to Trengwainton was the first day of a short holiday before term started, blessed with incredible summer weather that most of the country has been revelling in (and talking about of course, this being England).  So on Sunday - the most fabulous of days, friend Eve & I walked from The Lizard to Kynance Cove - one of my favourite walks from many spectacular options down here. I felt quite envious of Eve because it was her first time, and I remember how blown away I was just last May when I did the walk for the first time - also on a sunny day when the sun on the water sparkles like no place else on earth.  We parked at The Lizard and walked to Kynance equipped with water-bottles and swimming costumes and arrived to find Kynance at the perfect point between high tide and low tide.  Still in enough to experience the slow reveal  as the tide sweeps back to reveal the magical beach in its full glory but far enough out to see the Cove taking shape   WE couldn't resist the water - clear, a little cold, but too enticing to ignore so a swim - however brief - was a necessary action.  Followed by another NT cafe - where the food is simple but appropriate.  Hearty pasties - each enough to feed several people, freshly baked baguettes, burgers made from local organic meat, and more home-made cake.  I felt a pasty was in order after all the walking and swimming but then remembered the last time I'd had one I'd shared it with two other people - so for me a bit too huge. Also not too sure of its provenance - I think it contained lumps of minced meat - and I think my cornish friends would say it should be blade steak. But tasty and sustaining enough for more swimming and the walk back to the Lizard.  We had intended to have supper at the very excellent Porthpear cafe on Lizard Point but lunch still felt too recent so we had ice-cream instead and promised ourselves that we would return another time to Polpear to  watch the sun go down over the sparkling silver sea, and to eat fresh caught fish and Jubilee meringue....

Peppercorn Kitchen Perranuthnoe

A trip out to a vintage market in Praa Sands led to a visit to Prussia Cove and inevitably to a discussion about lunch.  Full Sunday Roast at the Victoria Inn (and anyway - would we get in???) or a bite to eat at the lovely cafe in Perranuthnoe.  At the point of the discussion it was warm and sunny, and I wanted a paddle - so the cafe won.
Pouring with rain by the time we reached Perranuthnoe, we abandoned the paddle plan, and headed straight for the Peppercorn Kitchen Cafe. Knew it by repute but it was my first visit.  It's light and airy with light imaginative food to match - and very reasonable.  I had homemade ginger and lemongrass cordial which was delicious - not too gingery but enough to add interest, and a bowl of bangladeshi dahl with light tasty homemade naan bread, my friend had thai crab cakes from the Specials board which were also very good - just the right balance of thai flavours with a good salsa and salad accompaniment. I'm sure I'll be going back and taking the many friends and relations who visit me here in the far west from time to time.

Cafe Shorts at Home and Away

The Cafe Shorts premise.  Based in West Cornwall where good food rules. Pretty much all restaurants claim local sourcing/seasonal produce.  Standards are high BUT restaurant eating out is expensive - close to or exceeding London prices.  As an ex-londoner/cornish holiday maker turned Cornish resident I now prefer the many excellent cafes dotted across Cornwall and this blog is a way of recording the Cornish Cafe experience.  Will also tweet as Cafe Shorts and will signal HOME for Cornwall and AWAY for anywhere across the Tamar.  Just my opinion of course

Been away from lovely West Cornwall for a few days.
Cafe Shorts away summary:
Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. Tubby's at Wyevale Garden Centre. Breakfast two days running. Splendid food; Laughable (in my humble opinion) service - a long treasured feature of the Tubbys experience.

Francos - somewhere near Saltaire, Bradford. Italian-Polish cafe - local favourite. Seemed Okay.

Bruccianos - Morecombe. Must Visit experience - not just retro BUT actually 1930's art deco.  Had to have a peach melba to get the full experience. Banana splits and knickerbocker glorys also feature. Proper italian ice-cream and fabulous decor.

Roundhay Park Leeds - Cafe next to the tropical house. Pretty much what I'd expect from a municipal cafe - expectations were low and were not exceeded .

HOME again home again on Monday 29th and up to the Clubhouse Cafe at Gwinear Pitch & Putt - likely to feature frequently in this blog.  Lovely home-made lentil & bacon soup with a hot roll and a warm welcome from Annette & Tim.  Declaring an interest - they're my pals - but they give a warm wlecome to everyone.