Live the idyllic life of Mr Toad
Boltholes with gorgeous locations, literary links and delicious food: This part of England is like a whole other country, writes
ISteve McKenna.
rarely sleep on overnight trains. And the Night Riviera Sleeper – which spirits through the darkness from London Paddington to Penzance – was no exception.
But feeling mildly dazed and slightly confused is worth it, and perhaps rather apt, for I’ve arrived in Cornwall, a stunningly picturesque part of Britain that late, great poet Sir John Betjeman described as ‘‘like another country’’.
In any case, I’m confident I’ll catch up on my beauty sleep over the next five days as I road-trip around this dreamy region.
As well as boasting its own Celtic language (Kernowek), flag (white cross on black), and cinematic landscapes that you may have admired in TV hits, Poldark and Doc Martin, Cornwall has a charming array of hotels, resorts and guesthouses that leave travellers refreshed and refuelled.
The Godolphin Arms is a fine example. It nestles above a tidal bay, 8km from Penzance in Marazion, a quaint, artsy south Cornish village that, with its whitewashed buildings and palm-like trees, wouldn’t look out place in the Mediterranean.
My room – one of 10 suites in this family-run boutique property – is about six times larger than my solo train sleeper cabin. I’m also chuffed with the cosy king-size bed, the chorus of gently breaking waves, and the mesmerising view – through the round captain’s-porthole-style window – of St Michael’s Mount. Looming a few hundred metres offshore, this medieval abbey-fortress island is the Cornish counterpart of France’s Mont St Michel (they both flourished during the reign of William the Conqueror).
Now National Trust-managed, it’s accessible by ferry at high tide, or a brick causeway at low tide. After a restorative night’s shut-eye, and a tasty ‘‘full Cornish’’ on the Arms’ bayside terrace (regionally sourced bacon, pork sausage, tomato, portobello mushroom, sauteed potato, scrambled eggs, and buttery toast, with a flat white), I make the crossing on foot and roam the multi-storied abbey and its canon-dotted ramparts, invigorated by the mild weather, salty air and coastal panoramas.
My next abode – The Cornwall Hotel, Spa & Estate – can’t match the Godolphin Arms for sea vistas, but it’s beautifully positioned, enshrouded by 17 tranquil hectares of parkland and woodland near St Austell, an hour or so’s drive from Marazion. It’s a springboard for my trips to the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan – two of the region’s most enchanting flora-blessed attractions.
While The Cornwall’s core is 19th century – it’s set in a stately manor house – it sports a slick contemporary makeover and extension. I stay in one of the spacious, wood-fronted, selfcatering lodges behind the main property, and soak up the sunshine and birdsong from my balcony while a rabbit scampers around the garden below.
Guests can unwind in the hotel’s infinity pool and receive pampering treatments in the wellness centre, which occupies the estate’s converted stables. The Cornwall’s Elephant Bar & Brasserie is big on local ingredients, serving dishes such as Cornish crab cakes, roast rump of Cornish lamb, and fillet of Cornish hake.
Good locally sourced food is one