England 2025- St Michael’s Mount and a touch of food poisoning

Leaving St Ives behind was difficult. It felt like a seaside town out of a fairytale, but alas we had so many things planned for the day we didn’t have the luxury of sitting at the cafe by the harbor drinking latte after latte. In my previous post I alluded to light food poisoning and how the choices we made in St Ives would come back to haunt me. Honestly, we should have skipped Penzance. We had been there before and it’s not so exciting that you need to see it more than once. I think we were both hoping that it would somehow be worth seeing with the better weather we were having this time around.  I will say this: it is worth seeing at least once if you find yourself in the area because the high street has the most unique sidewalks. The sidewalks sit quite a bit higher than the street below. You will find stairs leading from street level up to the sidewalks. I can only assume that this is because the streets flood or at least have a robust flow of water when it rains. This system might exist other places in England but I’ve never seen anything like it. 

You can see the elevated sidewalks in the background of this photo

Penzance is quite a hilly town. You must be prepared to trudge up, and keep going up as you traverse the town center. I have to say this day ended up being quite a strenuous day between the very steep hill from St Ives to the car park, Penzance and it’s hills and eventually St Michael’s Mount and it’s steep walk up an incredibly uneven rocky slope. My legs were jelly by the end of the day. 

The offending Whetherspoons in Penzance

We decided on our lunch spot- our old faithful, a Wetherspoons pub. Little did I know I was about to make a monumental mistake. We have eaten at countless Wetherspoons over the years so I didn’t think anything of it as we sat down and waited for our food to arrive. It would be at least an hour before I would feel the effects of the veggie burger but let me tell you, when it hit I was in agony.  Where was I when it finally hit you might ask? Walking up a steep path cut out of a rocky island. You will all understand me when I say that when the sweats started I was fighting for my life. This is why there isn’t a single photo from said steep walkway. It was taking everything in me to not pass out while simultaneously soiling myself and vomiting. I spent a lot of time on the side of the path holding on to the occasional railing just taking deep breaths. By this point I was nowhere near a bathroom, I was committed to this hike. Fortunately for me this potential accident waiting to happen was coming and going in waves. 

*not my photo!! I had to find photos of this part of the walk up to the castle online. 

*not my photo! Had to find one online. This was just the first part of the hike up. It eventually turns to the right and you practically scale boulders. This walk isn’t for the faint of heart or those with light food poisoning

The cramps would let up, the sweats would stop and I could continue the hike up to the castle that we hadn’t been able to visit the last time we were on the island. Let me back up to a time just before the bubble guts arrived. I was still in ignorant bliss as we parked and made our way along the beach to the causeway which leads to the Mount. The tide was in on our previous trip so we couldn’t walk the causeway. Looking back now I am grateful for the bad weather the first time. I was really disappointed because I’d always dreamed of walking the causeway but the little ferry to the island was such a cool experience and now I’m able to say I’ve experienced both forms of transport to the island. 

Our first time in 2023 on top- 2025 on the bottom

The causeway is made up large granite cobblestones. For the most part they are smooth but at no time should you walk without looking down at your feet. These stones are a twisted ankle waiting to happen. Be prepared with very sensible shoes if you plan on walking your way along both the causeway and the path to the castle. 

Because of the poor weather our first time on the island we experienced it with just a handful of other people. This time around it was very crowded. The weather was truly spectacular and it brought out the crowds. If your only opportunity to see St Michaels Mount is during peak season don’t let the crowds dissuade you, but if you can go during the off or shoulder season I highly recommend it. It’s nowhere near as nice when you’re dodging people at every turn. 

I will never forget the first time I laid eye on St Michaels Mount. When we arrived in 2023 the view was moody. The castle was grey against more grey. The sky, the sea, all of it grey. Sometimes it was obscured behind clouds but the thing that remained was the absence of color. I was impressed when I saw it then but nothing could prepare me for seeing it on a sunny day. The clouds this time were light and fluffy. Suddenly there was green from the algae, soft reds and browns of the granite, and blue from the sky, things we did not get to see the first time. 

2023 on the top, 2025 on the bottom

At this time I was still enthusiastic. I had yet to experience the rumblings still to come. The causeway was everything I imagined it to be. I tried so hard to just be in the moment. This walkway is old, very old. Pilgrims, traders and visitors have been walking the causeway since 1425. Six hundred years of history was below my feet. I really try to keep those facts at the forefront of my mind when we’re visiting England. To put one foot in front of another knowing people have been doing this very thing for centuries is awe inspiring. I genuinely get a little high off of things like that.

We got to the island- walked through the gift shops but left the souvenirs behind. The steep trek beckoned us. I was already at a disadvantage on this little hike. First of all my husband is tall with long legs- his stride is easily double mine, and second he is much fitter than I am. Even when I was running and hiking regularly he could still go double my pace and not be winded. I have gotten in the habit of telling him just to go ahead and not wait, it’s too much pressure on me if he slows himself down and besides he doesn’t need to see me fighting for breath. I have my pride after all. 

With that I told him to please go ahead, so off he went two steps at a time leaving me in the dust. I was grateful for that because once the rumblings began I wanted to suffer alone. I’m also incredibly grateful that everyone that passed by was too busy looking down at their own feet to notice what I was doing on the side of the path. 

The castle finally came into view and at this point the pains subsided. One of the amazing things about St Michael’s Mount is it is still owned and inhabited by the family that purchased the property in 1659. They run visitor operations in partnership with The National Trust, but the family and staff still live in the castle or in one of the few cottages on the island. What a privilege it is to call a historic castle your home. This fact means that parts of the castle are closed to the public. Frankly I was surprised by how much of the castle was open to the public to wander freely in. We wound our way through narrow staircases, into small rooms and eventually made our way out onto the roof. The views from the roof were spectacular. If I hadn’t been feeling so awful I would have loved to have stayed up there for a lot longer than we did. Eventually we made our way back into the house with a quick pit stop into the chapel. 

Very cool map of the area on the side of one of the houses on the island 

Beautiful row of houses for the staff on the island 

I remember very little of the inside of the castle or the chapel. I did manage to take a photo of a ceiling and one photo inside the chapel due to the fact that the pains had returned. It was time for us to make haste back to the car. 

I was truly disappointed that we were going to have to skip the last thing we had planned for the day. We originally intended to end the day by driving out to Land’s End. We went there on our previous trip but the visibility was awful and we couldn’t actually see the famous coastline and cliffs. Maybe one day we’ll be able to see the view, but I can at least say I have been there even if it was just a big bank of clouds.

Lucky for me we made it back to the flat in Newquay in good time before my stomach issues became an embarrassing story. I’ve never been so happy to lock myself away in a bathroom. Did this stop me from eating Whetherspoons the rest of the trip? It did not. 

A well deserved rest in my favorite spot in the flat

Sunset that night

One of the things I miss is ending our days in Newquay in that penthouse flat with a full view of the most glorious sunsets. I knew in the moment that I needed to memorize every detail of our time in that flat. It has gone into my memory bank and I have closed my eyes and called on it many times since.