England 2023- Porth Beach

 Our hotel in Newquay (Porth Veor Manor Hotel) was situated right on a lovely fine sand beach. We were only there for 2 nights so we were very lucky to have a window of good weather in which to explore the beach and gather seashells. Upon our return from Tintagel earlier that day Daniel decided to stay in the room and take a nap while I decided to take advantage of both the good weather and the fact that our hotel had a private path that lead directly to the beach. 

I mentioned in my previous post how much this part of Cornwall reminded me of central and north coastal California. Walking along this beach I felt completely at home.  It just felt like familiar territory, which is a nice experience when you are somewhere completely new and sometimes feeling like a fish out of water. I have always felt completely comfortable in England but there’s just something about familiarity that makes you feel even more at ease. 

I was on the beach with a very specific mission in mind. My Aunt, who is also an Anglophile but sadly has never made it over the pond asked me to get her a shell from a Cornish beach. As I combed over the beach I had a lovely chat with a local about what a nice day it turned out to be. He asked if I was collecting shells and wanted to know where I was from. He wished me a nice holiday and I went on with a little bounce in my step. 

Cornwall surfers

View of the beach from our room. Right after I left the beach to go back to our room it was socked in with fog. The weather in England is very changeable 

My short time on Porth Beach was so freeing- as I mentioned previously it was just so nice to be in a place that felt familiar. It’s part of the reason why Cornwall was so hard to leave when the time came. Both of us just felt like we knew it and had total comfort in the area, in particular the western side of the peninsula. Now I understand the draw to the place, and why it has become such a sought after place to live- it’s special and unique in England. 

Our time in Cornwall came to a close in what felt like a blink of an eye and it was time for us to get on the road to explore new places. I got up early that morning and left Daniel to stay in bed and I had a solo breakfast in the hotel’s beautiful breakfast room. As much I love to be alone I don’t like to be alone for meals in restaurants, so when I first sat down I felt a bit uncomfortable and anxious. I feel like people feel the need to chat with solo people and when I’m outside of my comfort zone my shyness takes center stage and I really don’t like being talked to by strangers. So it was with trepidation that I sat down at the table- I tried to have my ‘please don’t talk to me” face on. I don’t want to be rude, but I really just want to be alone with my thoughts. Thankfully everyone around me seemed to be in deep conversation with whoever was at their table so no one felt the need to interrupt my peace. It was a great start to what turned out to be an absolutely fantastic day…

We had a date with a cathedral and I for one was absolutely buzzing!

Beautiful casement window in our room at night 

The incredibly steep stairs to the floor with our room. 

My solo breakfast