Day 6 - Padstow

Beer drunk: 1 pint, Distance walked: not a lot

Today I journeyed from London to Padstow so spent most of my time sitting about.  The weather in London was foul.  Top of 13C and when it wasn't raining there were showers.  Luckily it is lovely here in Cornwall.  Clear blue skies, barely any wind and a pleasant temperature of about 18C or so.  I have a nasty suspicion it isn't going to last.

Stage one of the journey was a train to Bodmin Parkway.  In the seat next to me was a squirmy toddler.  Her mother sat across the aisle and one row up.  Why me?  I'm not sure if the toddler was more active than the normal one, but I wouldn't be surprised.  The mother fed it crisps (cheese and onion from the smell), jelly babies and a neon orange sports drink.

Bodmin Parkway station is plonked down in the middle of Bodmin moor for no obvious reason.  The nearest town in a few miles away.  I had the option of taking a taxi, but since I'm cheap and the weather was pleasant I waited 40 minutes for the "connecting" local bus.  This is a very doggy-friendly country.  Three different people got on the bus with their dogs, without it raising a single complaint from any one.  I also saw people waiting at other bus stops with their dogs.  It is obviously considered a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

My B&B here is a tall, narrow house overlooking the harbour.  The owner lives on the ground floor, my bathroom (shared between all the guests) is on the half landing, the owner has the 1st floor also and there are two guest bedrooms at the top.  My is at the back while the one at the front with the harbour view is vacant.  Not sure why I didn't rate that but I'm not complaining.  It is wonderfully peaceful - just the noise of seagulls - and my bed is comfortable.  My bed at the Harlingford was a little on the firm side.  I discovered when I was packing that the base is a home-made job constructed out of particle board with the mattress put on top.  No wonder there wasn't much give.

I got to Padstow about 4pm and went for a potter about the village before dinner.  Not really all that picturesque and overrun by Rick Stein.  As well as the restaurant, there is the bistro and the takeaway fish&chip shop, plus the Rick Stein patissiere, Rick Stein deli and Rick Stein gift shop.  There are probably are other Rick Stein-isms but I didn't spot them.  An obvious gap in the market is the lack of a Rick Stein gelateria as ice-cream is a big thing here.  I didn't set foot in any of them.

My lunch was a sandwich and a small tub of fruit salad from a Marks&Sparks outlet at Paddington station.   The prices raised my eyebrows even before converting from pounds to dollars.  As for the taste, the less said the better.

On getting to Padstow I remedied the situation with an scoop of ginger ice-cream made with real Cornish cream.  I also had my first cream tea - pleasant though I couldn't tell the difference between regular cream and what was served to me as clotted cream.  The tea was genuine Cornish tea - whatever that means.  They can't possibly grow the stuff here.  Surely the climate is all wrong?

I had planned to have my dinner at the London Inn which is one of the oldest pubs here and has buckets of character.  Unfortunately, it turns out it seems to be the preferred local of the 20-somethings of the town and England is playing someone in the soccer thingy tonight so it was crowded and not particularly welcoming to foreigners.  I had a half of the Tribute ale from St Austell and then went on my way.

I ended up dining at the Old Ship Hotel which has far less character but is far more friendly to foreigners. In fact, I suspect the vast majority of its business is with outsiders and not the locals.  I had a fish pie made with smoked haddock, mustard and samphire which was topped (for some reason) with a poached egg.  It was interesting.  With this I had a half of Doom Bar ale from Sharp's Brewery, which I preferred to the Tribute ale in spite of it being the one that has all the awards.  I'm such a philistine.