The Long Journey to St. Mawes

And I’m back with my last update on my trip overseas!

After exploring the Scottish highlands and streets of Glasgow, I left Scotland for the second leg of my trip:  visiting my grandmother in Cornwall, England.  She lives in a beautiful, fishing village called St. Mawes right on the southern-most tip of England.  A beautiful place, but a trek to get to!

Since we started our journey in Scotland, the trip to Cornwall was even longer than usual.  My mom and I headed to the Glasgow train station on Thursday morning to catch an 8 am train to Cornwall.  We finally arrived at our destination 12 hours later.

What exactly did I do for those 12 hours on the train?  I honestly don’t remember.  I just remember feeling extremely uncomfortable by the time we finally arrived.  Oh yeah, and I remember eating a lot of gummy candy to pass the time.

Welcome to the town of St. Mawes! 

Complete with a 500-year old castle just up the road…

My time in Glasgow was definitely fast-paced, with me trying to see as much as I could within the short frame of time I was there.  My time in St. Mawes was much more slow-paced and relaxed with lots of reading, naps, and casual walks.

Oh yeah, and lots and lots of eating!  My grandmother, who used to run successful Bed & Breakfasts for years, definitely loves to feed us.  Whether it was homemade tea cakes, garden raspberries with cream for dessert, or hearty meals of roast chicken with roasted potatoes and fresh-from-the-garden runner beans, I was never left hungry. 

After every meal, there is always another meal lingering in the not-so-far future…complete with double cream, clotted cream, and humungous slabs of butter (otherwise known in our family as “Granny slabs”)…

I even got to spend a bit of time in the kitchen at one point making homemade apple compote with baking apples picked just minutes before from her backyard.

Followed by some raspberry and vegetable picking from the garden.  Check out her huge bed of Swiss chard and spinach!  It was never-ending…

Whether it was exploring a local garden, enjoying a Cornish pasty or scone down in the village, buying freshly baked bread to take back to the house for breakfast the next day, or just simply cuddling up with a book, by the time I left St. Mawes for home 5 days later, I was relaxed and recharged. 

Even if my pants were slightly tighter on the trip back home…