A Very Cornish Christmas!

Families and loved-ones reunite, communities around the country are decorated with colourful lights and wooly knitted jumpers with reindeers on become ever so common; this time it’ll be Christmas  Day and we can’t wait!

Christmas begins in Cornwall, with the City of Lights in Truro, which I think you'll agree from looking at the photos was pretty impressive. The great thing is that the City of Lights is just a taster of the many great events and displays to follow! 

Christmas in Cornwall is truly magical, from harbourside illuminations to festive fayre, we truly embrace Christmas in our county. There are a number of wonderful events for you to enjoy running right up until the New Year, below you’ll find a few of our personal favourites:

Christmas at Eden

What a treat to have this world-famous attraction just up the road! At Christmas Eden transforms it’s Rainforest biome into an enchanted wonderland, where all things festive are celebrated through live performance, music and even a few guest visits from the man in red himself - complete with reindeers of course! Be sure to make the most of their indoor ice-rink too, who knows your family could contain the next Torvill and Deane!

Victorian Christmas Fair

For the 11^th time, Truro turns back the clock for 6 days by welcoming the glorious Victorian market.  This market has been rated the 5^th best in the UK and will be visited by tens of thousands of people all looking to pick up Christmas gifts and local high quality produce. Exhibitors are handpicked to ensure only the best is on offer to visitors, Victorian attire is also in the contract for them.  You can also expect live music and mulled wine! If you love impressing your loved ones with unique and interesting gifts, then this one’s for you!

Nadelik at Pendennis Castle

Nadelik is all about experiencing a true Cornish Christmas, including the slightly odd traditions. This is a great event for those with children as they can really get stuck into the activities planned, whilst parents can assist and enjoy a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie (or two). You can expect carols, dancing, arts & crafts sessions and “Lighting and Chalking the Block”.  We can guarantee you won’t have experienced anything like this before!

Mousehole Christmas Illuminations

30,000 people travel from across the county as this historic habourside village is lit up for the festive period. For those of you who have visited Mousehole before, you’ll know it is a very traditional, picturesque village; add the lights and it really is a spectacular sight, which may I add is run completely by volunteers. This is something you need to witness for yourself.  

Mousehole & Truro photo credit: Paul Watts

A Short Autumn Getaway at Tregongeeves

This week's blog post comes straight from the mouthes, or keyboard, of one of our lovely guests who kindly took the time to write a full review of their weekend staying in Swallows and shared it with us. So we thought we'd share it with you and give you a look into a short autumn break at Tregongeeves. 

Flicking through the welcome pack - look at those scones! 

After a long week at work it was amazing to know that as soon as the clock chimed at 5 o’clock we could escape reality for a couple of days. We met up in Truro and within an hour of finishing work we had arrived at Tregongeeves; almost immediately we sensed the serenity that surrounds the farm cottages. We walked in to a generous welcome pack including homemade scones, jam, clotted cream on the table and a full breakfast pack (eggs, bread, milk, locally sourced bacon and sausages) in the fridge. With the knowledge that breakfast was sorted, we dumped our belongings in the bedroom and took a short stroll down to ThePolgooth Inn.

  

The cosiest of living rooms

We must have been lucky because as we arrived at the pub, slightly damp from the rain, a small table became available right next to the crackling fire. Although the pub was full, the barmaid took the time to talk us through all the local ales and cider and also let us try a sample before ordering. We ordered a pint of St Austell Ales’ seasonal ale; a large rose and were not disappointed. The menus were full of dishes that made your mouth water, but in the end we went for a crispy beef salad to start followed by a homemade vegetable burger with Cornish Yarg and sweet chilli and the pork special; all of which were the perfect size and full of flavour. It’s safe to say the walk home was made significantly more merry thanks to an evening of good food, friendly locals and a few glasses of wine!

We woke at around 9am on Saturday after a good night sleep in the most humongous bed, and within half an hour we were tucking in to the breakfast pack; I can personally recommend the sausages from local butchers Kittows, which the other half described as “proper sausages”!

Mevagissey Harbour

After breakfast we headed off to Mevagissey to explore the winding streets. A busy little fishing town full of character and fish for sale around every corner, Mevagissey is full of traditional Cornish charm. The small aquarium at the end of the harbour is definitely worth a visit; I must admit I had no idea what Sea Bream actually looked like before this trip. We headed back to the car and took the short drive to Charlestown, as I’m a self-confessed Poldark addict!

Charlestown - Polder's filming territory 

Charlestown is beautiful, granted there’s not much there but what is there is well worth exploring. Having missed lunch we decided to treat our selves to an ice-cream from the award winning Tall Ships Creamery, and what a treat it was. The rest of the day was spent simply gazing out to sea and chatting sat on the harbour walls.

We became rather fond of these donkeys

Once back at the farm, we decided to go see the animals. Now, we might be adults, but feeding the chickens and brushing the donkeys still put a huge smile on our faces – we just felt completely free. After a quick swim in the heated pool and a relaxing session in the bubbling spa (which is an absolute must), we got ready for dinner. Judith was able to point us in the direction of a few great restaurants, of which we chose the Rashleigh Arms in Charlestown. Being on holiday, we decided to get a taxi which costs £6 each way. The food was all homemade and for a cider and a meal each it cost less than £30. We then headed down to the Harbourside Inn and were completely blown away by the electric atmosphere as a local band played in the corner. Locals welcomed us in and we even had a bit of a boogie at one point.

For us, Sunday’s are spent relaxing, so we had a lazy day in bed and cream teas for breakfast – perfectly acceptable when on holiday in Cornwall! We then pottered over to the golf course next door, who lent us a few clubs for the driving range. The staff at St Austell Golf Course are very welcoming and if it was nearer we would be visiting again for sure.

St Austell Golf Club

After golf, we reluctantly packed up our stuff, went for one last walk down the country lanes and said goodbye to Tregongeeves. All in all, we were amazed at the level of detail gone in to each and every aspect of the cottage: the locally sourced welcome pack, the immaculate set-up and the way that everything from sauce-pans to tennis rackets to olive oil is provided. Tregongeeves is a very special place where we literally had NOTHING to worry about which was absolutely bliss - We now feel like we're ready to face the Christmas madness! We’ll be returning in the New Year to explore more walks, taste more local produce and experience the South Coast of Cornwall in all its winter glory.

To find out more about our short break packages please click here.