Holidaying in Cornwall During The Pandemic 2021

In September, I finally made it back to Cornwall for another holiday- and only a year later than planned (thanks, Covid).

It was my first holiday in four years, and only my second in over a decade, so it was a long over-due, and much needed break. The trip already seems like so long ago, but with the cold weather creeping in again, I can't help but long for those lazy, late summer days by the sea. Luckily, I don't have too long to wait for another taste of it, as we're heading back to Cornwall again this summer, but while I impatiently count down the days, I thought I'd reminisce about last year's holiday with some blog posts about my week away. Well, I have been meaning to write about my holiday since last autumn!

My older sister and I spent a week down in Perranporth in north Cornwall, a place we've been visiting since we were babies. Our parents actually had their honeymoon in the area in the seventies, and our family have holidayed there ever since. We've been so many times, it's more like a second home to us than a holiday spot, but we love the place, and never get bored of visiting it. So many people turn up their noses at the thought of holidaying in England and saw staycations as a consolation prize when they couldn't travel abroad during the height of the pandemic, but we purposefully choose to take holidays to Cornwall now and then, and have always enjoyed these trips as much as any holiday abroad. Those who don't see the appeal in English holidays have clearly never visited the coast in Cornwall when the sun is shining. With its golden sandy beaches and pretty harbour villages, rugged coastlines, and green countryside, it's such a beautiful part of England, and I can honestly say it's one of my favourite places in the world.

We had a lovely week chasing the last of the summer sun; sitting on the sea front watching the waves and eating copious amounts of ice cream, revisiting some favourite places, eating delicious local foods, and relaxing to the sound of the seagulls. We visited beautiful Padstow; took a tour bus along the coast from Perranporth to St. Ives; sat on Porth and Perranporth Beach sea fronts, visited Newquay Zoo, paddled in the sea, gambled pennies in the arcades on rainy afternoons, cruised along coastal roads, and explored some of the countryside where the roads were as narrow as paths. It was blissful.

We couldn't take as many day trips or spend as much time on the beach as I would've liked, but that's okay. We had to do things a little differently with both of us challenged with chronic pain, and nobody to pick up the slack of driving and heavy-lifting when we were low on spoons, as my brother-in-law was away on a deployment in The Falklands. We were sensible and fit in more rest and relaxation time, and stayed locally instead of exploring further afield most of the time, so that we could make it home again in one piece at the end of the week. It was the right balance for us, and sometimes restful holidays are exactly what you need.

The best fried breakfast I've ever eaten from Gridl in Newquay. The little Cornish spinach omelettes were incredible. (I asked for an extra sausage instead of bacon as I hate it, so they gave me both, and Marie got to enjoy extra bacon). They have so many Full English options, and do veggie ones, too.

I actually enjoyed lounging in our accommodation, this privately-owned, three-bedroomed caravan nestled in a quiet spot in the dunes of Perran Sands, with the doors open to let in the warm sea breeze, and the battle cry of the seagulls overhead. It was lovely to have a change of scenery to resting in my bedroom back home- even if the seats and sofas were so uncomfortable my backside felt bruised by the end of the week. We spent our down time watching movies, eating delicious treats that we picked up on our day trips, and played Animal Crossing, Monopoly, and Rummikub. I wanted to get through a couple of books during our time away, but neither of us could get comfortable enough to read on those God awful chairs. What psychopath decided to make caravan chairs so uncomfortable??

Despite going away in September, we were really fortunate with the weather, and even got several days of blistering sunshine in the low thirties! It was so hot for the first half of the week, it didn't even feel like England, and I came home with a million more freckles from being out in the sun. I'm a freckle magnet. The weather had people flocking to the area, and the beaches and seaside villages were busier than I've seen them since the nineties, when less people holidayed abroad. It was a little stressful to be around such big crowds of (mostly) unmasked people during the pandemic- though I masked up, and we took Covid tests twice to be careful- but also lovely to see so many Brits enjoying the places we've loved all our lives. (Although, I'm sure the locals didn't agree).

All in all, we had a fantastic holiday in Cornwall, and I loved being back in my second home. I pushed myself to my limits to enjoy as much as possible, and did more that week that I had in years. I can't wait to return again this September, revisit my favourite places, and hopefully get to visit some new ones this time, too. Hurry up September!

I'm going to blog separately about some of the places we visited, including Padstow, Perranporth Beach, Newquay Zoo, and the tour bus trip we took along the coast, so look out for them, coming soon.

Have you ever visited Cornwall? Do you prefer to holiday at home or abroad?

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