Cornwall, a treasure in England

England It is the owner of incredible, beautiful, postcard landscapes, you can't really believe the green of its countryside, the history that runs through its towns, the cultural treasures it has. And one of the great destinations here is Cornwall, one of the forty-odd English counties.

Define Cornwall as a precious destiny It is an understatement, and surely after this article, if you have not gone yet, you will gain from spending a few days here and absorbing the English lifestyle. Let's visit Cornwall.

Cornwall

England is made up of 47 counties and one of them is Cornwall. It is in the southwest of the country and it has coasts on the Celtic Sea and on the English Channel itself. Its capital is the city of Truro and their culture has Celtic roots.

In fact Cornwall is considered one of the so-called Celtic NationsThere are six here, and many of their traditions or customs are their own and you cannot find them in other parts of the country. In fact, the original language is Cornish, related to Breton and Welsh. It existed as a living language until the end of the XNUMXth century, although today there is a certain revival.

Cornwall was once known as the state of tin, because there were very rich mines in ancient times, but when they dried up many of its inhabitants emigrated to America and Austria or New Zealand. Today the main activity is tourism.

Visit Cornwall

Being England the natural thing is that the region combines historical and cultural treasures with natural beauties and it is so. It does not disappoint. There are old residences, castles, World Heritage sites and museums but also glorious gardens, vertigo cliffs and beautiful beaches.

Let's start with some of their historical attractions. An excellent day trip is to visit the Pendennis Castle. It is one of the imposing fortresses built by Henry VIII and has seen many conflicts, especially during the English Civil War. There are usually jousts and medieval banquets and you can even see a Tudor cannon in action.

Also Prideaux Place, an elegant and beautiful mansion in Padstow Bay and along the same lines the Mount Edgcumbe Residence, with its gardens, or the Cotehele Mill, an old mill that used to grind corn for the local community and that can still be seen in action twice a week. Another of those mansion is the Port Eliot House or the ghostly ruins of the Restormel Castle.

We talk before Cornish mining past and if that is interesting you can visit the East Pool Mine, the center of Cornish mining history that shows very well what a mine must have looked like at that time. Another mine is The Levant, with its 1800 machines and its location: on top of a cliff. This particular site is World Heritage.

Do you like the story of King Arthur? So don't stop taking a walk around it Tintagel Castle where this mythological king is said to have been born, located on the rugged north coast of Cornwall. Another castle is the Launceston Castle, or what remains of it, built in the XNUMXth century by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, with its massive round tower.

But Cornwall is also a destination of great natural beauty and is known especially for its beaches. There are dozens, many, both on the south coast and the north. We can name a few: Porthmeor Beach, Blue Flag 2019, great for swimming and surfing, although for this sport the best of all, epicenter of European surfing is Fistral Beach, the closed and picturesque Port Gaverne Beach or the wide and only accessible on foot Gwynver Beach.

Beyond the beaches, Cornwall also has many gardens, parks and nature reserves. There is the Porfell Wildlife Park, Helman Tor Nature Reserve, the South Coast Area of ​​Great Beauty, from Marazion and Mount Bay to the outskirts of Falmouth, or the five-mile King Arthur Walk that begins at Tentagel Church, climbs cliffs, and then follows coastal paths leading down to the creek of the Strait Trebarwith. A beauty.

But it is not just about walking along cliffs, looking at the sea or visiting ruins. In fact, the county offers many other activities related to the outdoors: here you can do diveor you can go dolphin and whale watching cruises, kayaking by the river Helford, fish in lakes or go sailing.

And in addition to all this, if you only want to jump from village to village, it is also possible and none of them will disappoint you. truro, for example, is the county capital. It is on the banks of the river of the same name, very close to the mouth of the English Channel. Has a beautiful cathedral, cobbled streets and many Georgian style buildings.

The cathedral is in the Gothic style and took three decades to complete, from the late XNUMXth to the early XNUMXth centuries. It was built over another much older church and is very beautiful. Truro is a good starting point because you can visit this church and also the Royal Cornwall Museum to soak up the history and culture of the county.

If you go in September you will see the Truro Carnival With fairs, food, drink and activities for everyone, if you go in December the Christmas decorations are beautiful and if you go in April there is Britain in Bloom with flowers everywhere.

And finally, the truth is that England is synonymous with trains and here are great tours to do by train: you can take the St. Ives Bay Line that goes from St Erth to St Ives, go up the Looe Valley Line, from Liskeard to Looe, crossing valleys and rivers, the Maritime Line from Truro to Falmouth, the Atlantic Coast Line, from Par to Newquay or the Tamar Valley Line connecting Plymouth to Gunnislake.


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