Canine in Cornwall

I found the Port Gaverne Hotel in the popular British publication Good Guide to Dog Friendly Pubs, Hotels, and B&Bs. I then looked for reviews and found mixed reports on the quality. I took a gamble and booked a weekend there with my husband and my dog.

What was the hotel like? Located in the picturesque northern village of Port Gaverne, we thought the hotel was lovely.

When driving up later at night, we parked in front of the building where the front desk clerk said we could leave our car for the evening. The hotel does have its own carpark though! You can find it between holiday cottages a street over. There is a small sign directing you to the carpark as well, though this is very hard to find in the dark.

The hotel itself is in an older building, which means the stairways up to the rooms are especially narrow. However, our room was modern and pleasant with a double bed and a single. If we'd had our son along, it would have still suited us perfectly. Stylish gold and black curtains blocked the glass door that led from our room to a communal porch from which you could overlook the water on a clear day. Our bathroom had a tile that needed caulking, but it was clean and big enough. It's better to bring toiletries, but soap and small plastic envelopes of shampoo were on the counter. There was a small television as well.

I think that an American who has never traveled in Europe would find the cost of the room here to be out of sorts with his/her idea of what he/she should get for the rate. But I live in England, and I know better. Hotels are much less expensive---and much bigger---in the US than hotels in the UK. £90 should be thought of as $90... even though £90 is actually in real terms closer to $180. There's no getting around a terrible exchange rate! One simply can't expect the dollar to buy the same in the UK as it will at home.

In British terms?

I thought this hotel was a very good value. The dog was an extra charge of a minor £3.50 per day, and the bartender was happy to give our furry son treats when we took him downstairs to get a drink in front of the fire by the bar. More importantly, there was no sign any other animals had ever stayed in our room... a testament to good housekeeping.

Was breakfast included? Yes! While we did not eat dinner there, we enjoyed our first meal of the day in the restaurant downstairs on two mornings. There is fresh fruit, juice and cereal laid out on a table, but if you'd prefer something hot, a full English breakfast is available to guests when the waitress comes to take your order. I asked for the kitchen to make me porridge for breakfast, and this was not a problem at all.

How was the location? I thought it was wonderful. On the northern coast, Port Gaverne is very close to Padstow and St. Ives to the south, Tintagel to the north. The hotel has easy access to a coast path that we loved for walking with our dog. Port Isaac, a small fishing village, is a 1/2 mile walk away. Port Gaverne itself is a little out of the way of the main tourist path, which we also enjoyed because Cornwall can get very crowded.

Would I stay here again? Definitely. Especially if traveling with my dog.

One of the things that people do when they visit Cornwall is walk through some of the lovely towns. Padstow and St. Ives are very close to each other, so I'd advise seeing them on the same day. Coming from Port Gaverne, we started in Padstow. This fishing town is on the Camel Estuary, and it has a shifting sand bar with the name Doom! Apparently, this has caused more than one sailor indigestion as many wrecks have happened here over the years. If you poke through the town as we did, you will find lots of cute shops... some of which sell tourist tat, of course.

With the dog in tow, we were happy to walk by the boats and find a place selling Cornish Pasties. Then we claimed a bench, and watched the seagulls flying over the water as we ate. Traditional Cornwall fare, pasties were a sailor's original fast food. A hearty meal wrapped in dough, it was easy for them to eat on the go without making much of a mess. They come in all kinds of flavours. I had a mushroom and cheese pasty while my husband went for steak and gravy. There are sweet cornish pasties as well... things that are more like pieces of pie you can hold in your hand than anything else.

After Padstow, we drove south to St. Ives. Another Cornish fishing port, this town is the most known for hosting artists. There are galleries galore to explore including the Tate, and it's easy to see from the harbour where so many painters find their inspiration. My husband and I took turns with the dog outside while the other looked at paintings. Then we walked by the golden beaches, wandered through the maze of stone streets, saw an ancient church, sipped coffee and just... absorbed the ambience. With a chill still in the air, we didn't find St. Ives crowded. However, I could imagine the flocks of people who must descend at the height of the tourist season in summer.

Even so, on our way back to our hotel from further southern reaches, we skipped St. Ives and chose to park again in Padstow because we thought it would probably be easier to get dinner there without reservations. There are clusters of restaurants/pubs by the water in every price range. We chose a casual pizza joint that managed to find us a table.

Bottom line? We enjoyed the half day of time we devoted to these towns. If we were in Cornwall for more than a weekend, we would have certainly lingered longer in both of them.

When we drove to Land's End, we were expecting another town or village. Instead, we got a tourist attraction. We had to pay just to enter and park! By that point, we didn't know what to think. In truth, we discovered parts of Land's End are a tourist trap... but you can avoid these attractions... or, if you have kids along, pick and choose if you want to see the Doctor Who exhibit. Families will like a little bit of amusement park entertainment to keep all parties interested.

As for us, we walked by the little shops and ticket booth for attractions to hit the trails by the coast.

Here, Land's End is lovely. The water is a swirling green-blue beneath you, and we gazed across the ocean towards home. With the dog on a lead/leash, we walked near the petting zoo overlooked by a chained goat. We took pictures of the ducks and roosters. We read the signs on the path that explained the flora and fauna as well as how the sea still shapes the land of Great Britain.

Out of two paths, visitors will find that one is very uneven and steep. This is closer to the ocean. The other path is smoother going and would be better for someone with unsteady footing. Simply look for the path that leads in the most direct manner to the craft center.

Any other things on offer? We bought a postcard in one of the shops and posted it from Land's End so that we would receive it with the red "Land's End" postmark later when we got home. There's also a sign where you can have your picture made. We got two 5x7s for £12. The sign is personalized with your home city added. Our picture has an arrow pointing towards Atlanta over 3,000 miles away.

Bottom line? This is touristy. But... we were tourists. The coast at Land's End is very pretty, and it can cost as little as you'd like to visit apart from the quid or two you must drop to use the carpark.

Wandering through Cornwall with our dog, we left Land's End and started inland. We'd noticed an English Heritage site---an ancient village---was marked on our map, and it was only a short drive away by Brane.

Soon we began to see brown signs for Carn Euny. Going down a very narrow road with hedges on either side of us---a drive that would have made us nervous when we first moved to the UK---we dead-ended at a fence. We parked the car and got out to follow the footpath to the historic site.

Was there plenty of parking, you ask? Yeah. There wasn't anyone else around that we could see. Apparently "ancient villages" aren't a huge tourist attraction. As we walked further onto what was obviously farmland, our only company were cows and sheep. Keep to the left or you might just miss Carn Euny. We did at first. We went too far and had to double back.

What was the actual site like? With a fence around it, the "front entrance" to the site has a sign that clearly marks the spot where people kept house almost a thousand years ago, but you won't find a living guide. At first, the surroundings were much more impressive to me than what I could see as just piles of rocks. Then we started reading the signs that were around the "village", and our dog found the first passage underground. You can still walk into these and find a larger room dug into the earth. Still, there are holes that let sunlight into the space, and we thought it was rather interesting to explore. I think kids would love both walking out to Carn Euny on a pretty day and exploring the small network of tunnels once there.

After spending a little less than a half hour at the actual site, we hiked back to the car (less than a quarter of a mile away.) Another car was parking behind ours... two English women who were also looking for Carn Euny.

We told them to take a left at the first cow.

Bottom line? How many ancient villages have you ever visited? If the answer is none, why not go to this one? It's very close to more famous sites in Cornwall, and it's a pleasant, free outing. Unless your dog is very well behaved, keep in mind that there are animals out in the surrounding fields, so you might want to keep him/her on a lead/leash. Also, I'd skip this if it's raining... unless you have galoshes in your car's trunk. The path is made of dirt, and I can just see the mud you'd get on your feet in the wet.

On the northern coast of Cornwall one can find the romantic ruins of a castle that was built on the very site where King Arthur of the Knights of the Round Table was supposed to once have had a residence. Dogs are allowed to explore the ruins with owners (bring a plastic bag for any needed clean-up!), so off we went!

English Heritage members can access Tintagel Castle for free, but everyone else can buy tickets at the bottom of the cliff. If you don't want to walk to the site, you can even take a jeep from the village for a quid. If you've got someone with unsure footing in your party, he/she might want to accompany you to the visitor's center only where they can watch a film on King Arthur for free and then poke around in the gift shop or cafe while you go up the steep steps to see what you can see of the ruins. I can't imagine someone who has a hard time walking actually accessing the site itself, so be warned!

Behind a group of French students, we slowly walked up the stairs to the old courtyard where parts of a crumbling castle still stand. Built around 1200 AD, (they think) it was put in this spot mostly to capitalize on the site's association with King Arthur... to give the owner a little added mystique. And I have to admit. If you're going by the location, location, location rule of where to put real estate, this castle would have come with an amazing view. You can stand up on the top of the cliffs and look down below to caves that have been worn by waves into the land. One of these was supposed to be "Merlin's Cave." (I guess wizards don't mind a little damp.) My husband was fascinated by the well, which was full of water. We both were left breathless by the sheer beauty of all our surroundings.

After seeing the castle ruins, we walked back to the village because we wanted to go to a National Trust site next. The Old Post Office is across the street from a car park. Our dog was happy to wait in the car with the windows cracked. (There were snow flurries outside, so there was no danger of him overheating.) For less than £2, non-National Trust members can tour this small house built of slate. Unlike the castle, which has mostly fallen down, this building is still in great condition. The roof is a little wonky looking, but it is astonishing that it was also first built around 1200 AD. Now that's quality construction! Information sheets are in each room to explain the furniture. Don't miss the gun over the fireplace that had such a kick the user was supposed to put the butt of it against the center of his chest rather than on his shoulder. I loved the grounds out back, and the ladies who worked in the building were very helpful and friendly.

What else? Before leaving Tintagel, I would suggest getting a scoop or two of premium Cornish ice cream. Despite the cold weather, we bought some from the shop next to the car park. It was some of the best ice cream we've ever had! Exquisite.