DAY OUT: St Mawes, Cornwall
Royal holiday on Roseland
With a beautiful bay, sunbathing seals and Cornish coastal magic, St Mawes offers a summer scene fit for a queen, says Abigail Whyte
Legend has it that St Mawes, son of an Irish king, was out preaching on the Roseland Peninsula when he was interrupted by a noisy seal. Irritated by the seal’s din, he tried to throw a rock at it, but missed. It landed halfway across the Carrick Roads estuary and there it remains, now known as Black Rock, occasionally festooned with a couple of seals basking in the sunshine.
You can see the rock and its conical beacon from St Mawes’ namesake village, an idyllic fishing community that the Royal Family like to flock to when they fancy a Cornish sojourn. Her Majesty the Queen alighted here from the Royal Yacht Britannia along with Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, and stayed in a luxurious waterfront house with views out over the sparkling bay. The four-bedroom property, Penolva, is available for holiday let should you fancy a coastal retreat fit for a queen.
SOJOURN BY THE SEA
The village’s cobbled streets, whitewashed cottages, galleries and pubs are centred around the harbour, and to the west of the village you will find St Mawes Castle – asmall, immaculately preserved fortress built for Henry VIII (along with Pendennis Castle, across the estuary in Falmouth) in order to protect the natural harbour from French and Spanish invasion. If you would like to hop across to Falmouth and its castle, there is a regular ferry all year round – named the Duchess of Cornwall after the Duchess’s visit with Prince Charles in 2008.
From St Mawes Castle, it’s a 45-minute walk along the coastal path to St-Just-in-Roseland. There you will find a 13th-century church by a shingle beach, set in tropical gardens filled with plants brought over from Australia in the late 19th century.
PADDLING AND PASTIES
If you prefer your adventures on the water, the calm, sheltered bay around St Mawes is ideal for attempting stand-up paddleboarding for the first time, and from the boatyard you can hire canoes and kayaks for exploring the secluded creeks of the River Fal. All of this activity is likely to require a bit of hearty fuel, perhaps best served in the form of a Cornish pasty from St Mawes Bakery.
Penolva offers four double bedrooms and fine views over St Mawes Bay. From £4,500 a week. stmawesretreats. co.uk/properties/penolva
Catch up
Soak up the sights and sounds of this pretty fishing village with Rick Stein’s Cornwall
(season two, episode 14).
Available on iPlayer.
Abigail Whyte is a keen hiker, runner, forager, wild swimmer and stand-up paddleboarder.