A Walk in the Cornish Woods

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by Arundhati Basu

I am knackered and I have a suspicion. I am on my way to turning into a hefty Cornish cow. A thought fuelled by a steady two-day diet of scones, pasties, tarts, full-fat ice creams, butter biscuits and onion rings. Is it possible that the waistband of the jeans can scream out for temperance within a short span of time? These are grave times.

The scoffing has been going especially strong after steep climbs through woods in the heart of Daphne du Maurier country. Our walk started in the fishing village of Bodinnick where the author of Rebecca lived with her mother and sisters – after they had left behind their home in London. Ferryside is a pretty cottage, blue pipings framing its doors and windows. What a view young Daphne must have had. The turquoise waters of the river that acquire emerald tones even when the skies are overcast. Daphne’s son lives in Ferryside. I did have thoughts of knocking upon his door – suitably alarming Adi who since then started thinking about paths to take on the return and how not to walk past the cottage again.

A two-second ferry from Fowey took us into Bodinnick where we climbed steep roads past Daphne’s cottage, and then a row of rustic white, blue and yellow cottages, the doors of which had Easter egg wreaths in keeping with the seasonal cheer.

During walks in the English countryside, you inevitably get directions that ask you to proceed past old school houses, and that right lane there past the pub, then a kissing gate in the field and further in continue through the church gates. Or cross Two-Turn Lane past the sheep that guards the gate into its grassy knoll of heaven… you get the drift. The directions are as old-fashioned as the villages you find yourself in. Like a time bubble. Once you make it past these stellar signposts into the woods, you strike gold. If you have not made it to those landmarks, my friend, you are doing it all wrong. You are probably in another country.

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Fowey

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The inn that Daphne du Maurier must have seen when she came into the village in the 1920s to move into her new home.
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The climb gets steep in Bodinnick once you are off the ferry

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Views from the woods above Bodinnick
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Abandoned water mills near Polruan

I shall have to continue this into the next post because I can barely keep my eyes open. But I have to say this that the skies outside at this time of the night are speckled with stars. The early morning glum clouds gave way during the course of the noon to a clear firmament so spotless that the stars have declared that the inky dome is theirs. Life should be just so. Lived beneath vast swathes of sky unfettered by the trammel of city lights, busy dreams and the worry of tomorrow.

 

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Arundhati Basu

The great affair in my life is to travel. I count myself immensely fortunate that my partner shares this passion. We are a team that likes to spend time planning and plotting out places to go. Destination check, flights check, accommodation check, cheesy grins check. Off we go.

25 thoughts on “A Walk in the Cornish Woods”

    1. Thank you, Nisha 🙂 The Carolinas are gorgeous from what I have made out from photos. Would love to explore them some day. My husband studied in North Carolina so he always tells me about it. Would love to see your part of the world in your posts 🙂

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      1. I’m sure you will love it like your husband said , would love to read the travel diary post and your perspective when you explore here 🙂 am yet to take pictures this spring and will surely post when I do!

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  8. […] our walk in the Cornish Woods we were hungry and fell upon our plates not unlike two crazed maniacs with eyes goggling at the […]

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    1. Hee, yes it is just the right place to get some quiet. You might even fall asleep by the quay and wake up to find that you dreamt of your novel just like Coleridge and his opium-induced dreams of Xanadu 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Oh this place must be so lovely! Amazing photographs!
    Concerning the waistband of your jeans- I feel you!
    Currently my jeans are screaming out to me every morning 😀
    But I love scones, they are too delicious to be left out… 😀

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    1. Tee hee, I am therefore getting back to my scone-less routine starting today. Cannot feel fat for long without working on it 😉 Thank you for the compliment. It is such a beautiful place – it lives in my dreams now.

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  12. […] Dangling my legs from the brick walls of the old harbour, I watched the machinations of ancient Fowey – bold gulls swooping across the estuary while wailing above our heads – as pretty […]

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