Where to stay in 2024??

Posted by & filed under Out and About in West Cornwall.

It’s that time of year again. Christmas is over, the weather is a bit wet and windy and needing something to look forward to, we all start looking at holidays and places to stay for 2024.

Where to start? There is now an absolute plethora of paces to stay and especially in hotspots like Cornwall, thanks (or not thanks to) airbnb and developers building huge resorts. All singing all dancing websites try and lure you in with the promise of five star luxury, eco credentials and photos photo shopped to show brilliant wall to wall sunshine. Of course we can get plenty of sunshine all year round here though – the photo below is Trebah garden near Falmouth in November.

Trebah garden looking up across the water

On the other hand we can get some grim days out of season, so If you are booking a holiday in the winter months though, it’s a good idea to book a property with a woodburner in case you need extra cheer!

multiburner and comfy chairs - where is the wine?
Enjoy a roaring fire and comfy armchairs

Surely you want the accommodation to be at least as good as, if not better than you have at home? If not, why waste your hard earned savings?!! So check out those reviews on websites before you book.

We realise that if you are looking for a swimming pool and a hot tub then Boscrowan maybe isn’t the place for you although we do have plenty of ocean and the iconic Jubilee Pool with its geothermal area as nearby options.

Jubilee Pool Penzance
The Iconic Jubilee Pool in nearby Penzance

We wonder why some guests return year after year to us instead of seeking pastures new. It seems that they have confidence in our cottages and know that they will always be to the same standard as the last time and the time before – because we run them ourselves and live on site – if there are any issues they can be dealt with immediately. I admit it does help that I also run a Soft Furnishing business here so interiors is a bit of ‘my thing’. Any excuse for new curtains! It’s Ring and Thimble’s bedroom that is on for the changes on Jan 7th when guests leave.

Check out the location – is there plenty to do in the area that’s close by? Yes Boscrowan is a bit of a journey down (and the major roadworks on the A30 should be finished soon thank goodness) but once you are here you have plenty to fill a week or two or three even!

Map of West Cornwall
A great base for exploring

What are ‘eco holidays’ ? – a description often used in marketing! Sustainability is important to us and we realise that that is an underlying feature of how we live our own lives here. I love growing all the flowers for the cottages (admission – there was a childhood of horticulture!) and veg for our guests to wander out and pick their own.

Boscrowan grown dahlias
Tomato gathering
Tomato princess

We have solar panels generating electricity and two ground source heat pumps, although we still do use oil for some heating where it isn’t feasible to do otherwise. We encourage guests to recycle and compost and use local transport and support local businesses – just some ways to have a sustainable holiday.

We like to make everyones’ stay at Boscrowan a special stay and one to remember. If guests choose to return it’s a bonus. If they tell their friends and family it’s also a bonus. A stay here won’t be the cheapest around nor the most expensive either but we aim to give good value. It’s the detail and extra touches which receive most comments – cream tea on arrival with homemade jams, fresh flowers in every room, a bottle of apple juice made from our orchard, crisp white tablecloths and napkins, The White Company bedlinen and towels, Villeroy and Boch china, Robert Welch cutlery. No we’re not name dropping – we’re just saying that we like to provide quality. So my advice would be – do check out smaller owner run businesses such as ours. They are run with a passion rather than just for profit.

David and Elizabeth Harris

If you would like to come and stay or find out more about us, then please do check out the Boscrowan website, or send us an e mail or give us a call. 01736 332396/07833304899 We would love to see you in 2024.

A visit to nearby Porthleven

Posted by & filed under Out and About in West Cornwall, The South West Coast Path.

New guests to Boscrowan declare that a week just isn’t long enough to see all there is to see in the area, and they often return. Returning guests are wiser and frequently come for longer. There are just so many places to visit, so many contrasts – ocean, moorland, engine houses, granite monuments, tin mines, gardens, Islands with castles on, sandy beaches, pebbly beaches and much more. And so close to Boscrowan. It’s worth that long trip down, as once you are here you really don’t have to travel far.

So let’s visit nearby Porthleven. An ever so pretty fishing village with a beach beyond, eateries, galleries and quirky shops.

Fishing boats bobbing in the pretty harbour of Porthleven on a sunny day

You could just buy an ice cream on the harbour front or you could push the boat out and buy a Philps pasty from the little shop on the corner. That’s the brand that the locals will normally go for. Just eat straight out of the bag whilst you are sitting on one of the many benches overlooking the harbour. Bliss! An inexpensive meal too.

Or you could try lunch at the Harbour Inn, just along the cobbled road toward the pretty clock tower at the end of the harbour for a more varied menu and eat outdoors or within.

Pretty hanging baskets outside the Harbour Inn Porthleven

For evenings there something even smarter – Kota restaurant – with a Michelin star accolade too, run by the chef and owner who was in the Great British menu final in 2021. But you definitely will need to book – it’s very good and very popular.

So well worth a visit.

Crying the Neck!

Posted by & filed under Out and About in West Cornwall, Uncategorized.

An odd title you may think but it is in fact an ancient Cornish harvest festival ceremony still practised today and it is when the last shock of corn is cut and the end of the harvest is proclaimed. I popped over to a field above Zennor yesterday afternoon to enjoy one of these events.

First we were welcomed by a member of The Old Cornwall Society and then all sang Trelawney which for those of you who might not know is the unofficial Cornish anthem. Worth listening to on YouTube if you have the time! This was followed by us all singing ‘We Plough the fields and scatter’

The master of ceremonies then walked to the last patch of corn in the field and cut it with a traditional scythe which is a long handled sharp hook. It was then gathered into sheaves.

Once the sheaves were all gathered in he took a sheaf in his hand, held it in the air and shouted “I ‘ave ‘un! I’ave ‘un! I ‘ave ”un!” Those present then shouted “What ‘ave ‘ee? What ‘ave ‘ee? What ‘ave ‘ee? ” and he replied “A neck! A neck! A neck!” and then everyone joins in with “Hurrah! Hurrah for the neck! Hurrah!”

This was followed by another hymn and a few words from the St Ives mayor and ended as quietly as it had begun!

Then off to Zennor for a walk on the cliffs with Maisie, a visit to the churchyard and a hello to two family relatives there, followed by a latte and a delicious orange and pecan cake in the Moomaid cafe, a purchase in the lovely shop and a drive along the coast road home. A most pleasant afternoon!