Cycling through grey days on a family holiday to Cornwall

By Gary Edwards

Going tandem: Gary and Luca enjoy Cornwall's cycling paths


'Faster, faster,' squealed my seven-year-old son as we careered down a steep country track high above the fishing port of Mevagissey.

He was laughing his head off while perched on the trailer bike attached to mine, thrilled as we bounced and skidded over rocks and gravel.

The English Channel was a glistening blue blur in the corner of my eye as I desperately tried to keep control of my mountain bike with my son swinging around behind.

We'd just left the enchanting Lost Gardens of Heligan on part of the Pentewan bike trails on the south coast of Cornwall.

The mostly car-free trails follow the old tracks used to transport china clay around the region to the small ports and now offer a safe means of getting around this pretty area centred on St Austell - and a great way of giving my son Luca some freedom on a bike - he can peddle and still fall off - with the added safety of being attached to my bike.

Tramping around gardens with a seven-year-old might not seem to make for a child-pleasing summer holiday - even with the exhilarating bike rides to get there - but while the rest of the country basked in 30 plus degrees, Cornwall, as so often the case from my experience, was shrouded in low level cloud with occasional bursts of rain.

All plans for an old fashioned bucket-and-spade extravaganza were put on hold as memories of my own childhood summer holidays - crowded into a caravan on nearby Parr Sands while the rain tipped down - were swiftly recalled.


Grand day out: The two domes, various garden areas and the Core centre at the Eden Project certainly keep the family entertained


But back then Heligan - the former seat of the Tremayne family for 400 years - was still forgotten, lost after the First World War until 1990 when it was restored to its former glory. The nearby, now world-renowned Eden Project, just north of St Austell, was still a disused clay pit.

Both now offer at least a good day out by bike - and in the case of Eden, also the odd night as it is transformed into an open air live music venue for the Eden Sessions. If you cycle to Eden you also pay a reduced entrance fee.

The children's trail around Eden was educational as well as keeping Luca going through the two huge domes - the stifling hot rainforest one, the other a calm Mediterranean oasis - various garden areas and the indoor Core centre.

The compelling Processor in the centre - a hands-on creation by local artist Rob Higgs - had Luca hooked as he wound the handle that slowly lifted a large metal ball to near the ceiling before its clanking descent.

And who can resist the dreamy Giant's Head and Mudmaid creations at Heligan, together with exploring the jungle area there and walking underneath the incredible archway created by numerous different kinds of apple trees? Or of learning about the country's first pineapple pit, the innovative invention heated by a mind-boggling 15 tons of decaying manure?

And Heligan's more rambling, casual layout meant we wandered at will, exploring the extensive grounds high above the coast.

We'd decided to visit Cornwall without a car, so we spent the night in London at the Ten Manchester Street hotel to split the train journey down west. The smart boutique hotel just off Marylebone High Street was incredibly quiet for central London, and the perfect stopover before a short cab ride to Paddington station.

From there, after a quick hello to Paddington bear on the concourse, it was a four-hour picturesque direct journey to St Austell, travelling along the River Exe and the sea at one point where we spotted two porpoises lolling around. We topped up our standard tickets to first class for an extra £20 each.

In Cornwall we were based in a woodland lodge in the 43-acres of grounds of the newly-opened four-star The Cornwall Hotel and Spa, a five-minute taxi ride from St Austell rail station.

The former 19th century manor house is now a cool 65-bedroom hang-out, with a further 22 self-catering lodges in the grounds.


Hidden charm: Heligan's mudmaid and other characters bring the gardens to life


We stayed in one of these smart 'upside down' houses as my son called them - the two bedrooms were downstairs with an open-plan lounge and kitchen with all mod cons upstairs, with a balcony off the lounge big enough for four around a table.

We had the choice of either self-catering or using the hotel's brasserie or its Arboretum restaurant.

The hotel's grounds were right next to the cycle trail, and a tantalising 40-minute walk to the nearest beach at Porthpean - weather permitting, of course.

In fact we did make it to the beach one day - well, one afternoon, when there was a break in the clouds. We cycled to Pentewan itself; a small, pretty former port with a large sandy beach where the old Lloyds Bank advert with the black horse was filmed.

St Austell itself - the centre of the old clay pit mining industry, and still in the shadow of the resultant huge slag heaps - is not a place to visit on a wet Sunday.


Adventurers: Luca poses with Paddington Bear before jumping the train to Cornwall


Wandering past the closed charity shops, its only saving grace is the recently opened White River cinema. It's everything you hope for in a cinema and so rarely find.

The four screening rooms are steeply raked so the view is great, the seats are wide and the leg room good. There's also a bar and the previews are projected there on to a large white wall.

We also took the ferry from Mevagissey across St Austell bay to Fowey. The 35-minute ride is not cheap at £12 for adults and £6 for children but you get a great view of the bay, culminating with Menabilly headland and lighthouse and the wide expanse of the River Fowey.

Whereas Mevagissey seems stuck in the seventies, Fowey - with its riverfront pastel-coloured houses, celebrity inhabitants such as Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan and a summer deluge of yachties - has flourished.

Visitors here in the past tended to spread out from the quaint harbour area to seek out the former nearby haunts of authors Kenneth Grahame and Daphne Du Maurier, such as the charming Readymoney Cove, where Dawn French and Lenny Henry live, and which features in Du Maurier's swashbuckling novel Frenchman's Creek.

These literary types still descend by the coachload, but more now visit for an excellent lunch at one of the fine harbour-side restaurants.

Food for Thought on the quay served up some delicious mussels from the very river we were overlooking, and afterwards we browsed the numerous galleries and one-off shops behind the quay area. Boat trips up the River Fowey are also very popular.

Back at The Cornwall, my wife Jo made use of the spa - apparently the massage with the large hot shells was outstanding - while Luca and I messed around in the lovely indoor infinity pool which overlooks a walled garden, or played some of the board games kept in the hotel's lounge when not out on our bikes.

If you really enjoy your visit to The Cornwall, you could take it further. The 22 woodland lodges are for sale - and there are plans for 38 more.

But for us, if we decide to go down the bucket-and-spade route again, we'll do it the traditional way - in Spain.

Travel facts

Gary stayed at The Cornwall Hotel and Spa (www.thecornwall.com) where rooms start from £119 per night based on two people sharing.

Bike hire is available from Pentewan Valley Cycle Hire (www.pentewanvalleycyclehire.co.uk) from £12 for a full day for adult bikes and £8 for children's bikes.

In London, Gary stayed at Ten Manchester Street Hotel

(www.tenmanchesterstreethotel.com) which costs from £159 per night for two people.
For more information on things to do in Cornwall, visit www.visitcornwall.com


source: dailymail