Postcards from a McTraveler: 3. Land's End

Where: Land's End, England

When: May 4, 2013

With: Dave

I know, I know...it's been way too long. But I have a good excuse for taking so much time between posts and that is that I've been traveling so much (the best problem to have. ever.) May was crazy, but June is much calmer. So lots of entries to come and I'll be posting away over the next couple of weeks.

To kick off the May travels, Dave and I took advantage of the first bank holiday weekend here in England. And since we were on international travel lockdown (again, passports were sitting with Indian visa authorities), we decided to continue to take advantage of all the great places there are to see here in England.

We decided to venture west to the English county of Cornwall, home of pasties and hens. This was a trip I've actually been longing to take since I first purchased The Book almost a decade ago. Why would I want so badly to venture to this random corner of England, you may ask? Despite being situated in this northern part of the world, the Gulf Stream passes right along the coast of this small county. As a result, there's temperate weather, Caribbean teal water, and seaside resort life, all done in perfect English fashion.

A sleeper train from London to Cornwall allowed us to board at 11pm on Friday night, cozy up in our cabin, and wake up at 7:30am at our destination (in the town of Penzance, but more on that later). The sleeper train such a fun way to travel. This is Dave, enjoying top bunk in our wee, but efficient, room.

Upon arriving, we picked up a rental car and headed west. The first destination of our trip is also considered the last place in England as its the furthest west you can go. Therefore, it is aptly named Land's End.

The English have realised the little gold mine they have here, and now it's not possible to get to the coast without paying £10 to park your car and cross through the entry gate. A little mini-theme park has been built on the site to try to cash in on the location. One ticket provides access to all kinds of cheesy rides about the area, including a 4D movie called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the "Air and Sea Rescue", which shows how saves are made off the rocky coastline.

While it was incredibly kitchsy, we love kitsch and it was raining. So we were happy to partake in all the cheese while the weather cleared up.

Luckily, when all our indoor adventures were over, the grey clouds were gone and the sun came out. So we started to hike and enjoy why this place really became a top destination (unless you just come here because you're just dying to know what the fourth D is).

The first thing we started to notice was that the favorite catch phrase in this area was to claim to be the first and the last of everything.

I also thought this was a really clever cash-cow of an idea. This sign can be updated with your home town and the mileage from this point and you can have your photo taken underneath.

When we finally made it to sea, we were blown away by the views. Rolling green plains slowly giving way to rocky terrain that form the tops of cliffs that plummet into the blue ocean. I feel like the only word to use to describe it is epic.

A bigger drop lies on the other side of this rope than you would expect. Thank you, sign.

Strolling down the path that wound along with the curvy coast line, the scene was continuously changing. Around each bend was a new cove and view, all while the waves were loudly smashing into the rock face.

Soon you left the concrete path by the entrance, and it was off onto a hiking trail. When the scene in front of you is this, you feel like you could hike for hours.

At this point, the terrain became less kept. Yellow wildflowers bloomed everywhere, adding another color into the contrast to the sights around you. Small streams crossed the pathways and at points, the path went right up a cliff face. (Why do I never have my hiking boots when we actually have a chance to hike??)

Resting on top of the rock we climbed up and taking in the views.

It's crazy to see how clear cut the erosion from the waves is along the coast line. It looks like a sand castle crumbling into the sea with the incoming tide rather than solid rock.

We had walked for about 40 minutes, and we both found it hard to take our eyes off the ever-changing coastline. So we were both surprised when we turned a corner and found a giant shipwreck in the rocks that neither of us had spotted. Apparently this ship ran aground only a few years back, but as salt water is pretty rough on steel, this wreck has decayed pretty quickly.

Enjoying our stroll

So serious.

A flag to remind us we are in fact still in the UK.

The final kitschy thing to do in Land's End was visit the small farm they have on site. We grabbed some Cornish ice cream from the tourist center, and made our way down the path to see the various animals that were wandering around.

There weren't a ton of animals, but there were a lot of really strange looking chickens. They had all kinds of crazy hair do's and struts. I sadly didn't think to document them, and of course, I now look like a city bumpkin by only having a photo of these normal looking chickens. They were funny to watch though because the hen followed the rooster in such a subservient way.

The lambs were trying to chat with us, taking turns bleating at us. Turns out, they were just hungry and ignored us as soon as food was brought out.

View from the farm.

At this point, we called it and left Land's End for a well-deserved lunch. And what better way to enjoy Land's End than to eat fish and chips at the First and Last Inn. The inn itself had quite a history, having been built 700 years ago and boasting quite a few scandalous stories since then. Most of those stories related to the tunnels built underneath and leading to the inn so that smugglers could bring goods into the country without having to pay tax.

One last pit stop on our drive back to town was at the Minack Theatre. I had never heard of this place, but it is considered one of the most famous stages in English theatre. The story of its creation was fascinating. A Cornish lady, Rowena Cade, back in the 1930s thought the coast line of Cornwall would be a perfect setting for her to build a theatre so she could stage productions of her plays.

Rowena designed the theatre and spent years of her life building it with her own hands. When World War II broke out, the coastline was under constant threat of U-boats and people were restricted from getting too close. That meant Rowena had to crawl under barbed wire to continue working on her beloved project. It took the better part of her life to complete, but the end result is stunning.

The theatre is a beautiful mess of staircases and carved rock wound in an intricate maze. Seats appear in corners all over the place, and the acoustics are incredible from every seat in the house. The weather allows for palm trees and other tropical plants to grow throughout. Couple that with the particularly turquoise waters in the background, and you feel like you are in some sort of fantasy island.

While our impromptu stop didn't allow us to plan for whether we could see a show, the cast was rehearsing, giving us a glimpse into what a show here would be like. Most of the amphitheatre's seats are laid with thick grass, making you feel like your sitting in a garden watching the acting below you.