Cornish Shenannagans

I've just enjoyed a lovely week off work. It's nice to take a break, and I decided to spend a few days down Cornwall in the week. Stopping in Bodmin with my girlfriend, we would use that as a good central base for visiting other areas.

As we passed into Cornwall I realised that this part of the UK has its own unique culture, and its people do not consider themselves English, preferring instead to consider themselves part of the 'Celtic Fringe'. In fact some groups campaign for more autonomy in Cornwall, some even campaign for an independent state!

'There were few outward signs of a terrorism alert in north Cornwall yesterday. Visitors milled around Padstow's busy harbour as usual while further down the coast at Newquay surfers lounged about on a warm, waveless day.

But behind the scenes at Cornwall's two most famous eateries, Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant in Padstow and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen in Newquay, security was being stepped up after Cornish extremists claimed they were planning to target two of the country's most famous chefs.

A group calling itself the Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) threatened to burn down one of Stein's businesses in Padstow and declared the cars of his customers legitimate targets.

The group said Fifteen - a restaurant set up by Oliver to help disadvantaged Cornish youngsters find a career in catering - was also in its sights, and branded the chef an "incomer" who was hurting local people by driving up house prices and living costs.

CNLA, which claimed to include members of the An Gof organisation - militants suspected of a series of attacks in the 1980s, including an explosion at a courthouse in St Austell, added it would target anyone who flew the flag of St George, which they called "imperialistic and tainted".

It claimed one of its activists had previously been involved in the burning of English people's holiday homes in Wales and said it had significant funding from other "Celtic nations" and the US.'

Blimey! And there was me sauntering around with 'Anglo Saxon' emblazoned across my T-shirt. Luckily I wasn't attacked in any restaurants, didn't end up inside a wicker man or wake up to find a sheep's head under my duvet! What I did find was a that Cornwall is a beautiful place and I had a smashing time.

Bodmin is a nice small town, not as much there as I expected but we were only using it as a base. I can whole heartily recommend the Weavers pub in the town centre. I enjoyed a delicious steak with chunky chips washed down with good pint of Guinness. The semi derelict jail is the main tourist attraction. It's an interesting insight into crime and punishment in ye olden days. People being hung for the most petty of crimes, transportation and filthy conditions in the jail. I know we need to take a harder line with crooks today but this was beyond the pale and I'm glad such barbarism is well and truly in the past.

We spent a day in Newquay. It's been 11 years since I visited there with a former girlfriend,. It's still pretty much the same, a few more bars as is the norm with most town centres anyway, and plenty of surf. The beach is gorgeous, as good as any you'd see in the med. Weather was unpredictable though, rain one minute then boiling hot Sun the next.

On the Thursday we went to visit the Eden Project near St Austell. A magnificent looking attraction with its distinct bio domes. We had a great time here before setting off towards the other side of Cornwall to visit Tintagel castle.
It doesn't look much as you take the fairly strenuous walk towards the coast, but when you walk across the wooden bridge onto the Island itself you start to feel the magic about the place. The views were spectacular and the sea looked magnificent with its distinct clear green colouring around the rocks. It was a shame we didn't have enough time to look around the village a bit more as it looked nice even with the commercialisation taking advantage of its King Arthur connections.

Before heading home we nipped across Bodmin Moor to visit the Jamaica Inn. We didn't get the chance to go around the museum but enjoyed a lovely meal before setting off home towards the midlands.

It's easy to get downbeat about Great Britain with the urban decay in our cities. But on our doorsteps are magnificent scenery and heritage that we should be very proud of. And it gives us hope that someday in the future, things could juts be better.