Ireland, UK 2017: 5/14 Day 12 - Cornwall

"He felt he would like one more look at the sea, which even now was licking at the rocks behind the house. He had no sentimental notions about the sea; he had no regard for its dangers or its beauties; to him it was a close acquaintance whose every virtue and failing, every smile and tantrum he had come to understand."
~Winston Graham, Ross Poldark

Net travel: 121 miles.
Soul restoration: 100%.

We had a more relaxed pace on this day because we planned to cross the causeway to St. Michael's Mount. The tide sets the timing for this endeavor and today that meant the crossing there and back could only occur between noon and 4:00 p.m. That left us time to take in a little scenery around the hotel. 

The view of the hotel from below:

Tintagel Castle ruins: The castle was built half on the mainland and half on an island. The King Arthur legend claims that Arthur was conceived here. A cave below the castle that is accessible at low tide is named for the wizard Merlin.

Having done a fair bit of driving in and out of Tintagel, where we stayed for 3 nights, we passed this roadside stand a few times. A "bap" is a fluffy bun (like a hamburger bun), but "baps" (especially in the context of "nice baps") is slang for a woman's breasts.

This is how you know where the writer Winston Graham imagined his Poldark characters to live...In the first book of the series, Redruth is the place he found his future wife Demelza, Bodmin is where Jim Carter began his 2 year incarceration, and Truro was the major business hub.

We got to drive on a major highway with an unobstructed view!

A Sunday with nice weather made the beach at Marazion very popular.

Our first view of St. Michael's Mount

St. Michael's Mount as seen from the causeway at low tide.

Sea plants along the causeway--I don't know what the bumps are, but they remind me of a creature in an old episode of Doctor Who for some reason.

If it's an old castle, of course it's build at the top of a steep climb.

Clearly things have been modernized and fortified at the top!

Some type of aquatic animal teased us by swimming around below the castle, but didn't cooperate with being photographed.

We ate a nice lunch on the island and then headed back across the causeway.

Before driving in another country, one should review relevant laws and signage. We didn't do that, so we found some interesting and sometimes confusing. signs along the way.

Not sure what this sign tells us about disabled people...

Buff dude digging ahead? Is he digging a hole or filling it in?

We did finally learn that this one means no stopping. Not that there would have been a place to stop, so just don't do it.;

A sign just up the road from this point just said "Ford." The British seem to be particularly fond of extra wording on signs, so a single word puzzled us. It didn't take us long to figure out what it meant.

I wonder how much additional traffic the single track roads get since the widespread use of GPS devices that search for the shortest route. Surely the road builders didn't intend for high traffic in areas where the cows are penned right up to the road.

We binge-watched the TV show Doc Martin about a year ago, so we had to visit Port Isaac. Port Isaac is the location for the fictional Port Wenn in the series and I'm sure it would be a popular tourist attraction even without the attention from TV fans. Parking is pretty much non-existent in the town, so visitors park in a lot above and walk down/in.

Doc Martin's "surgery."  The scenes inside Dr. Ellingham's medical practice are filmed in studio, but this building serves as the exterior.

The streets are accurately depicted in the show.

The Old School Restaurant is used as the school where the character Louisa works.

The tide was still out quite a way in the port area. This is a fishing village.

Most of the shops were closed by the time we arrived in the town, but we saw plenty of souvenirs available through the window.

We knew the filming for the next season had started earlier in the spring, but didn't know the status. Jeff kept joking about seeing Bert Large. As we walked past a restaurant and he said, "there's Bert" I assumed he was still joking. Nope. The actor Ian McNeice was seated outside the restaurant with Eileen Atkins who plays Aunt Ruth. For a small donation to charity, Mr. McNeice graciously agreed to photos.

Ireland, UK 2017: 5/13 Day 11 - Cornwall

"‘I never – want to leave – Cornwall,’ he said. ‘You’ve introduced me to Heaven.’

‘It isn’t – always – like this,’ she gasped. ‘Often it rains for ever. And usually it blows for ever.’"
~Winston Graham, Bella Poldark

Net distance traversed: 192 miles

Since Poldark brought us to Cornwall in the first place, it seemed only right to visit the Poldark Mine. Now, here is a place that is "properly signed." No mistaking where you are!

Of course, it wasn't always known as the "Poldark Mine." Once a working tin mine called Wheal Roots, it operated during the 1700's. In the 1970's, it served as the filming location for the BBC production of Poldark, a TV series based Winston Graham's historic fiction about a Cornish mine owner named Ross Poldark. With the popularity of the TV series, it opened to the public as Poldark Mine in 1977. After on and off operation as a mining museum, the mine was used in 2014 for filming sequences of a re-make of the Poldark series.  It has operated as a museum with tours open to the public since 2014.

We really couldn't tell you the criteria used to determine the most atmospheric mine tours, but we were suitably impressed with this one. (Personally, I think it beats the coal mining experience at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.)

Several of Winston Graham's books were launched at the mine, so of course they are sold in the gift shop!

Great place to learn the history.

While waiting for our tour, we bought coffee and tea. In Britain, one doesn't just buy a hot drink in a disposable cup, even if you're buying said drink from a concession stand.

Our tour guide shared his knowledge of historic mining methods AND his experience working with the cast and crew of the Poldark series. All traces of modern convenience (railings, lighting, wires, etc.) were covered and the coverings painted to blend in with the background. From the sound of it, the show does a decent job accurately depicting 18th century mining techniques

Examples of old ladders used in the mine.

The mines in Cornwall are often very wet. Pumps had to be run constantly to keep the tunnels from being flooded. During the recent filming, the pumps were shut off for 20 minutes to allow water to accumulate so the actors could slosh through. It took 4 hours to pump that same water back out again.

This is the spot Aidan Turner (as Ross Poldark) is seen hammering.

Not only can you stand where Aidan Turner stood, but the mine is available for wedding ceremonies in this very spot.

A few areas contain displays of working miners. Boys started working in the mines around age 9. Girls worked above ground as Bal maidens, breaking up the rock brought to the service and picking out the pieces containing ore.

Water wheels initially supplied the energy to run the pumps that would keep the mine dry.

Model of a mine.

The weather that morning and into early afternoon included intermittent periods of sun, followed by clouds and brief mist--a great day for a stroll along Kynance Cove beach. This location also appeared in the current Poldark
show, in some scenes as Nampara Cove.

Seriously the BEST lunch we've had on this trip--bacon, brie and cranberry chutney from the Kynance Café, at picnic tables on the beach.

Porthgwarra Beach, another location used as Nampara Cove in the show. The tide was starting to come in and the beach was covered in sea weed, so we didn't spend a long time here.

We experienced our first vacation rain in the late afternoon, making the tour of derelict mines wetter and colder than we might have liked. But you can't have perfect weather all the time!

Botallack mine area, near the area used in the show as Wheal Leisure.

Levant Mine and its buildings served as Tressiders Rolling Mill in the show

Wheal Coates.