A short trip to the South Coast
Part 1 - Newquay
I finished up working in Manchester at the school I was at in Mid-July, and although I was sad to leave, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience and I will always remember my time there. Not long after finishing, I went on a small road trip to the South Coast of England with two of my school friends, Torin and Oliver. We had booked this short staycation back in June, because it had been 4 years since we last went on holiday together - Barcelona in the summer of 2017. From 26 July - 30 July, we covered 3 destinations in South England - starting in Newquay, then to St. Ives, before heading to Plymouth.
The first night, we spent in Newquay. We drove there and thankfully the journey wasn't too exhausting, nor traffic too bad. We got to Newquay around midday and went to the beach first because our room in Bertie's Lodge - a local hostel we were staying in - wasn't ready yet. We ate fish and chips by the sea, before heading towards the beach. My mate Torin was keen to get into the sea and go for a swim so me and Oliver just set down somewhere and chilled. The weather was nice that evening, although it was forecast to rain later that night. Nevertheless, we made the most of the time on the beach and even managed to recreate a photo taken of us in Coney Island, New York. In the evening we went to a local bar and then an Indian restaurant for some food. We later went to a local bar with some live music, although I headed back early as I was quite tired. It was strange seeing so many people again and being in such a confined area without masks or social distancing in place - it was the first time I had been to somewhere like this since the pandemic began.
Part 2 - St. Ives
After Newquay, on Tuesday we drove to Hayle, which was a small town close to St. Ives where we were going to stay. It was much cheaper than staying in St. Ives and because we booked so late there hardly any rooms available in St. Ives anyway. We caught the train from Hayle to St. Ives, with the rainy weather doing no justice to the scenery at this point. Part of the journey was along the St. Ives Bay Line which offered spectacular views of the English South Coast from St. Erth to St. Ives. We stopped off at Carbis Bay first, which made the news last June as it was one of the places world leaders visited when they came to Cornwall for the G7 summit.
Carbis Bay was absolutely stunning, one of the nicest beaches I've ever been to. The weather had also picked up by this point and it made the beach and sea look all the more picturesque. After we spent some time at Carbis Bay Beach, we got back on the train and reached St. Ives. It was bustling here considering it was a small coastal town, with many other tourists clearly enjoying the British summer. It was definitely an whirl on the senses, with the sound of the calm sea on a peaceful summer evening beside the smell of an assortment of nearby coastal restaurants and food outlets. We queued for a place called The Balcony Bar/Restaurant that was very popular and we had some food and drinks here, before moving off to the pier to get a view of the surroundings. We then walked back towards the station, but stopped off at a pub that was almost hidden for some more drinks.
On the way back, as we were staying in Hayle we had to get from St. Erth to Hayle, although late at night there were no more trains running. We couldn't find the bus stop and there was another group also in a similar situation, so we ended up calling a taxi - my suggestion was to walk, although it would have taken an hour along some main roads. We got there in the end, though next time I think we'll choose somewhere to stay a bit closer!
Part 3 - Plymouth
The last place we were to visit on our little trip was Plymouth, another city which I had never been to. We set off fairly late the next morning, arriving in Plymouth at around 3pm. After checking in at a Travelodge in the city centre, we just took a walk around the city towards the harbour, through the Hoe Park. Plymouth was a very nice city - whilst the city centre reminded me of any other English city of a similar size, the harbour was very scenic and peaceful. This area is known as the Barbican, which encompasses many historical sites and some of the oldest buildings of the city. The cobbled streets were filled with everything from pubs, restaurants, shops, cafes, museums, galleries and The National Marine Aquarium, which we would visit later.