Last month I had a marvellous trip to Cornwall, with a few friends. We had been wanting to do a trip together and trying to get together for years, given that we are three and respective partners, with each one of us having a different work schedule, in different countries , with our share of responsibilities, it was becoming highly challenging to organise our holidays together. Alas, we got together this year and decided the destination as Cornwall.

I have been wanting to write about this trip, but was not having much luck and hence have been a bit quiet on the blogging world. I have not yet mastered the art of quietening my mind, it still ponders and wonders. In the past I have often found writing on the blog a very effective way of collecting my thoughts. Yet now every time I would sit down to write , about my trip to Cornwall, I would not be able to collect my thoughts concisely and my mind would start wandering off. I have been distracted lately; with work , and combined with a feeling of melancholy lingering , which I attributed to my friends having left back home, hence leading to my lack of coherency in thoughts.

I read recently on a Psychology website, an article emphasising on importance of friendship, referring to friendship as a gift we give ourselves and it went on to describe the meaning of friend as someone who adds the fullness of life. And says Authenticity, honesty and trust are qualities we expect to find in a friend. I wholeheartedly agree with both the statements. It also says “There is an understanding that the binding together of people in friendship helps each of us define and realise a meaningful life”. This trip to Cornwall and my friends helped me realise a meaningful life.

Cornwall, is such an underrated and relatively less talked about travel destination of England. The beautiful countryside ,with its spectacular coastline, sandy beaches and cliff tops, it’s a mystery how it has not been explored much by the travel industry. Since the advent of BBC s Poldark series, I have heard Cornwall’s tourism industry is doing wonders. Ross Poldarks s scything the grass scene has successfully set many hearts fluttering as well as been successful in putting the Cornish coastline amongst top travel destination. I have visited Cornwall a couple of years back, and was completely mesmerised by the Cornish countryside, with its magical and mystical tales, being the birthplace of King Arthur, caves where Merlin the great Wizard resided, where Daphne Du Maurier lived and where most of her novels are based. I absolutely love magic and fables and Cornwall s landscape has a mystical air about it. I so wanted my friends to experience the magic of Cornwall.

We stayed in town called Helston in a cottage , near Mullion Cove. It’s a picturesque little town, in Lizard Peninsula, not far from Penzance and St. Ives. It is also very near the Poldark mine , which is situated in Wendron Valley. While driving to Helston, we noticed a number of radar like structures on a large open field close to Helston, which I later found out is called Goonhilly earth Satellite station, which happens to be the largest earth satellite receiving station in the world, with 60 satellites. There are guided tour offered, but unfortunately I found all this information upon our return. I definitely would love to go back there again. I gathered from the website that you can send an e mail to outer space, which has the possibility of being received by another living form someday. We dropped our luggage at the cottage and headed out to the near by cove called Keynance Cove. When we started our walk to the cove, the sky was covered in dark blueish grey clouds, by the time we reached the pier, clouds were just about parting, letting in a stream of Sun come through. It was breathtakingly beautiful sight, with the sun beams stretching out from sky, trying to reach the crystal clear blue waters of the sea. The rugged cliffs around the sea in the backdrop made the view even more phenomenal. All of us stood there mesmerised, gazing in silence at the vast sea side ,with its beautiful landscape, hearing the waves crashing on the rocky shore, the wind rustling through our hair, noticing the bobbing heads of odd divers in the sea. I have always found the colossal beauty of nature and it’s compelling vastness, to have such an calming and healing effect on the mind. We came back to cottage, had our dinner, and watched the clear night sky filled with twinkling star and silvery Moon light bathing our faces. It was such a remarkable convergence of different energies; a wonderful synergy of food, love, warmth and the feeling of togetherness. Such are the wonders of simple and pure joys of this world.

“If only there were an invention that bottled up memory, like scent. It never faded, it never got stale. And then when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again”- from Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier.

Another beautiful location of Cornwall is the much loved and very well known St Ives. We took a train from St Erth to St Ives, it’s one of the nicest way to travel to St Ives, because of its scenic route and having not to worry about finding a parking spot. It’s very difficult to find a parking spot in St Ives, given its popularity and proximity to beach. The station at St Erth railway station is a pretty little stone building with lovely feeling of an cosy old station, with little wooden benches and hanging flower baskets and a shop selling old post cards, coffee and other memorabilia. The station is also part of Great scenic Railways. The train goes via Lelant and Carbis Bay, the route is very picturesque. St Ives Railway station is above Porthminster Beach, you can walk from there taking int the view which winds down to town centre, with pretty little shops, cafes and alleyways with quaint buildings. St Ives Bay and beaches are known for its surfing activities, and is filled surfers and surfing schools. Originally a fishing town, St Ives now is an extremely tourism oriented town. I love St Ives ,it’s art galleries and its beautiful artistic connection. The town has St Ives Art school, it’s known for its Modern Arts Movement, Barbara Hepworth Museum and now the Tate Modern. Barbara Hepworth, an artist and very important figure in abstract movement of art, lived in St Ives and had a studio in St Ives. There are many present and contemporary artist s studio too. I love the streets and beaches of St Ives, both have its own charm. One can find a ideal spot on a cafe on roadside of a beach or in the town centre and order a Cornish Pasty. Munching on buttery pasty, with the pasty crumbling in your mouth, take in the colourful sight of town, it is an delectable experience.

Another location we had a marvellous time was St Michael’s Mount, Marizon. It is a small tidal island on Mounts Bay. It’s part of National trust and has castle, abbey and beautiful terraced gardens. Historically St Michael’s Mount was affiliated to Saint Micheal of Normandy region of France and a Benedictine monastery. It’s a perfect place for a family outing , exploring the island as a group or just for enjoying a day out in fresh air. Since it’s an island and it would be advisable to check out the weather conditions and tide times. The day we went , it was a misty morning with very little visibility. It was all the more amusing to explain to friends who were from a very tropical and sunny climate, that we were going to walk to the island, because the tide is low now and when we head back we will have to take a ferry. And the fog made it extremely difficult for me, to show them the full pathway to walk , let alone the actual island. The I could see quizzical and confused faces, tugging at their jackets for a bit of warmth,they plodded on with an utmost faith on me, with the sea breeze hitting their face.I could hear them ask me , now and then, what is it that IS there ? And Why are we going there ? By the time we reached the island and bought tickets , had a cup of hot tea and some croissant, the mist started to clear, my friends could get their bearings and look around with their own eyes the path they had walked from the coast, the view of the town from the island and the flower laden path going up to the castle and abbey above. Now were a refreshed, happy and content bunch ; walking up the stone path, taking in the sea air, laughing our hearts out and with my friends little lad looking for the giant s stone heart, which as per legend you can still hear it beating. The legend says there was a 18 foot giant called Cormoran, who lived here on the island and terrorised the villagers until a boy named Jack from the village stayed him and cut up him in to pieces and scattered the pieces around the island . The boy was thenceforth called the Jack the Giant slayer. The story amused my friends little lad, he was full of questions about Is Jack the giant slayer same as Jack and the bean stalk giant slayer? How someone who was dead long ago can have his heart beating still? And can all the pieces join together now and become the giant and start terrorising again ? And above all can we cut up someone like that ? And I had to come up with answers rapidly as the questions were coming rapidly. The most difficult one was how do you tell a little boy , it’s ok to cut up someone, if I say yes, I am saying it’s ok to be violent and if I say no, I am saying it’s ok to put up with bullies and not stand up . Hmmm…. not a one where I can respond rapidly. My answer was long and winding, perhaps the giant is sum of all the fears of the villagers, and it just became so looming and large and Jack killed the fear before it could consume everyone. Well my answer did not satisfy the little boy, he just looked at me with his curios eyes and laughed , “ You are very funny , or perhaps it’s all just a story”. Ah the simple and unbiased world of children, where they see the things as they are!!!!! We did find the heart and tried all our best to hear if it was beating.

My personal favourite in Cornwall is the Minack Theatre. It’s an open air theatre, on a cliff top, with views of the vast open sea , and waves on the rocks . crashing. The location of the theatre is spectacular. We went there for a story telling. It was a very hot day with sun beating down, and we all sat under the open sky in scorching heat, listening to a story about a light house keeper who wants to be a writer. It was fun screaming with kids ‘ Behind You’ or making noises like sea gull or flapping about your arms as if they were wings. Although my friends little boy was more than amused looking at us lot. One must let the child in us always be alive, and I am a firm believer of the quote.

Minack theatre is not far from Land s End, the southern most tip of Britain. Land s End is a landmark location, because of astounding views of Atlantic Ocean, for bird watchers and for being Last point of land between Britain and North America. We walked around Lands End, taking photos of the famous sign post, did a bit of shopping and had Cornish Pasties as lunch. One of the walls of the shopping complex talks about the origin of Cornish pasties , it’s links to miners and how it now has evolved as national food of Cornwall.

While driving back to London, we stopped over at Jamaica Inn in Bodmin Moor. Jamaica Inn in the past had been known for its notoriety for smuggling activities and it is said that one of the days author Daphne Du Maurier was lost in the moors while riding and could not head home back because of the fog. She stayed overnight at Jamaica Inn and her stay inspired her to write the novel Jamaica Inn. The building now a grade II listing is still an Inn with rooms available, it also claims if you want you can stay in the room where Daphne Du Maurier stayed. It is no longer connected or associated with nefarious activities. There a bar called Smugglers Bar in the Inn and has a quote at the entrance “Through these portals passed smugglers, wreckers, villains and murderers, but rest easy….t’was many years ago”.This was my second visit to the inn and I remember five years ago the Bodmin Moor looked more desolate than now , the only building that was visible in miles was Jamaica Inn, giving credibility to the work of fiction called Jamaica Inn. There are many buildings around now, and it does not feel spooky. It is a perfect spot to get a great view of the vast surrounding moors. Food served is very delicious and has plenty of vegetarian options too. There is plenty of seating both inside and outside, a very rustic yet comfy decor. Being a fan of Daphne Du Maurier, and having endlessly discussed the book Rebecca in the past many years ago, we enjoyed our visit and the lunch at Jamaica Inn, chatting and reminiscing about our crazy book hunts in book stores of Mumbai.

The trip to Cornwall was so rejuvenating and therapeutic. It brought back such wonderful memories of past, of innumerable moments of affection, warmth and camaraderie, the ability to connect , to be part of tribe and along with it also brought back the surge of grief, the grief I felt when I moved to London. The unacknowledged grief of having been separated from my tribe, having lost my inherent support system, the ones who were always there, during every rites of passages ,when I got my first bonus at work, I bought my first flat, my first promotion, when I had a terrible day at work, one who would be very comfortable sitting with me in silence without asking any question, or very happily disappear when I need some space. Grief is said to be unspent love, I have heard. Nevertheless it is still love. It is often a mistake to associate love only to joy, happy times spent together. Love is present in everything, in joys, in tears, in grief and in loss too. We very easily acknowledge happy times, and block the grief and loss. And this trip helped me realise and experience friendship in its entirety, in its fullest form, making life a more fuller experience and a marvellous journey.