St Ives
Before I start this, I’m just going to say that this weekend was MAGICAL. I’m starting this week in such a bubble, fully committed to riding the weekend wave out for as long as I can.
I had a few days holiday to take from work, so I decided to give myself a long weekend to go somewhere far – I decided to head to Cornwall. As I researched campsites, imagining a romantic Spring time camping trip, watching sunrises on the beach, I discovered that most campsites weren’t open until Easter. This coincided with a weather forecast promising snow and ice thanks to the mini ‘Beast from the East’. Needless to say, I decided pretty sharpish to scrap the camping idea and book an AirBnb.
Friday
Depart Paddington: 7:30
Arrive St Ives: 13:30
(Despite the incredibly long train journey, I slept for 40 minutes, and looked out the window the whole rest of the way. I couldn’t find my headphones so I didn’t even listen to music and I was too excited to read my book.)
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I stepped off the train at St Ives, to find a beach already below my feet, and immediately I was so excited, I had plonked myself right in my happy place. I took my bike with me on the train, so I wandered off and had a quick look around the town, before pedalling up (and up it was, up a huge hill) to my AirBnb. Set 10 minutes cycle out of town, nestled in the fields overlooking the sea, was The Shed where I was to spend my weekend. As soon as I opened the door, I knew it was going to be a snug little home! I dumped my stuff, and headed back into town (thankfully downhill this time) to have a proper explore and mooch, just as the afternoon clouds cleared up and the sun came out in all its glory.
St Ives itself is so beautiful. The high street is lined with bunting and parallel to the high street is a road which runs along the harbour beachfront. Lots of art galleries and little shops to look around. A personal fave was Common Wanderer where I could have bought everything. Everything.
I grabbed a pastie (disappointingly my only one of the weekend), and walked over to Porthmeor Beach, the bay to the North of the town, which I quickly learnt was the surfer’s haven of St Ives (this is also where the Tate is). The wind was a bit chilly, but the sun was warm enough to make you feel cosy, and so I sat on the beach for well over an hour, and watched the surfers ride the waves into shore. I managed to steal myself to grab some food for the weekend ahead, but then I found myself back on the beach, mesmerised by the waves and the surfers as golden hour shone in full swing.
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Saturday
I had a bit of a slow morning on Saturday. It poured so hard overnight, so I was a bit wary of what I was waking up to. It was overcast and raining on and off but nothing to keep me inside, so I got up and hit the South West Coast Path. The coastal path in its entirety is 630 miles long, running from Somerset and finishing in Poole, and last year, my own dad walked the whole thing (not in one go, I hasten to add), so I felt like there would be something quite nice in walking in his footsteps, even if only for a few hours!
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As I left St Ives behind, it was amazing how quickly I found myself in the middle of nowhere, and feeling completely at the mercy of nature. I actually felt a bit intimidated by the sound of the waves thundering beneath me, like the ocean was reminding me of its strength and my own insignificance.
The views were beautiful – even in the mizzle – and I met a dog so all in all I had a great time. Also TOP TIP from me: invest in a flask. Mine was £4 from Asda and I filled it with hot chocolate and it warmed the little cockles of my heart right up.
Sunday
I woke up at 7:30. On a Sunday. Without an alarm. I was tempted to go back to sleep, but then through the gap in my curtains I saw the bluest sky, which was such a change from the overcast day before, and completely went against all weather forecasts which promised Sunday to be a snowy write off. Yet here I was in my little shed, looking out at the sun! I wrapped up warm, grabbed my bike and got out, to explore a beach over the other side of the estuary.
A few near misses on ice, and a few wrong turns later, I arrived at a nearly empty beach car park. I locked my bike up and walked down the dunes onto this HUGE expanse of beach (it is called the Gwithian Towans Beach, kind of hard to miss on a map as its just the huge strip of sand). Words cannot describe how excited I was – the sun was out, the beach was empty, the beach was BEAUTIFUL and I had a full flask of hot chocolate in my rucksack.
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Eventually I pedalled back to St Ives (which in true Cornish spirit was all uphill), packed up my stuff, and hopped on my train, just as the snow arrived and arrive it really did. Waiting for my train back to London, I saw trains passing through which were covered in ice and snow, looking like they’d just come from Lapland; it could not have been further from me sitting on a beach with the sun on my face!
As I made the journey back, watching the countryside around me look more and more like a winter wonderland, I had time to reflect on my weekend. When I was booking this just a week ago, I had been so nervous on the phone to my mum asking questions – ‘what if I get lonely’, ‘what if I get sad being on my own’ – but as it turns out, my weekend was more than I could have expected. Sitting on the train, I had a bit of an epiphany moment, so bear with me while I try and explain it to you here, and apologies as it doesn’t come across as poignant and as powerfully as it felt to me that Sunday evening! I feel that so often as individuals, we have a whole list of things we want to do, of places we want to see, but we spend our days waiting for someone to do these things with us. And I’ve realised that if we spend our whole life waiting for that someone to say ‘YES! I’ll do that with you’, then life may just pass us by.
It is ok for us to do things on our own!
This whole challenge is teaching me that doing what you want to do should come first. Obviously being with friends and family is super valuable and important, but what I’m trying to say is that you don’t need other people to validate your happiness or your experiences – drive your own experiences and who knows who you might meet on your way. If we’re happy doing our own things, then no-one can hold us stop us, but ourselves. We can hold our heads up and be the best we can be – am I right?
Until next weekend…
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