South Western England

The south west of England has always appealed to me.  The lush green countryside, the small slow moving rivers, the sleepy little country hamlets, the ancient monuments from lost cultures and the hypothetical home of King Arthur.

Before this trip when I thought of Devon and Cornwall my mind wandered from the bleakness of Dartmoor and the huge looming tors to the sea pounding against the cliffs below the walls of a castle.  My trip from London to Penzance finally afforded me a chance to see the things I'd only heard of.  In many places what I saw was more impressive than what I was expecting, while a few of the places didn't quite live up to my expectations.

Andover & Salisbury

My first stop after leaving London was the small town of Andover to catch up with my tent-mate, Darren, who I met while hiking the Inca Trail in November 2011.

Darren played the perfect tour guide for my brief stay in the area.  We visited nearby Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral and we had a good walk through a nearby forest to look at Blue Bells - while also affording me the opportunity to get my dog fix from his sister's two super friendly golden retrievers, Lewis and Jensen.

The area does not have many sights and can be a bit difficult to navigate by public transport, but it was one of the absolute highlights of my entire trip and not for any site we went to.  The highlight was a large family dinner at Darren's mother's home with his sister's family and I'm still happy and grateful I was able to experience that.

Bath

I had high expectations when heading to Bath.  High expectations often result in being disappointed when you arrive somewhere new, and sadly, that was true of Bath for me.

Bath was going to be the first city I was going to visit (of many it turns out) which had been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I expected to be more impressed with the squares, churches and architecture of Bath than I was with that of Paris.

It is pretty.  It is nice to walk around.  The Roman Bathhouse is an incredible place to pass an afternoon.  But, it is only a small country town that the wealthy have flocked to for hundreds of years and expecting too much from little Bath, in hindsight, was foolish on my part.  That being said, I did enjoy it, and I think visiting Bath is probably best done for Christmas shopping or as a couple.

Exeter

The only concrete advice I'd been given about Devon is 'don't bother going to Exeter.'  I found myself in Exeter.  I had 4 days before my train to Newquay.

The advice, in my opinion, wasn't very good.  I enjoyed Exeter, and while I might not have plans to ever go back, I did enjoy the city.  The impressive city walls are some of the most complete of any city in Europe, the cathedral is massive, and walking along the quay is beautiful (and can often be a good show as the swans and pigeons battle for the tourists' offerings).

Dartmoor

Dartmoor was high on my list of places I wanted to visit, but I didn't know what to expect.  I was anticipating a bleak landscape without much variety, but I was so very wrong.

Dartmoor is beautiful.  One area I hiked through has some of the steepest most beautiful forested hills I've hiked over while a mere 5 miles away there is a bleak grey landscape broken only by shaggy ponies and sheep, rocky tors and motorways.

I stayed in the small village of Moretonhampstead and I feel like I really got to experience the English country lifestyle - if only briefly.  I hiked the hills, had dinner in the local pubs, and went ramblin' with a large crowd of pensioners.  Of any part of my trip through England few days were as jam packed with interesting things to see and do as the two days I spent in Dartmoor.  Not what you'd expect for a little country town which is barely on the map!

Newquay

On my way from Exeter to Newquay I didn't know what to expect.  I had gotten back to my old mantra of 'expect nothing and everything will be amazing.'  My time in Newquay also reaffirmed my second most important mantra, 'it's all about the people you meet.'

Everything I had heard about Newquay pegged it as a party town where you surf during the day and then drink from sun down to sun up.  It may be true in the summer, but in May this is not entirely the case.  It's too cold to surf.

Immediately after checking in to the hostel I met one of the coolest people I met on my entire trip - an American named Wil who'd only just got here, didn't know where he was going or what he was doing next and 'hey, do you want to hang out?'  Very much my style of travel.  We had maybe the best fish & chips either of us has ever had.  Welcome to Cornwall!

My 3 days in Newquay were great fun and I got in some good sightseeing while also experiencing my first real stint in a party hostel during the trip.  The highlights were watching a girl from the group I met rock out on stage in front of several hundred strangers with her fantastic voice, playing ultimate frisbee on a frigid beach at 2am and a slightly arduous trip to Tintagel - the birthplace of King Arthur.

St. Ives & Penzance

My opinion of St. Ives is coloured by the unfavourable circumstances of and around my visit and not so much by what I saw and did there (which isn't a lot to be honest).

I didn't want to leave Newquay as I'd just made 20+ new friends and every night had been great fun.  I wanted to stay in Penzance, but the amazing hostel there was full so I went to St. Ives instead.  I got lost in teeny tiny St. Ives trying to find my hostel.  The hostel wasn't open for 5 hours during the afternoon - the same time period I wanted to check in.  I paid over the top for lunch while carrying my heavy backpack.  The hostel was dirty, rundown and had no security.  It was laundry day.  I nearly lost my phone while leaving St. Ives.  I imagine I could go on and on, but you get the point.

I did enjoy walking The Island in St. Ives and I once again had great fish and chips, even though I had to defend my food from an aggressive seagull with an empty soda bottle.  Beware of the locals.

Penzance, on the other hand, I really enjoyed.  Mostly because I walked the coastal path between Penzance and Marazion and because I got to spend a whole morning clambering over the majestic island castle of Saint Michael's Mount (of which there are few pictures due to the near loss of my phone, sorry!).

Conclusion

Visit south western England - it's beautiful, there are many things to do and see and the local food is delicious (if maybe a bit hard on your waistline).