The Top Floor Flat

Last weekend, I got to attend a unique event in London… I’ve written all about it on Spoonfed!

In a dark warehouse in London Bridge, I cower before the heavily armed militia that’s just burst through the door. Full SWAT gear adorns our attackers as they shove flashlights and machine guns in our faces. I, and the others in the warehouse, are interrogated as to our reason for being huddled in the dark in the first place and those not brave enough to answer get thrown out into the blinding sunlight with a warning never to come back. Just your typical Saturday.

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Last night was the heartbreaking second overtime defeat of Fulham FC by Atletico Madrid in the finals of the Europa League. The feeling when that Atletico ball hit the back of the net with less than four minutes left in the second overtime - minutes away from a penalty shoot out - was absolutely devastating. But now, having given away the unhappy ending, I can focus on what was, without question, the greatest sports experience of my life and my mother’s last full day in the UK.

It was already set to be a very sporty day. We had plans to visit the Wimbledon grounds and museum to get a taste of the famous tennis venue, even if we couldn’t see any matches, and that evening we were off to see Fulham play a home match against Hamburg in the semi-finals of the Europa League.

The Wimbledon grounds had a great little museum, outlining the history of the club and the game of tennis however much more exciting was the tour. Although the Championships are still almost two months away, there was already a lot of activity underway to get the grass prepared, the facilities in top shape and the tournament going. In fact, both Court 1 and Centre Court had 24 hour guard staff and guard dogs to protect the grass. Our tour guide claimed it was to keep the foxes off but the speed of the guards’ reaction when someone on the tour got too close to the grassy courts suggested they were prepared to tackle bigger threats to the greenery.

The highlights of the tour were, of course, Court 1 and Centre Court but also, a surprise as I hadn’t expected this to be part of the tour, the briefing room. Mom and I got to spend a happy few moments pretending we were winning Wimbledon players in the press room, chatting with reporters about our successful match.

We ended the tour at Centre Court and it was probably the closest I will ever be to that lawn but even with empty seats, no players and guards watching the grass, the atmosphere was electric and I can only imagine how exciting it must be to watch the finals in that stadium.

The afternoon allowed us some time to shop around Wimbledon. While Wimbledon is considered part of greater London, it has a completely unique feel to the rest of the city. It is significantly more rural, the Wimbledon golf course adding some open space between the residential area and some of the busier parts of London, and the pace is a bit less frantic. Wimbledon Village still retains a village feel - and has some great shopping.

A long morning in Wimbledon left us just enough time for a quick tour through the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington before heading back to Fulham for dinner and pregame drinks.  We found a perfect riverside pub, The Blue Anchor, for a last plate of fish and chips while I caught my mother up on Fulham’s incredible journey through the Europa League which had brought them to the semi-finals, briefed her on our key players, and generally talked soccer until she tuned out completely.

Finally it was game time. The whole Fulham riverside was buzzing and we definitely weren’t the only people heading from the Blue Anchor to the game. Fulham had to win tonight - a draw or a loss would see them removed from the tournament and the crowd was ready for a show.

Things got off to a rough start when Hamburg scored just before the end of the first half and my mother began to wonder how she would deal with a distraught daughter on the last night before her flight home should things continue to spiral downward.

She needn’t have worried. With 20 minutes left in the match, Fulham pulled ahead 2-1 and the Cottage exploded. Known for being one of the most calm, family-friendly and sedate stadiums and set of fans in the league, the Cottage and Cottagers were all in unison screaming their heads off - and the noise didn’t let up until the final whistle, sending Fulham through to the Europa finals. It was, without question, one of the greatest nights of my life and I’m so glad I got to share that with my mother (who didn’t entirely understand the significance of the event but was happy we won - even if just so as not to put up with me the next day).

And that officially ends my mother’s one week in England. I’ll try to do a recap post with all of the places we visited and links to attractions we saw. It was a crazy, busy, exciting, whirlwind of a week and although I may have tired her out immensely, I think we both enjoyed the whole experience.

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On Wednesday, my mother and I had booked a tour with Spoke and Motion - London Bike Tours for a unique view of Greenwich in east London. We started in Bermondsey, headed east along the Thames, stayed on the south side of the river past the Isle of Dogs and finally north again as the river turned to bring us into Greenwich, the home of Greenwich Mean Time (the place where all time is made! Or something like that… I was too distracted by the amazing view to pay much attention to what 0.0.0 latitude meant exactly) where we spent a wonderful afternoon before biking back to our start point.

Here, in photo review, is our bike trip to and through Greenwich:

Start of the bike trip at the Old Justice pub which, surprisingly enough, is also a secret Korean restaurant.

Mom and our bikes as we begin our bike journey east. The Gherkin, Tower Bridge and City of London in the distance.

Mom and me at Greenwich, inside what is now a college but used to be a palace, then later a navy hospital. We're standing in front of what was designed to be the dining hall.

Inside the dining hall was the most surprising and impressive paintings and ceiling designs - it was an absolutely stunning room!

Mom in front of the Greenwich Maritime Museum - isnt she lovely?

Where time is made? I certainly could use a bit more myself... we're at the Greenwich Royal Observatory which also has an incredible view of London and Canary Wharf

A view of Greenwich and Canary Wharf from the Royal Observatory

Our trusty Brompton bikes at the end of our tour - while we sit with a well-deserved cider in the afternoon sun. What a great day!

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If Monday had been the City of London: The Grand History, Tuesday was the Devil Wears Prada version of London Tourism. We were going to be hitting some of the top shopping the city has to offer. We first hopped a number 10 bus which would take us east through High Street Kensington, all the way along Hyde Park, and up to the western end of Oxford Street where we disembarked the bus to check out some of London’s high street shopping, beginning with Selfridges, the Harrods of central London. While the Gaps and Esprits and H&Ms of the street could be found in the US, there were plenty of brands that were a welcome change from the standard American shopping fare.

Where things got much more interesting, however, was on Regent’s Street, which offered many more boutique-like shops, as well as a Caffe Concerto which, while a standard pastry and ice cream shop, offered a European flair in display which caught my mother’s eye.

For lunch, we walked south to Covent Garden, which is situated in an area with plenty of its own unique shops and boutiques. We grabbed a pizza at the outdoor Italian cafe in Apple Market of Covent Garden then took a few minutes to enjoy the open air market offerings that surrounded us. Covent Garden is also home to the London Transport Museum, a museum I haven’t yet visited (aside from the gift shop which, in addition to being free to enter as opposed to the museum itself, has some really great unique London gifts) but have heard great things about.

Covent Garden could probably have occupied us for much of the afternoon but we pulled ourselves away to head back north a few blocks to Carnaby Street. This is one of the most famous shopping areas of London and is blocked to vehicles so it’s an ideal place to stroll through the shops. Over the past few years, pop up shops and restaurants, that is shops that only exist for a few weeks or months, have become increasingly popular and there was a pop up shop just at the southern end of Carnaby Street. Proceeds from the clothing and jewellery (made by local designers) was going to charity and we had a long chat with the jewellery designer, a friendly Canadian who swapped visa stories with me.

Finally, at the top of Carnaby Street, we reached a destination my mother was quite keen to visit: Liberty of London. The building itself is impressive enough, an old fashioned wooden structure that houses some of the best designer fashion in London. Oddly, my mother informed me that Liberty has recently launched a line of products they sell at Target in the US which seems to strongly counter their expensive, posh brand here in London but the store is still fun to visit, even if you’re not planning on shelling out £500 for a scarf designed by Vivienne Westwood.

It had been a long day of shopping (amazing how that can take nearly as much out of you as walking around the entire city!) and we were looking forward to meeting Spoonfed co-founders and my bosses, Alex and Henry at a highly traditional British pub for a highly traditional British dinner. We arrived at the Mall Tavern in Notting Hill eager for a glass of wine, some pork crackling, lamb scrumpets (they are exactly as delicious as they sound), mackerel pate, chicken kiev and pork medallions. It was a fantastic dinner and a great end to the day. However we had another early night as the next morning would be one of our most exciting outings yet….

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Despite our brief foray in Kensington and Knightsbridge, my mother had yet to see much of London. I planned to fix that on Monday with a very ambitious tour of the centre of London, focusing on the famous historical and political centres of the city. With no regard for my mother’s poor feet, I launched us towards the city centre on the number 9 bus which took us to Piccadilly Circus.

We hopped off a stop early to visit Fortnum and Masons, home of, among other things, the Scotch Egg, Fortnum and Mason gift baskets and my personal favourite tea set in London. While my mother appreciated the tea set, much more impressive were the window displays – a giant mixer, a rocket ship of home goods and a giant cup of tea.

After Fortnum and Masons, we wound our way southeast towards Trafalgar Square, passing Piccadilly Circus and some of the small shopping alleys of boutique shops on the way. Trafalgar Square has fantastic views of the city and is home to the National Gallery (which we didn’t have time to visit) but helped my mother orient herself as we gazed out over the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

Before heading there directly, however, we took a stroll down the Royal Mall, the long walk between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace where a crowd was gathered for an event we never could determine. It was so crowded, in fact, that we didn’t get too close to the Palace at all, but the view from a distance was impressive enough and a shorter stay outside the Palace gave us a few moments to enjoy the amazing flowers and gardens of St James Park on our way towards Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

We passed on a tour of the Abbey (I had done it twice already) and crossed the river to the South Bank where we first walked under the impressive London Eye then continued east, enjoying the riverside views before coming up on Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern. We didn’t linger long, however, as we were getting hungry and Borough Market was just a few minutes walk away.

Borough Market on the weekdays is not the impressive bustling open air market it is on the weekends and despite the local sandwich shops and great view of Southwark Cathedral, we were keen for a place to sit down and relax after our long walk of the morning. Instead of opting for a sandwich and curbside seat, I introduced my mother to Nandos, a Portuguese-influenced restaurant chain that proved a huge hit (get the chicken pita with cheddar cheese and pineapple and be sure to load up on Piri-Piri sauce!).

Blood sugar levels restored to normal and our feet briefly rested, we started off again, taking the bus north from London Bridge to visit the Museum of London in Moorgate. This little museum is a hidden gem and has a fantastic local history. In addition to giving great information on the history of London from pre-history onwards, which a heavy focus on the Roman settlers in the area in the first century AD, the museum itself is built above the ruins of the original Roman wall that surrounded the city of Londinium. Parts of the wall still stand in and around the museum and are visible from viewing decks inside. The story of London continues up through the Tudors, the civil war and finally the last major outbreak of plague and the fire of London in 1666. In a few weeks, however, the Museum is going to be opening an whole new floor dedicated to modern London and I’m looking forward to returning to check it out.

Finally, after our Museum of London visit, we were reaching what was, in my mind, the highlight of the day – a visit to the Spoonfed office so my mother could see where I work. It was another short bus ride north and I got to introduce her to my co-workers, show off our office, and grab a coffee at our local coffee shop while we chatted about our busy, busy day.

After such a long day, I had a quiet but fun dinner planned at the Churchill Arms, a tiny Thai restaurant hidden in the back of a Notting Hill pub. The restaurant seems more like the cross between a greenhouse and a garden shed than a place to get a delicious, spicy Thai dinner, but we both enjoyed our meals immensely and I had definitely impressed my mother with my local knowledge of both city attractions, bus routes and places to eat.

With sore feet, full bellies and a plan to ditch the boring history and focus on shopping the next day, we were asleep early and excited for the next day.

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There was not much that could have seen us up with the dawn, blearily admiring the architecture of the inside of Paddington rail station first thing in the morning after our busy day at Windsor aside from a day trip to Bath. Both my mother and I had selected Bath as our little city break of choice while she was visiting the UK – she for the architecture and fond memories of a little trip while she had lived here before and me for its literary and historical heritage and ties to Jane Austen. It was less than two hours on the train but we were off to a grim start as the clear skies from the day before had darkened and as we pulled out of Paddington rain began to join us for the journey.

While my mother dozed and I worried about the weather, we escaped London (and the London Marathon which was also on that day) and travelled into the gorgeous English countryside. By the time we arrived in Bath, we were both feeling a little better – her with a rest and me with the clearer skies and both with the 2-for-1 coupons that came along with our Great Western Rail tickets. We were quick to take advantage of those by signing up for the open-top bus tour, a great option in Bath as there were two different routes, both of which included with our ticket – one that took us around the outskirts of the city and one that took us through the city itself.

We began with the city outskirts and our bus driver escorted us up into the high hills around Bath which sits in a low valley. At the top of Claverton Down we had an absolutely stunning view of the city stretched out below. What was most impressive was the city sprawl compared to the historic city centre of the Roman era – but despite the urban modern growth, all of the buildings still used a facade of Bath stone, giving the entire city a uniform look and feel. Our bus tour continued around past Prior Park, a massive mansion nearly a mile long and built near the original Bath stone quarries. Unfortunately we couldn’t get too close to the house as it’s now a boarding school, but our glimpses through the trees were impressive enough.

We next opted for the city open top bus tour which gave us a bit more of the local history. We passed the Roman Baths, the Jane Austen museum, the Royal Crescent and learned about the Roman, Regency and modern history of the area. While it was all very interesting, the story of the city took second place in the queue for our attention when compared to the amazing architecture of the city.

After our two bus tours, we had a quick break for a delicious lunch at authentic Nepalese restaurant Yak Yeti Yak before visiting the first attraction – the Roman Baths. The Baths are some of the best preserved Roman architecture and historical sites in the UK and built on top of the hot springs that bubble up from below the earth’s surface. The Romans believed the space was sacred and offered a portal to a deity however this did not stop them from taking advantage of the leisure activities that a hot spring provided. While one pool remained untouched, a sacred place of worship, metres away the Romans had built a massive leisure centre, amazingly advanced for the first century AD, which featured hot and cold pools, a sauna and steam room, and communal areas for relaxation and wellbeing.

The Romans, and later the English during the Regency period, believed that ‘taking the waters,’ that is, drinking directly from the hot springs, could cure any illness and although it’s not recommended to drink directly from the springs today, the restaurant at the Roman Baths offered a filtered version for visitors to taste. While my mother refused, I gulped down the whole, slightly sulphuric-tasting, glass – that should cover doctor’s visits for the next year or so!

After the Baths, we headed north to the Fashion Museum, a place where we were hoping to find Regency era costumes but what turned out to be more of a local homage to modern fashion. It was a small museum and actually quite enjoyable despite not being quite what we expected. There were a few historic fashion touches, however, and I got to indulge my desire for whalebone corsets and hoop skirts to make a comeback with a dress up area for adults.

It was getting quite late in the day and it didn’t look like we would have time to properly appreciate the Jane Austen museum (and I was slightly loathe to bring my mother inside, horrified after she repeatedly referred to it as the Emily Dickinson Museum) but couldn’t bring myself to bypass the monument to the authoress completely. Instead of the museum (and let’s be honest, there probably wasn’t much I didn’t already know), we headed to the top floor of the building to the Jane Austen Regency Tea Rooms where some Bath Buns, tea and the late afternoon sunlight were the perfect break in our afternoon.

It was a Sunday so the shops were already closed but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise – we walked down to the Pulteney Bridge, an amazing bit of architecture where the bridge was built to include shops on either side of the road, and south along the river. In the sun (the rain now long forgotten) and with the stunning buildings, flowers and local beauty, we really couldn’t have been happier.

A calm dinner featuring French flavours and a bottle of wine at the Brasserie Gerard wrapped up the day before the short walk back to the train station and the ride back to London. While we had a busy day of London history ahead of us, our day trip to Bath was the perfect Sunday activity and we both enjoyed the day immensely.

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Day two of our England exploration saw us hopping the green 401 bus west to Windsor where we planned to visit the Windsor Castle. Additionally, my mother had fond memories of shopping in Windsor from when we lived in the UK years ago so she was looking forward to getting a chance to acclimate to the UK shopping climate.

As it turned out, we weren’t the only, nor the most important, people to have the same idea – the Queen herself was also in town staying at Windsor for the weekend and we arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard at Windsor Castle. Although we didn’t see her majesty we did see a lot of red coats and furry black hats.

After the guard had passed, we made our way into the Castle grounds and aimed straight for the royal apartments. Fortunately we’d arrived early enough to beat most of the crowd and enjoyed a morning of touring some of the inner chambers of the palace which have been either recreated or restored to give an idea of how the royal family used the space hundreds of years ago. Of course, the palace is still in use today and some of the rooms, including the dining and reception rooms, are used regularly for royal functions.

After our tour through the castle, which included a detour to the gorgeous St. George Chapel on the castle grounds, we made our way into the little town of Windsor for lunch and, most important of all, shopping.

The rest of the day passed quickly enough, with numerous shop stops, before we boarded the bus back to London. We were making our way back to the Top Floor Flat to meet Top Floor Flatmate Ann for dinner at our favourite local pub and a big plate of fish and chips for mom. The fish and chips were a huge hit – and she was immensely impressed (significantly moreso than I was) that I found bones in my plate of fish. Apparently fish and chips in the US bears a strong resemblance to processed fish fingers than anything that ever came from the sea.

It was another early night as the next morning was going to be an early one… we had a train to catch.

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April 23rd marked an incredibly momentous occasion – namely the arrival of my mother to the (surprisingly) sunny shores of the UK to visit me here at the Top Floor Flat. While she had been to England before, it had been nearly twenty years and I was going to waste no time in showing off my favourite parts of the city, my office, the flat, and some of the nearby attractions just outside London. With little regard for her poor, jet-lagged self, we set from the airport for a whirlwind week of tourism. I’ll give a day by day account of our travels but here is a sneak preview of all of the places we visited during her six and a half days in the UK. Not bad, eh?

• Oyster card: these travel cards allow cheaper and easier travel on all London transport. For my mom’s trip, I got her an Oyster card with a one week, zones 1 and 2 travel card and £5 extra. This would allow her unlimited travel through the centre of London on the underground, unlimited bus travel anywhere in London, and some extra to cover out of zone underground travel (such as to the airport or to Wimbledon, in zone 3).
• Raincoat and small umbrella: although the weather cooperated with us while she was here, this is essential kit for any London traveler. Not only does it protect against the frequent rain, but London can be quite windy even when it’s not cold or raining so the coat can alternatively be a windbreaker.
• Good shoes: London is an immensely walkable city. No reason not to take advantage of this but make sure you have comfy shoes! Good shoes are also useful when a task-master daughter insists on 8+ hours of walking per day on a crazy itinerary.
• Water bottle: If you’re going to be walking all day, especially if you’re planning to partake in any aspect of Britain’s pub culture in the evening, better make sure you’re well-hydrated.

On Friday after her arrival in Heathrow, my mother was all for going straight to sleep however having had someone to do the same for me when I first arrived in London, I insisted that she drop her bags and come outside for a walk around Knightsbridge and Kensington. Not only would this help her overcome her jetlag by forcing her to stay awake through the afternoon, but it was gloriously sunny and I had no idea how long that weather would last!

We started by catching the number 10 bus which took us east down High Street Kensington. Public buses are probably the best kept secret in London tourism – for £1 with an Oyster card, you can see huge amounts of the most famous parts of the city and while you might not have a tour guide telling you about the surroundings, you do have a chance to get the upper front seat on the double-decker buses.

We got off the number 10 just outside the Royal Albert Hall, having passed by the Kensington Palace at the westernmost end of Hyde Park. My mother was immediately impressed by the Albert Memorial, a gigantic golden monument to Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert, which may be a bit gaudy by today’s tastes but is certainly a sight to behold. Just across the street was the Royal Albert Hall, where in the past I’ve attended the BBC Proms musical events. Nearby, a classic red phone box proved the perfect location for a cliché but absolutely necessary series of phone box photos. Check one tourist box and my mom hadn’t even been off the plane three hours!

We made our way south, through Imperial College and the many music and science buildings in the area, down Exhibition Road, and detoured west to admire the architecture of the Natural History Museum. The building is as impressive as its contents and we weren’t the only ones using the space as a photo stop. Although we took a quick look inside, the darkness and quiet of the museum we not going to be any help in keeping my mother awake so we headed back out into the sun and east into Knightsbridge.

Our next stop was Harrods and despite the dim lighting, I decided to risk a stint indoors to show of Harrod’s food halls. It was worth the lack of sunlight – the layout of the food halls is more of a feast for the eyes than the mouth (which is fortunate at £5 a strawberry) and each stall, especially in the desserts hall, proved a photo stop in its own right.

Emerging once again into the late afternoon sun, we paused for a bit of window shopping along the Harrods, then Harvey Nichols displays before catching the number 10 bus back west for a home cooked dinner and a good night’s sleep before the next day’s events. It was time to see if working at Spoonfed, Bullseye and events and local knowledge of London had turned me into the ultimate tour guide.

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Today marked the first sunny AND warm day of the year and it seemed that all of London was taking advantage. The number of people outside in frankly overly optimistic clothing (sundresses, flip flops, mini shorts) was indicative of how long we’ve been waiting for the weather to turn.

Eager to join them, I donned a tank top and made my way south west towards Fulham Palace, a former residence of the Bishop of London from the eighteenth century up through the 1970s. It’s a fairly unknown landmark and hidden within Bishops Park alongside the Thames in Hammersmith and Fulham, just across from Putney. It was a lovely walk but I was completely surprised by the Palace when I arrived. Apparently it was better know, at least by locals, than I thought! The cafe was absolutely packed and dozens of families were enjoying picnics all around the grounds. I had clearly been missing out.

The Fulham Palace is a gorgeous manor house, like you might expect to find in rural Kent or Essex (not surprising as, when it was built, Fulham was far enough outside London to be considered a bit of a hike and definitely a different, rural town). Initially it just served as the summer home of the Bishop of London but later became their year-round residence.

There is a small museum in the Palace that outlines its history and the role of the Bishop of London in the Catholic or Protestant churches (depending on who was in charge at the time) and a lovely little gallery that is currently displaying a series of botanical watercolours of local plants. There’s also a - apparently incredibly popular - cafe and small restaurant and an expansive lawn and set of gardens. The lawn was taken over by picnickers but the gardens, some of which were pleasantly overgrown and hidden behind crumbling walls from the original buildings, hid locals who had turned up with books to enjoy the sun and outdoors in a more secluded area.

Fulham Palace doesn’t seem to be so much a royal (or in this case clerical) tourist destination but a local secret enjoyed by the residents of Hammersmith and Fulham. I think the Palace gardens may join Holland Park as my summer destination of choice for an afternoon in the sun. A wonderful afternoon and lovely bit of local history.

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On my last day in Cornwall, I found myself with a seemingly endless stretch of sunny day before my evening train back to London and no plans with which to fill it. At a bit of a loss for what to do - there being little useful public transport, having checked out of my hotel and not being familiar with the area - I decided to walk the half mile or so to Charlestown, just next to St. Austell where I had been staying.

The first evening in Cornwall I had walked to Charlestown so had seen the one street, few shops and, most impressively, the gorgeous bay and working docks where a couple of full pirate-like sailboats were still docked. This, however, was not a brisk walk along the ocean, this was a full seven hours to fill so I busied myself with finding something to do.

Being drawn to museums, I decided to investigate the wonderfully named Shipwreck, Rescue and Heritage Centre, a small museum built into the clay mines and loading tunnels from Charlestown’s still existing china clay trade. Let’s see, how can I possibly describe the Shipwreck, Rescue and Heritage Centre?

The museum was a kitschy cross between a middle school poster project, an antique shop and Disneyland in the 70s. In fact, nothing in the museum (artifacts aside as of course they were expected to be old) could be more recent than 1989 including the quarter of an hour welcome video that described the clay mining history of Charlestown; and the importance of the dock to the few families that populated Charlestown’s handful of streets. Featuring 80s swimwear, hairdos and turns of phrase, it was a perfect segue into the winding corridors of animatronic rooms depicting olden day Charlestown life, a vast amount of history on the numerous shipwrecks that took place off the Charlestown and Cornwall coast, artifacts from these wrecks and - the most modern part of the museum - a 2009 Royal Navy recruitment video.

View from one of the china clay loading tunnels at the Charlestown Shipwreck, Rescue and Heritage Centre

I have to say, I was completely entranced and ended up spending almost two hours reading the history of local shipping trade and rescue teams. I’m not sure what it was that captured my imagination about this local attraction (perhaps I it was the wooden pirate statue out front holding a sign “fun for dads, mums AND kids!”) but I think the Centre will live on in popularity accompanied by those American roadside attractions such as “World’s Biggest Plastic Dinosaur,” “Amazing Stream that Runs Uphill” and “Mystical Rock Garden” where parents know, at the very least, after hours of listening to a child beg to visit the overbilled attraction there will be a shop selling ice cream bars at the end.

The rest of my day in Charlestown was spent enjoying the local delicacy, a Cornish pasty, at the Atishoo Gallery Cafe; a long wander down the short dock and stretch of beach; and a delicious Easter chocolate cake at Charlie’s Coffee Shop. Amazingly I had filled my day quite happily and Charlestown is not only gorgeous but full of some of the most friendly people I’ve encountered in the UK. Maybe it’s local pride at their lovely Heritage Centre.

Steak and stilton Cornish pasty from the Gallery Cafe in Charlestown, Cornwall

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