Fulham Palace
10 Apr 2010Today 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.
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
Cornwall Eats: Austell’s
8 Apr 2010While there is something to be said for randomly wandering a foreign town until you find the local favourites, when planning a trip in advance nothing can beat a good browse through TripAdvisor for restaurant recommendations. Before my trip to Cornwall I made a point of looking up the top ranked restaurant in St. Austell for a special Easter weekend meal. All signs pointed to Austell’s as being the area’s top pick (additionally, it’s listed in the Michelin Guide!) so I emailed my reservation for Saturday night in advance and headed off to Cornwall ready for a delicious dinner.
Unfortunately, and to my great surprise, I heard back that they were entirely booked so I swung by the restaurant to plead my single traveller case – thank goodness I did, they kindly found a spot for me and allowed me to enjoy the most delicious meal I’ve had in ages.
Austell’s operates on a set menu – always a good sign in my opinion as it means the menu options will be well prepared rather than a whole range of short order meals coming out of the kitchen. I could choose between a small array of starters, mains and desserts for a fixed (and incredibly reasonable) price. While located in a fairly unromantic area (next to a fast food Chinese buffet and Indian takeaway restaurant in what Americans would call a strip mall), once stepping inside the restaurant it was like being in a whole different location.
I started with a fillet of bream served with fried squid and a light, lemony fregula which was perfectly prepared. The fish was salty and light and had just enough fishy flavour to taste fresh but not enough to overpower the rest of the meal. The squid was incredibly flavourful and not the least bit chewy (which I thought was a given with squid) – it cut with my fork. The grains balanced the dish nicely, adding a bit of texture to the fish.
Next I decided on the Cornish beef ribeye served with a red wine jus, sauteed mushrooms, green beans and potatoes. I don’t eat red meat particularly often at home and so it was a very special treat, even moreso in that it was perfectly done to medium rare and I polished off the plate in much less time than I would have probably done in polite company.
Finally, I finished with the hot dark chocolate lava cake, served with mint chocolate chip ice cream. Simple, delicious and amazingly chocolatey, it was the ideal end to the meal.
Overall I’m so glad I picked Austell’s for my Easter meal (even if it was a Saturday dinner rather than Sunday!). The staff were wonderful – my waitress stopping to chat with me when she had a moment as I was sitting alone and of course the fact that they squeezed me in – which really added to the whole meal and ambiance. If you can get a table, I highly recommend a visit to Austell’s if you’re ever in the area.
Austell’s
http://www.austells.net/
10 Beach Road
St Austell
PL25 3PH
Tel. for bookings: 01726 813 888
Cornwall: The Porth Avallen Hotel
7 Apr 2010
For a small town, St. Austell – home of the Eden Project and located on the south west coast of England in Cornwall, has a surprising number of hotels, bed and breakfasts and campsites. While this is due to the nearby Eden Project, which is not only a tourist destination in its own right but also a location for massive concerts during the summer, the fact that the surrounding area is absolutely gorgeous definitely doesn’t hurt.
So I was faced with numerous choices for where to stay while in St. Austell over the Easter holidays, and didn’t have much to go on when I selected, a bit at random, the Porth Avallen hotel on Carlyon Bay. What a wonderful decision! I was immediately impressed by the breathtaking views of the Bay and ocean beyond (their motto is “the only thing we overlook is the bay”) and their interior was filled with common areas to sit and read or just enjoy the view – including the lovely restaurant (where I enjoyed a full English breakfast each morning), the bar and the lounge. My single room was comfortable and – as promised, had a view of the bay. The brand new television and absolutely massive bath towels were just added bonuses.
View from the Porth Avallen Hotel in St Austell, Cornwall
But what was most impressive throughout my stay was the overwhelming friendliness and kindness of the staff. From the moment I arrived, I was greeted warmly by the receptionist (who I later learned was also staffing the bar and brasserie!) who provided me with maps of the area and suggestions for dinner that night. After my first night in the Porth Avallen, I awoke to a torrential downpour and upon wandering down stairs to ask how I might get to the Eden Project (my plan had been to walk) the owner of the hotel, George, offered to give me a ride! It was clear he was proud of his hotel and rightly so.
The Porth Avallen made a fantastic home away from home for my holiday and I would highly recommend it for anyone visiting the area, in particular single travellers as the welcoming air and amazing views much more than compensate for any travelling companion.
Porth Avallen Hotel
http://www.porthavallen.co.uk/
Sea Road,
Carlyon Bay
St Austell
Cornwall
PL25 3SG
Tel 01726 812802
Cornwall: The Gardens of Eden
6 Apr 2010The UK seems to be quite generous about time off – in addition to the 25 days annual paid leave (that’s five working weeks, people!) there’s also a goodly chunk of Bank Holidays scattered unevenly throughout the year. Two of these fall on either side of Easter, namely Good Friday and Easter Monday.
With a four day weekend at my disposal, I decided to make the trek to the far southwest of the country and to Cornwall, an area of the UK about which I’d heard lots of nice things but hadn’t had the opportunity to visit. I decided to tie into my trip a visit to the famous Eden Project – a giant garden with two massive biodomes containing plant life from the Mediterranean climate and rain forest climate respectively. I’d heard a lot about the Eden Project, mostly because they put on a number of big music festivals throughout the summer, but as this is the time of year that everything seems to be bursting into bloom, it seemed as good a time as any to visit a new part of the country and the Eden Project itself.
Four hours on the train deposited me in the tiny town of St. Austell where I would be staying. The coastal village was fairly nondescript but had the benefit of being right on the water – and the hotel where I was staying was wonderful (more about that in a later post). My first evening in town I took a long walk to get my bearings but the highlight would be the Eden Project the next day.
Rather than try to explain the Project, and the amazing flowers within the biodomes, below is a series of photos from the trip:
Meaghan Fitzgerald is a marketer and entrepreneur building and growing consumer and gaming products and experiences. A Silicon Valley native, she started her first company, DormWise, in 2006 which she later sold in 2009. Meaghan spent 7 years in London in early stage consumer startups, two years at Xbox as a product marketer for Minecraft, and is currently the head of product marketing for VR experiences at Facebook and Oculus. Meaghan writes here about business, technology, gaming, and marketing. She has been named a top