Pirates & Pilgrims

After Newquay we headed to Penzance, way down in the south west corner of England – our next stop on our tour of Englands’ Wetherspoon’s pubs. I was both pleased and disappointed that the town had downplayed its association with swashbuckling brigands. Pleased there wasn't a Captain Purplebeard's Pirate Adventure theme park. Disappointed there wasn't at least a pirate museum or a celebrated ancient pub once frequented by some womanising fiendish rogue of the seas. Rather than a skull & bones tourist trap, Penzance turned out to be a nice little town

Upon arrival, we dragged our luggage around town before finding a cheap B&B run by a very friendly local who I think was named Larry. Our luggage is a bit of a problem because A) having moved out of home we're carrying everything we own and B) Marianne insisted on buying a violin a week before we left - "But I want a violin". You'll be pleased to know I don't offer to carry either her guitar or violin because, as far as I'm concerned, if you want to travel around the UK and Europe with a guitar and violin, you can carry your guitar and violin yourself. So there.

Once settled in, we ventured into town and discovered that, in Penzance, friendliness isn't a trait peculiar to Larry. Cornish folk on the street say hello as they pass and the elderly regulars of the First & Last all bid you fair well after you’ve had your fill of pints. I love the Cornish accent - very warm and comforting. Apparently Cornwell is where the Celts ended up when the Saxons were thrashing about England. People spoke Cornish until a couple of hundred years ago and they've been trying to bring the language back recently with bars, trains and other public places often displaying bilingual signs. The language looks a bit like Welsh to me and that might have something to do with the fact the Cornish prefer rugby to football. I'm happy to report that the local team is called the Pirates. I hear they’re a harrrrrrrrrrd team to beat.

The old buildings of Penzance are noteworthy as well - Chapel St is particularly impressive. It was refreshing to get a dose of history after the hastily constructed tourist town of Newquay. The art deco sea pool, or 'lido', is especially worth seeing - pity it was closed for the season.

From Penzance we headed to Plymouth - where the Mayflower pilgrims set sail and where Francis Drake as well as Captain James Cook (yeah!) lived. Unfortunately, Plymouth had the stuffing bombed out of it by the luftwaffe so there is very little of historical significance left. Having said that, the little bit remaining, known as the Barbican, is pretty cool. After an hour or two exploring there is nothing left to see in Plymouth except the thriving shopping district that looks like it was designed by the people who brought you the Woden Library and Benjamin Offices (for those of you not from Canberra just think of the ugliest concrete buildings you've ever come across). We stayed in a reasonably priced backpackers that was a little lifeless for my liking. I chatted to a friendly Hare Krishna-looking Dane for a while but lost him when he mentioned to another resident that he couldn't understand why people drank to get drunk. I should have explained that people get drunk so as to make the company of hippies a little more bearable.