The story of St Enodoc's church is relatively well known. Located in the village of Trebetherick, a short wander inland from the sandy beach of Daymer Bay, it's an intriguing destination for visitors to Padstow and Rock. Centuries earlier the wind-blown dunes had virtually swallowed the church until its excavation and renovation in the mid 19th century. These days the site is best-known for being the final resting place of former poet laureate Sir John Betjeman, whose funeral party had to struggle across the adjoining golf course in heavy rain.
But if you head in the opposite direction - turn right when you get off the Padstow ferry and walk east along the seafront at Rock - you'll find a lesser-known church with an equally fascinating story. And a much gentler walk, too.
In many ways, St Michael's church is the older sibling of St Enodoc. Both are close to the coast, with St Michael's church sitting alongside the shore of Porthilly Cove. Both are within the parish of St Minver and were known originally as the North and South chapels of the parish. Both were restored substantially during the Victorian era. Both even have a similar font; the one in St Michael's is a copy of the font at St Enodoc's.
St Michael's was originally built in the 12th century, possibly as a chapel for monks who lived at a nearby farm. The medieval four-holed granite cross outside may be even older; it was moved from the west side to the south side of the church in the 19th century.
Today the church is generally a quiet place, hosting Sunday services and summer weddings. It's usually open to visitors from around 9am until early evening.
A long, long time ago in the world of mobile phones – about ten years, I suppose – if you needed a phone for work, there was really only one brand to consider: BlackBerry. Not least because BlackBerry phones had a physical keyboard for writing your email messages.
BlackBerry is still around – and last month it launched the KEY2 smartphone, which it’s calling ‘the most advanced BlackBerry smartphone yet’. Actually, to be totally correct, it’s TCL Communication that’s making the phone: they’ve licensed the BlackBerry brand.
What do you get? Well, you still have a physical keyboard, now combined with a 4.5-inch touchscreen as well. In fact, this keyboard is improved even from the previous model; the keys are 20% higher is should make them more comfortable and more accurate to use. And when you don’t need a keyboard, it can function as a trackpad for scrolling though web pages.
Pricing is around €649 (£579) without a contract. If you want a smartphone for business – especially if your business involves writing a lot – it’s certainly worth looking at. If you want a phone for watching videos and taking photos, there’s plenty of competition.
This looks like a conventional chess board with wooden pieces, although it’s a bit thicker than usual and you’ll spot a charging socket and an on/off switch if you look closely. You set it up as normal - the pieces are magnetic - and then get ready to play. Each square is an inch-and-a-half across, to give you some idea of scale.
The board can connect wirelessly with your phone, turning it into a chess computer with different levels of play. But unlike most other chess computers, you don’t need to move your opponent’s pieces: the board moves them itself, using a magnetic arm that’s hidden underneath.
The manufacturers also say you’ll soon be able to play against millions of other people around the world. That’s where the mobile phone connection really comes into its own. If each of you has a Square Off board, you’ll see your opponent’s pieces move on your board. On the other hand, you’ll be able to play against people who don’t have a board as long as they’ve got the right app on their phone.
There are two versions available: the regular one is currently on sale for $329 (around €280) plus shipping; there’s also an even smarter one for $399. The dearer version includes space on the board for captured pieces and what’s undoubtedly my favourite feature: a reset button that sends all the chess pieces back to their original positions when the game is over.
The premise behind this is pretty simple: if you snag a regular tent on a fence or on brambles, it lets in the water. This particular tent is made from high-tech fabric that seals little holes if you rub them with your fingers.
What actually happens is that the fabric doesn’t actually break but the fibres are pushed apart when it’s pierced. Rubbing it with your fingers causes those fibres to move back into shape.
Up to four people can sleep in the tent; it's is available for $200 (around €170) via crowd-funding site Kickstarter.com and, if all goes well, they’re expecting to start shipping in December.
This is a biometric wearable that's all about focusing on your work and not getting distracted so much. And yes, there’s surely a fair amount of irony that you’re using an electronic device in order to stop being distracted by electronic devices.
Foci clips to your waist, perhaps your belt or whatever else you’re wearing. It claims to track focus, distraction, stress and fatigue, with feedback shown on your phone as a coloured ball. The device itself will vibrate when your focus drops. If this happens, the app can guide you to get you back into 'the zone'.
You’re probably wondering how Foci works. The answer is that the device monitors small differences in your breathing between when you’re focused and when you’re distracted. These readings are sent wirelessly to your mobile phone and processed by the UK-based company behind all this. As well as getting instant feedback you can also see how you’ve performed on previous days.
I’ve not used one but from the reviews I’ve seen it seems to work well although it’s (understandably) not perfect, which in itself could be a distraction.
This is another crowd-funded product: at the moment, you can order via Indiegogo for $73.
Online customer reviews are useful, but it's a system that may sometimes mislead. Positive and negative votes can be influenced by social media campaigns and an assortment of irrelevant factors, which is why I approach The Shed in Wadebridge with caution. At the time I visit it's number 3 in the TripAdvisor.com list of restaurants in Wadebridge, yet its tiny size makes it an unlikely candidate in any foodie directory.
First impressions are... how on earth can they cook anything in there? Yes, the venue's small - a few tables outside and some seats indoors - but the kitchen area itself is barely larger than a wardrobe. Service is friendly and helpful, demonstrating a genuine desire to please. We've arrived at lunchtime - walked in from Padstow, since you ask - and are feeling pretty hungry, which means we order our food and drinks quickly but carefully.
Our coffee arrives. It's good. Really good. These days most cafes are capable of producing a decent cappuccino. At The Shed, the coffee blend and the construction of our cappuccinos is exceptional.
Our food is equally impressive. Imaginative, well presented and packed with flavour. I've chosen oak-smoked kippers on toast with pink grapefruit (£5.95). The citrus cuts through the oil of the fish; simple, good-looking and very tasty. My wife's frittata is accompanied by a colourful 'superfood' salad: she's impressed with taste, quantity and appearance. A visiting customer suggests that Gordon Ramsay may want to add The Shed's 'Beached Benedict' - an updated Eggs Benedict with samphire replacing the bacon - to his menu. It certainly wouldn't seem out of place. Perhaps he'll become a regular visitor, having recently bought a holiday home a few miles away.
Ultimately, The Shed is somewhere I wish was my local cafe. And somewhere I'll make a point of returning to when I'm next on holiday in Cornwall. Thank you, TripAdvisor reviewers.
The last time we came to Truro, it was a rainy day in the middle of our holiday and we were accompanied by a grumpy teenager. We visited the cathedral, had lunch at a little cafe and ended up in Marks & Spencer, where the teenager asked me to buy him five pairs of socks. I think that was his highlight. Everyone was pretty miserable.
Today, we have no teenager. He's grown up. But I'm slightly grumpy before we've even started, mainly because I've been reading a city guide that's peppered with greengrocers' apostrophes [yes, many greengrocers] and poorly-explained historical references. It's also raining. Again.
Time to leave the frustrating guide behind. We've come to the city because we want to give Truro a second chance. Theoretically a city - with stunning architecture, shops, cafes and galleries - is a good place to be on holiday when a sunny coastal walk is out of the question.
In reality, it's not. Not in the rain. Our first stop, the cathedral cafe, is struggling to cope with the number of visitors. We escape to 108 Coffee House, where the quality of the coffee, the friendly service and the honest food deliver a welcome respite from the grim weather. Later we drop into the Arts Cafe, which seems similarly cheering (although we didn't stop to eat). Lemon Street provides an attractive Georgian view. But overall it's a bit too practical, especially on a rainy Wednesday. If you want mystery and magic, stories of fishing and mermaids, druids and dragons, Cornwall is the right place. If you need to go shopping, Truro is undoubtedly a sensible destination. But if you're looking for an escape from damp reality, this isn't where you want to be. Sorry, Truro, maybe when the sun's out. Third time lucky?
I don't blame restaurateur Rick Stein for the 'touristification' of Padstow. If I wanted to blame anyone, I might choose Sir Wyndham Portal. He chaired the London and South Western Railway company when it decided to extend its network into Padstow in 1899. As well as taking fish from the port and providing supplies to ships, it also made it much easier for visitors to arrive. Actually, it's been reported that local people cheered as the first train arrived, while a brass band played 'See The Conquering Hero Comes', so it seems many residents were pretty happy with the result.
Okay, so how about blaming John and James Herbert Cory? Their company started building Padstow's South Western Hotel (now the Metropole) just a year after the railway line was completed. Definitely an incitement to tourists. Or the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), whose golfing breaks at the Metropole undoubtedly added to the popular appeal of Padstow?
Or us, for coming here on holiday? On a previous visit we'd chatted to a life-long Padstow resident living opposite the cottage we'd rented. "Rick Stein is a very nice man and he's brought lots of jobs to the town", she told us. That's good enough for me. Besides, tonight we're booked into Rick's cafe for dinner.
The cafe is third in the list of restaurants on the Rick Stein website. First is The Seafood Restaurant, where it all began. Then there's St Petroc's Bistro, which isn't as fish-focussed. And after the cafe is Stein's Fish & Chip shop, which offers takeaway and sit-down food. (Pricing is similar to the chippy in the village where I live - and to local rival 'Chip Ahoy' - so no complaints from me.
It's fairly noisy as we enter the cafe at 8pm. The cafe makes a point of describing itself as 'family friendly' so it's hardly a surprise to see families with excited children. We're pretty excited ourselves, having eaten here before. A member of staff checks our reservation, seats us at our table and whispers "the crèche empties soon!" with a conspiratorial smile. Very nicely done.
Sure enough, the families with the youngest children are leaving before long. We order crusty bread with olive oil & balsamic vinegar and some garlic-stuffed olives from the 'appetisers' part of the menu, along with a bottle of wine. My only worry is that the olives might be served straight from the fridge. They're not. All's well.
There's a special three-course price of £23.50 each (starter, main and dessert) and we're planning to take advantage of it. My glamorous dining companion - to whom I'm married - starts with salt & pepper prawns; a dish she's chosen whenever we've been here previously. I'm told they're wonderful if you like that kind of thing. I prefer less disassembling with my dining, so pick the Pondicherry mackerel fish fry from the 'specials' board. It's also from Rick's Indian recipe book; no coincidence, I'm sure. A mackerel fillet is marinated in yoghurt, garlic and chilli before cooking. The result is less spicy than I'd anticipated, which is probably a good thing under the circumstances.
You see, we've both ordered cod curry as our main course. We were warned it was an "eight out of ten" for heat when we placed our order, although we trust there'll be more to it than temperature. And indeed there is. Served with rice and a poppadom (or 'papadum' if you prefer) plus an optional side dish of split-pea tarka dal, this is another dish inspired by Rick's trip to India. In fact, it's another from the southern Indian region of Pondicherry. The sauce is light and fresh - tomato, garlic and chilli - with decent-sized chunks of fish. Every last mouthful disappears, helped by a jug of water and a shared bottle of wine.
The cafe staff are perfectly happy for us not to rush straight into desserts. Once I start thinking about food again, a creamy pudding strikes me as an ideal follow-up to a spicy meal. I pick the gooseberry pavlova, which arrives as an individual portion: crispy like a meringue on the outside, moist and slightly sticky inside, topped with cream and gooseberry compote.
After an enjoyable couple of hours it's time to head back to our rented home for the week. As we leave, chef Paul Ainsworth emerges from his restaurant in the same road and walks off into the night. It's something of a foodie haven round here. Would we have come to Padstow if it didn't have Mr Stein's assortment of restaurants, Mr Ainsworth's Michelin Star and the Chough Bakery's pasties? Well, we didn't bother with any of these when we first visited. So... what keeps us coming back? Many different things. But it's fair to say the local food is an important part. As are the people. Although some of those tourists can be a little annoying.
Last week I was on holiday in Padstow, which has certainly been changed by tourism - the Metropole hotel has towered over the town for many decades - but I don't think the new trend of 'gastro-tourism' has made the town a worse place. In fact, after a good value meal at the Rick Stein cafe and some excellent pub cooking at The Golden Lion, I struggled to find any discord or anything to complain about... except tourists who didn't know how to enjoy themselves.
