Back Roads Great Britain (Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

37

EAT AND DRINK

FOWEY

Sams moderate

Popular small restaurant specializing in

seafood and American diner-style dishes.

20 Fore Street, PL23 1AQ; 01726 832

273; http://www.samsfowey.co.uk

POLPERRO

Three Pilchards inexpensive

Traditional old pub a small roof

garden; renowned for its ales and food.

The Quay, PL13 2QZ; 01503 272 233

Couch’s moderate

Smart restaurant that mixes old-world

charm with modern influences.

Big Green, PL13 2QT; 01503 272 554;

http://www.couchspolperro.com; open

evenings only

AROUND TAVISTOCK

Chipshop Inn inexpensive

18th-century pub in a village with a

mining heritage. Large garden, real ales

and meals based on local produce.

Gulworthy, PL19 8NT (4 km/2½ miles

west of Tavistock on the A390)

Above left View over the Tamar Valley, seen

from Kit Hill near Tavistock

DRIVE 1: Lizard Point and the South Cornwall Coast

DAY TRIP OPTIONS

As well as the beauty of its coastline,

Cornwall has a wealth of superb

gardens thanks to its mild climate.

Culture and Coast

Explore St Ives 1 and its galleries in

the morning, then grab a pasty and

head along the coast to pretty Zennor

2 , Pendeen 3 and Cape Cornwall –

for a clifftop picnic. Finish the day

watching the sun sink into the sea at

the Minack Theatre, Porthcurno 4.

Follow the B3306 from St Ives on to

St Just and then take the B3315.

The Lizard

The Lizard Peninsula 7 offers plenty

of attractions for both kids and

adults. Take a dip at Kynance Cove,

visit the Lizard Lighthouse and have

lunch at Cadgwith. Drive past the

futuristic Goonhilly Satellite Earth

Station to see the seals at Gweek.

Then, if there’s still time, explore the

gardens at Trebah 8.

Use the A3083; then take the B3293

to Goonhilly and Gweek and drive

on to Trebah.

Harbours and Gardens

Find the Lost Gardens of Heligan q

and then learn about shipwrecks in

Charlestown w. Tour the Eden Project

e before returning to Fowey to end

the day by the water’s edge r.

The B3273, A390 and A3082 connect

Fowey to Heligan with Charlestown and

the Eden Project well signed on the way.

Eat and Drink: inexpensive, under £25; moderate, £25–£50; expensive, over £50

y Tavistock

Devon; PL19 OAE

Gateway to Dartmoor

National Park, Tavistock

became a prosperous market town

during the 19th century, thanks to

the discovery of copper in mines

owned by the 7th Duke of Bedford.

As a result, he paid for the

remodelling of the town hall in grand

Gothic style and built other buildings

around Bedford Square in the local

grey-green Hurdwick stone, including

the Bedford Hotel and the Pannier

Market. A small local history museum

(Easter–Oct, open daily) is housed in the

monastery gatehouse on the square.

To the east lies the wild moorland of

Dartmoor, populated by ponies and

sheep and dominated by granite tors.

In the centre, Princetown, famous for

its prison built in Napoleonic times, is

the highest town in England. Near

the edges lie interesting old market

towns such as Moretonhampstead

and Chagford as well as atmospheric

villages like Buckland-in-the-Moor

and Drewsteignton, both with pretty

thatched stone cottages and small

granite churches. The 36-m (120-ft)

tower of St Pancras Church at

Widecombe-in-the-Moor, a village

immortalized by the folk song about

its fair, is a landmark for miles around.

Plaque outside the

Town Hall, Tavistock

Above The small ferry town of Polruan,
looking across the estuary towards Fowey

VISITING TAVISTOCK

Tourist Information

Bedford Square, PL19 0AE; 01822 612

938; http://www.devon-information.co.uk

the 15th-century St Fimbarrus Church
with a Norman font. The nearby
Daphne du Maurier Literary Centre (5
South St; open daily) reveals local
literary connections and houses
the Tourist Information
Centre.
Look for the original
Elizabethan panelling and
ceiling in the Ship Inn,
( Trafalgar Square). Take a
boat trip from Fowey
Marine Adventures (35 Fore
St, Fowey; 01726 832 300) to
see the many cliff-nesting
sea birds and, perhaps dolphins, seals
or even basking sharks.
ª Take the Bodinnick car ferry and
follow signs to Polperro. The village is
car free, so park at the top, then either
walk down to the harbour or ride in one
of the “trams”.

t Polperro
Cornwall; PL13 2QR
A single main street of whitewashed
cottages, old mill houses, inns and
boathouses, with the little River Pol
beside them, runs down a wooded
valley to the fishing harbour and tiny
stone Roman Bridge. With seagulls

wheeling and crying overhead, this

13th-century former pilchard-fishing

village is almost too pretty for its own

good as it gets very busy in summer.

ª Leave Polperro on A387 (signed

Looe), turning left onto B3359.

At the junction with A390,

turn right to Tavistock (40

km/25 miles). Park in

Bedford Square.