Back Roads Great Britain (Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

47

EAT AND DRINK

PADSTOW

Custard moderate/expensive

Modern diner-style restaurant

specializing in simple but good quality

food from cakes to full meals.

1A The Strand, PL28 8AJ; 0870 1700

740; http://www.custarddiner.com;

closed Tues in winter

Seafood Restaurant expensive

This is the Rick Stein place that started

Padstow’s rise to culinary fame in the

1970s. Bright and airy, it’s just across

the quay from where the lobster boats

and trawlers tie up. A less exalted

option (eat-in or take-away), but just

as special, is Stein’s Fish & Chips café

on South Quay, PL28 8BL. Another

option is to hone your own talents in

the famous chef ’s food empire by

signing up for a cookery course of

1, 2, 4 or 6 days.

Riverside, PL28 8BY; 01841 532 700;

http://www.rickstein.com

w Lanhydrock
near Bodmin, Cornwall; PL30 5AD
After this stately 17th-century house
was gutted by fire in 1881 it was
rebuilt, battlements and all, to match
the surviving north wing and
gatehouse. The interior was
replanned to include the latest
amenities – central heating,
bathrooms and “modern” servants’
quarters, all in typical Victorian style.
The gardens, laid out at the time of
rebuilding, feature rhododendrons,
magnolias and camellias, with woods
and parkland leading down to the
banks of the River Fowey (open Mar–
Nov Tue–Sun).
ª Return towards Bodmin and
follow signs to join A30 towards
Launceston. Blisland is signed off to
the left, from where minor roads take
you to the tors. The A30 continues
across the moor, passing Jamaica Inn
at Bolventor. Turn right there towards
Liskeard and after 8 km (5 miles) turn
left to Minions.

Above left Passenger ferry departs Padstow

for Rock Above right A signpost in Blisland

indicates its old-fashioned charms

DRIVE 2: Bideford to Bodmin Moor

DAY TRIP OPTIONS

A great range of day trips is possible

along this route, taking in bike rides,

beautiful coastline and historic sites.

Tarka Country

Hire a bike at Bideford 1 and

spend a leisurely day cycling along

the Tarka Trail up the Torridge Valley

to Great Torrington 4 , looking out

for otters on the river banks. Visit

Dartington Crystal and RHS

Rosemoor Gardens before cycling

back to Bideford. Drive to the head

of the Taw and Torridge estuaries at

Appledore 2 and then relax over a

well-earned drink and a fish supper

at the atmospheric old Beaver Inn or

Royal George.

Park in the Victoria Park car park at

Bideford and hire a bike at Bideford

Cycle, Surf and Kayak Hire. Follow

driving instructions from Bideford to

Appledore and park on the quay.

Castles and Cliffs

Whatever the weather, the castle at

Tintagel 7 on its dramatic headland

is an exciting place to explore, and

the clifftop coast path provides

magnificent sea views. Discover the

legend of King Arthur, then drive to

Bude 6 to build sandcastles inspired

by the medieval ruins, surf or simply

laze on one of its twin sandy beaches.

Pick up traditional pasties for a picnic

from Pengenna Pasties, or lunch at

Life’s a Beach café.

Park in the car park nearest Tintagel

Castle, if you can, to visit the ruins. Take

B3263 to Boscastle, then join A39 to

Bude, turning left off it at Widemouth.

Gourmet Padstow

Take a boat trip across the Camel

Estuary to Rock, see how the lobsters

are hatched, and work up an

appetite for a fish lunch at Rick

Stein’s Seafood Restaurant or fish

and chips on the quayside. Energetic

types can hire a bike and cycle

beside the River Camel to Bodmin

with its weighty judicial past;

alternatively visit the Elizabethan

manor at Prideaux Place.

Park on the quay at Padstow.

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

e Bodmin Moor

Blisland: PL30 4LT; Jamaica Inn: PL15

7TS; Minions: PL14 5LJ

With its small 11th-century church,

St Protus and St Hyacinth, Blisland is

typical of the quiet villages that

nestle in leafy valleys on the western

slopes of the moor. In complete

contrast, the wild and often desolate

uplands are strewn with huge

boulders, dotted with ancient

standing stones and topped by

brooding tors like Rough Tor, an Iron

Age fort, and Brown Willy, which at

420 m (1,377 ft) is the moor’s highest

point. Around Minions, on the south

side of the moor, darkly picturesque

relics of the mining industry can be

seen – chimneys, engine houses and

spoil dumps. Jamaica Inn at

Bolventor, an 18th-century slate-

hung inn which inspired Daphne du

Maurier’s novel of the same name, is

mainly notable for its bleak evocative

setting – and gets very crowded in

high season.