THE DETAILSand makes guests feel at home. We want this to
be wholesome.”
And local. The Coombeshead team produces
its own vinegars, kombucha (flavored with
foraged pineapple weed and honey from the
farm) and a fantastic fermented-tomato jam,
made with tomatoes from Marky Souter’s farm
down the road. There’s no citrus, not even for
the gin and tonics, because it doesn’t grow in
England; the delicious alternative is a house-
made black-currant-and-nettle cordial, with
nettle leaves for garnish. There’s no olive oil,
either. One concession: coffee, which obviously
doesn’t grow here (the beans come from Origin,
a local roastery).
When Adams and Bloomfield bought the
farm, rumors flew around the nearby village
about the buyers’ identities. A local gossip
reported that Adele was moving in; another
rumor named Jamie Oliver. The curiosity was
understandable. Even Adams and Bloomfield
themselves still don’t know what Coombeshead
might become, though they imagine more than
the existing inn. Bloomfield grew up in inner-
cit y Bir m ingha m a nd fel l in love w it h food a nd
agriculture during countryside sojourns in her
teens. “We’d buy a bag of peas from a farm
stand and just eat them raw,” she said. Her
dream is to welcome guests beyond the
expected demographic of well-to-do Londoners
and foreign foodies. She’s already drafting
mental plans for turning outbuildings into
educational facilities for working-class youths,
like she once was.
It’s not surprising that Bloomfield wants
others to experience the Cornish countryside.
One morning, I rose with the sun, put on
wellies and walked to a nearby field where a
stand of trees stood majestically silhouetted
against the morphing skies—the lingering
nighttime blues giving way to pinks and
oranges. The grass was wet with dew, the dawn
full of possibility. As I neared the house, the
hens clucked their greetings.
Adams was alone in the kitchen making
granola when I came in, and we chatted about
inspiration. “Here we are at the faraway end of
the country, and there are so many interesting
people doing interesting things. A lot of them
don’t even realize how good it is,” he said. He
still commutes to London, spending two days a
week at Pitt Cue and five at Coombeshead—a
brutal schedule made possible only by the fresh
creative air that reinvigorates him on each
return to Cornwall. “It’s this mix of people
coming in, learning, and doing something new,
and people doing things their family has done
for generations. And yet it all feels like it’s just
the beginning.”
GETTING THERE
Connections to Newquay,
Cornwall’s main airport, can be
made through Dublin or London
Gatwick. Train service from
London’s Paddington Station
takes four to five hours.TOUR OPERATOR
Encounter Walking Holidays
This Cornish company designs
custom itineraries through the
bucolic southern English
countryside and will handle all
your trip logistics, from bookings
to luggage transfers between
B&Bs while you hike. encounter
walking holidays.com.ACCOMMODATIONS
The Avalon This gracious B&B’s
best rooms feature sweeping
views across the garden and
down to the sea. For breakfast,
there’s homemade yogurt, local
bacon and kippers. Tintagel;
theavalon.co.uk; doubles
from £89.
Coombeshead Farm Chefs April
Bloomfield and Tom Adams have
transformed this 18th-century
farm into a charming bed-and-
breakfast. The hyper-local
menus, served at a communal
dining-room table, include house-
made pickles, kombucha and
vinegars, as well as vegetables
and fruit grown on premises.
Lewannick; coombes headfarm.
co.uk; doubles from £120; prix fixe
£50 per person.RESTAURANTS & BARS
Boscastle Bakery Tr y t h e
traditional Cornish pasties at this
village bakeshop: steak, pork and
apple, or cheese and onion.
fb.com/boscastlebakery.
Golden Lion Inn This harborside
pub has been pouring classic
English bitter pints since the
1700s. On a sunny day, sit on the
balcony and gaze at the water; if
it’s cold, there’s no better spot
than right next to the fireplace.
Port Isaac; thegoldenlion
portisaac.co.uk; mains £5–£14.
The Mariners An airy, beachy
pub where the menu is overseen
by chef Nathan Outlaw and a
handful of the almost 40 beers
come from the local Sharp’s
Brewery. Rock; themariners rock.
com; mains £13–£25.Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen
A casual, Michelin-starred
restaurant offering Nathan
Outlaw’s seasonal small plates,
like cured salmon with pickled
mushrooms and baked hake with
portobellos and rosemary butter.
Port Isaac; outlaws.co.uk; small
plates £6–£13.
Paul Ainsworth at Number 6
Modern Cornish cooking served in
an 18th-century town house.
Start with fried Porthilly oysters,
pork, fennel and apple, and end
with Ainsworth’s trifle made with
blood orange, rhubarb and
saffron. Padstow; paul-ainsworth.
co.uk; mains £30–£40.
Stein’s Fish & Chips A local
staple where the chips are cooked
in beef drippings and the fish—like
delicate lemon sole—is fried in
shatteringly crisp batter. Padstow;
rickstein.com; mains £7–£11.
Stein’s Patisserie Stop in
celebrity chef Rick Stein’s
bakeshop for a variety of treats.
Order the haddock-and-clotted-
cream pasty, a rich, intriguing
twist on a regional classic.
Padstow; rickstein.com.ACTIVITIES
South West Coast Path A
breathtaking 1,020-kilometer
hiking route that includes the
entire Cornwall coast as well as
parts of neighboring Devon,
Somerset and Dorset. southwest
coastpath.org.uk.
St. Enodoc’s Church Poet and
author John Betjeman is buried in
the graveyard of this stone
church, parts of which date back
to the 12th century. Trebetherick;
44-1208/862-398.
St. Piran’s Chapel This slate-
roofed chapel is dedicated to one
of Cornwall’s three patron saints,
who was thought to have
miraculously floated from Ireland
to Perran Beach in the fifth
century. Tr e ve t h ey.
Tintagel Castle Occupying a
headland that has had homes and
fortifications since Roman times,
Tintagel gained fame in the 12th
century after the medieval
historian Geoffrey of Monmouth
linked it to the legend of King
Arthur. Most of what remains
today was built by Richard, Earl of
Cornwall, in the 13th century.
Tintagel; english-heritage.org.uk.TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM / MAY 2017 113