Mentioned that we were going to try out a pub session in Penzence. Well we did, and had a wonderful surprise, as there was a musician there that we knew from 30 years ago - Alistair Brown, from the group The Friends of Fiddlers Green! Turns out that he's going to Ontario next week for a brief tour with the group. If you know of them, you probably also know about Ian Robb. The music was somewhat different from pub sessions that we're used to, because it was mostly English dance music, with some American influence, and a bit of Irish and other ethnic stuff thrown in for good measure. We knew a few of the tunes, but if we'd had our instruments we couldn't have played much. The most prominent instrument was concertina, followed by accordion. There were a few fiddles, but only one played regularly. Also a guitar, bouzouki, flute/whistle and drums. It was an open session, with people just starting tunes when they wished. If you didn't know the tune you either listened, or more likely chatted with your neighbour. A couple of people (including Alistair) did songs, and one lady step danced. The session wasn't as lively as ours in Calgary, but it was neat to hear what an English pub session is like!
Started out the day yesterday driving to Port Isaac where the British series Doc Martin is filmed. Had a tour of the town, and saw many sites where the filming takes place. It was interesting to learn that although the front of these buildings are used, they shoot the inside scenes in a nearby town. The actors have been living there for the past 3 months and are leaving today, but we didn't see any of them. We also saw (and walked through) the alley called Temple Bar, the world's narrowest alley - AKA Squeeze-ee-Belly Alley, the advice given to a rather plump lady who tried to walk through it! We also saw the road that they used to take the lifeboat up. It had groves in the stone at corners, to accommodate the ropes as the whole village hauled the boat to its shed. It was a very tight squeeze, and the lifeboat had been custom-built to fit the narrow streets!
Next we drove to Tintagel - a ruined castle often associated with King Arthur. There are some findings to indicate that he may have been born there, but many remains are thought to be from the 12th century. There wasn't much to see of the castle, but great views of the water, rocks and cliffs below.
Our B&B is just outside the town of Clovelly. It's a World Heritage site, and is privately owned. This means that no one living there can own their property. Also, almost no vehicles are allowed to drive on it's cobblestone lanes. You must park your car in a lot and walk down the very steep hill to the water where the town ends. That's also where the restaurant where we ate is. The town slope is about 400 feet in less than half a mile, which is a 16% grade. Believe it or not, I actually found it easier coming back up in some ways, because the cobblestones didn't seem as slippery, even though it rained while we were eating and the stones were wet climbing back up. (This was our first rain, and we've been here just over two weeks. Some locals say it's the best summer in 25 years!) The restaurant had good food, but was a bit fancy inside, catering to the hotel guests I suppose. When I mentioned to the hostess upon going inside that we were casually dressed (with our runners and rain jackets) she said "yes, you are!"
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