We have just returned from a short break to Watergate Bay in Cornwall. Most people seem to prefer the beach in summer, but give me a cold and windswept beach any day:
Not only is a cold and windy November beach bracing and exhilerating and restorative, but it is also a great place for knits in action.
The soft focus in the photo above is because we took this in a soft and steady drizzle. Frequent readers of this blog will notice that, under the down vest, I am wearing my Killybegs cardigan, designed by Carol Feller and knit in Donegal Aran Tweed from Studio Donegal. Here is another shot, with our hotel in the background.
The rain began when we were a good thirty minutes walk down the beach, and came down steadily. I am here to tell you that wool is truly a miracle fabric: not a single drop of water penetrated this beautiful Irish wool. I remained warm and dry and cozy. It wouldn’t withstand a downpour, but was considerably more wind and water-proof (and attractive) than a fleece. (Now that I have put in my plug for wool, note that on the next day, I wore a fleece sweatshirt, proving that nobody’s perfect.)
On the second day, we went for a long walk along part of the Coastal Path, which winds along the cliffs above the beach. It is beautiful in any time of year, but on a windy autumn day it has a special appeal:
Observant readers will notice two handknits in these shots. I am wearing my Wintergreen cowl, knit in seed stitch with a double strand of Malabrigo worsted, and I am also wearing the wonderful Peerie Flooers hat designed by Kate Davies. This hat was one of the first projects I documented on this blog. It is very appealing to wear these knits in action, and I get quite a bit of satisfaction out of wearing handknits.
You can see in the above photo that the cold and wind do not discourage the surfers. They are a die-hard lot; we stood be-hatted and bundled and watched the wet-suit wearing surf fanatics play in the waves. This is the same beach where Doug and I flew kites on our August trip to Cornwall. We refrained this time, due to back problems, but the kite flying crowd is also undeterred by the cold:
Doug was in charge of the camera on this holiday, but I made a point of taking a few photos of him so that we could prove he was there. They all turned out uniformly awful, except for this one:
This beach is also the site of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant, Fifteen, where we had a very nice dinner. I was impressed because they made up a special 5-course taster menu for me that was not only gluten-free but also without meat. Since we were staying at the hotel and didn’t need to drive, we had the 5-course taster menu with 5 wines, including a nice talk with the young sommelier-in-training about each wine. It was fun. Note to self: someone who gets drunk on her second glass of wine should not order 5 of them.
(Perhaps 5 glasses were also more than enough for the photographer?)
We booked this holiday to celebrate our 22nd anniversary (a little late, since the anniversary was in September). It was a lovely break from routine with great food, beautiful beaches, long walks, and plenty of time to sit by the fire and knit.
