Spring Holiday Part Three - Beautiful Breakfast & Gardens

 The day started well with a visit to Hawksfield Artisan Village. There's a deli there, couple of clothes & artisan shops, but the highlight was visiting Strong Adolfo's. I had an iced tea and a Mexican Brioche burger, and it was phenomenal. It was so tasty, not at all greasy, and was thoroughly enjoyable, particularly with the great views and friendly service we received there. It was very busy, but well worth the short wait we had. You can check out their menus & associated merch (James treated himself to a tote bag) @strongadolfos.com. I promise you, there is no regrets eating here!

After our delicious breakfast, we had a wander around Hawksfield, visiting the deli for a couple of tasty treats, while James treated himself to a T-shirt in Finisterre. He wanted something else, but they advised us it was out of stock in that branch, but they had some in the one at St Agnes. Since it wasn't far off the way we were headed, we agreed to pop in and have a look. We also called in at Ann's Cottage in St Columb, where I treated myself to a nice new shirt. Not that there's any room in the wardrobe for it, but I figured that's a problem for when I get home. Future me will have to squeeze it in somehow!

We then headed over to St Mawgan, where the Japanese Garden is situated. Now we had been before, but in the summer, and we decided to pay an early spring visit and see what else we could see. It's a magnificent garden, not the largest we've ever been to, but it's so lovingly designed and built, and it just has a real paradise feel about it. Here's the entrance, which beautifully frames the pathway, plants and decoration behind it.

The signs of spring were positive throughout the garden, from the dainty magnolia sitting just above the surface of the pond providing a lovely contrast.

The pond itself is crystal clear and with some brightly coloured koi carp slowly drifting about.

There's lots of gravel paths that help you explore the gardens, and every now and again they open up around something, like this gravel & stone displays with the little temple ornament just behind.

It's a wonderful place to get yourself lost in for a few hours, behind every turn there's something else to see. Despite the bare branches of the tree's, there's still plenty of greenery, with the bamboo path really standing out.

The same picture, but I was tapping on my phone screen in different areas to focus the camera. I love both pictures, I love how the first is out of focus slightly, the greenery of the tree taking centre stage, whereas the second photo gives the offering stone the highlight. I'd never realised how easy it was to do this on my phone until I saw a video on Tiktok showing you how to do it. I'm going to remember that trick, it really makes photos change, especially as I don't do any editing to my pictures. (I take a couple and then select the best one when I come to blogging. I always make sure to delete the ones with my fingers in the corners!)

I love the zen aspect of the garden, particularly the patterns around the moss coloured stones which just contrast so fantastically with the light grey, almost silver stones. I'm someone that loves colour, and I'm fascinated how colours interact with each other and either harmonise or contrast. It was something I loved when I worked on the Womenswear department at my old job, being able to create eye catching displays of colour with clothes & accessories, whether that was colour coordinating suits & sets, creating colour flows with scarves and accessories, or bleeding colours to create themed departments. I miss doing it if I'm honest, having that creativity. But anyway, I'm digressing. The Japanese Gardens are situated in St Mawgan, a little village nestled on the lower reaches of a hill. At only £6 entry for an adult, it's very reasonable, and the little shop there is well stocked with both plants & other Japanese related items, such as decorations, food ware & homewares. The gardens close for winter, but you can find their opening times and other information on their website japanesegarden.co.uk.

We then popped across to St Agnes, situated near Wheal Kitty where the other Finisterre is based, where James picked up the t-shirt he had wanted earlier, while I gazed at the old pumping tower that was still remaining. You couldn't go in, there was big signs saying unsafe structure, but I couldn't help but wonder what it looked like inside. I'd love to stay in one, but I've not seen it as an option anywhere. If you've seen one or stayed in one, let me know! 

We then headed across to Trerice house, and a had a little wander about there. I'll be honest, it wasn't anything special, and we didn't stay too long. But that's the beauty of having a National Trust membership card, you don't feel guilty for leaving if you're not feeling it as you've not paid full whack to enter.

You enter here, through the little yard, there's a tearoom & little shop here, before entering into the main house.

I feel awful for saying this, but the place was just nice. There wasn't anything particularly amazing or incredible about it, although the impressive plasterwork was perhaps the highlight for me. The house seemed to not have any sparkle or much personality, and we left feeling a little bored there.

More views of the intricate plasterwork dotted about the house.

The gardens were more interesting, particularly due to the amount of ladybirds everywhere. This sage plant had a dozen of them, and we saw more and more going about their daily business across the gardens. That's a good sign to say that spring is indeed here!

We sat for a little while in the shelter in the garden, and mused about our visit here. But like I said to James, you can't like everything & everywhere you visit, and you can't force yourself to either. So we headed out, and thought we'd find something we would enjoy a bit more. 

But I urge you all to do your research before taking just my word for it! We'd looked things up before we went, and sometimes the vision of a place doesn't match reality. That's just life! I wouldn't recommend Trerice, but other people will. It's all down to personal taste. But if you do want to know more about the house & gardens, you can check out NT's website @nationaltrust.org.uk/trerice. Adult tickets start at £15, which I felt was un-reasonable considering what was there. But like I say, (and to quote the famous Tamra Judge meme) that's just my opinion!!!!!!!!!!