My home in the UK is the stunning coastal town of Newquay in the county of Cornwall, blessed with some of the best weather in the country it is lush and green and has some of the best beaches you could hope to find. In modern times it's the sport of surfing that put Newquay on the map, a small town with seven beaches fed by Atlantic swells you will find surf most days of the year. Although when you think surfing you don't instantly think of the UK most people are surprised by the quality surf we get. Off the back of these conditions we have a large surf industry, the world tour comes to town each year and we attract pro surfers from all over the world.
It's not all surfing though, hundreds of thousands of people a year visit for the scenery, wide open spaces and a growing reputation for food, simple stuff like Cornish pasties and clotted cream are great but gourmet cooking has found it's way into Newquay with world famous names like Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver among many setting up shop in the area. One of my favorite places to eat is Fins fish restaurant in the harbour.
Last spring we had our niece came stay with us for a few days and the harbour area was her favorite place to play, the town gets it's name from when the ancient harbour was rebuilt and the "New Quay" was built, formed out of granite with very high walls to deal with the massive tidal exchange we get, the largest of the year being over 14 meters.
Kirra enjoying the harbour.
Because we have such massive tides fishermen have to time when they enter and leave the quayside, get your tide times wrong and you'll be waiting for hours to come back in, look at the height of the walls, those boats will be level with the top on full tide. Traditionally this was a fishing port but today only a handful of boats operate mostly supplying the local restaurant trade, back in the day the fishermen would store their nets and catch in these arches known as the fly cellars, abandoned they have slowly filled with sand.
Fly cellars.
Although still a operational harbour the boat traffic is now mainly pleasure craft and day trip boats taking out seal and dolphin watching trips. That said it is always bustling with people and a great place to spend a few hours hanging out or dining at one of the eateries. Popular with families as the cliffs in the background and the harbour walls make a natural windbreak, it's a bit of a sun trap also. In the future i'll introduce you to more of my home town, stay safe folks.
