With a beautiful bay, sunbathing seals and Cornish coastal magic, St Mawes offers a summer scene fit for a queen, says Abigail Whyte
DAY OUT: St Mawes, Cornwall
Legend has it that St Mawes, son of an Irish king, was out preaching on the Roseland Peninsula when he was interrupted by a noisy seal. Irritated by the seal’s din, he tried to throw a rock at it, but missed. It landed halfway across the Carrick Roads estuary and there it remains, now known as Black Rock, occasionally festooned with a couple of seals basking in the sunshine.
You can see the rock and its conical beacon from St Mawes’ namesake village, an idyllic fishing community that the Royal Family like to flock to when they fancy a Cornish sojourn. Her Majesty the Queen alighted here from the Royal Yacht Britannia along with Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, and stayed in a luxurious waterfront house with views out over the sparkling bay. The four-bedroom property, Penolva, is available for holiday let should you fancy a coastal retreat fit for a queen.
SOJOURN BY THE SEA
The village’s cobbled streets, whitewashed cottages, galleries and pubs are centred around the harbour, and to the west of the village you will find St Mawes Castle – a small, immaculately preserved fortress built for Henry VIII (along with Pendennis Castle, across the estuary in Falmouth) in order to protect the natural harbour from French and Spanish invasion. If you would like to hop across to Falmouth and its castle, there is a regular ferry all year round
