England – Cornwall – Padstow (En)

Made famous by the opening of Rick Stein’s first restaurant here in the 1970s, it was the start of a foodie boom. Padstow remains a working port, surrounded by wonderful beaches and offers a base for exploring the Camel Estuary.

What to see

We parked in a public car park at the harbour and the first thing we did was wander around the pretty harbour with its lively streets and thriving food scene. There are cafes, restaurants, tapas bars, cosy tea rooms and a handful of friendly pubs dotted around the harbour. And there are always Cornish pastries and traditional fish and chips.

We then climbed a hill for the best views of the village and the Camel Estuary. The mouth of the Camel Estuary is known and feared by many boaters for the famous Doom Bar, a sandbank that can shift depending on the currents, especially after storms. The latest estimates claim that over 600 boats have been wrecked at Doom Bar, the last in 2020. Cornish folklore tells of the bar being created by a mermaid as a dying curse for the harbour after a local man shot her.

In the afternoon we went to Puerto Isaac, a truly picturesque town where we had been told it has the best freshly caught seafood, which you will see in the next blog!