Knit London & Cornwall

by Judy Fawcett, photos also by Judy Fawcett

June 1 to 11, 2013

When Cornwall, New York yarn shop owner Gail Parrinello called to say she was thinking about a knitting trip to Cornwall, England I didn’t need to think twice before agreeing to design and escort the tour. Much planning and two years later, 16 knitters and 2 non-knitting companions (affectionately known as NKCs) arrived in London.

Our intrepid NKCs’ independent explorations prior to the start of the tour were enlivened when they were caught in the midst of a protest march one day and a dress rehearsal for the Trooping of the Colour the next. 

A visit to London wouldn’t be complete without taking in at least one play, so after a brief welcome, refreshments and goodie bag opening we scrubbed up and headed to the West End for a sold-out performance of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night”. As we walked from our hotel to the tube station we wondered about the activity and barricades next door, but it was only after we were home again that we discovered our hotel was right next to St Mary’s Hospital where Prince George was born a few weeks later.

The next day our Blue Badge Guide, Anne, walked us around Central London filling us in on ancient and recent history. We toasted our adventure and rested our feet with a champagne tea while taking in such sights as Tower Bridge as we cruised along the Thames.

That evening, after rubbing his tummy for good luck, we left Paddington Station on the overnight train to Cornwall. The next morning we were greeted with sunshine and our local guide Sue. 

After breakfast at our hotel we were ferried by small open boats to Saint Michaels Mount, home of the St Aubyn Family.  Here we also had a close brush with royalty; unlike Queen Victoria, who famously was “not amused,” Ruth was amused to sit on the sofa where Her Majesty the Queen sat when she paid a visit to this island aerie.

Back at the Hotel Penzance, our home for the next week, we knit, chatted and enjoyed a drink in the garden before dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Each day we saw spectacular scenery as we travelled by private coach and local trains to fishing villages and artist colonies like Mousehole (pronounced Mozel) and St. Ives (home of Tate Gallery St Ives.) We felt that we might have stumbled upon Sleeping Beauty when we walked through the Lost Gardens of Heligan. The gardens were left untended for decades after World War I only to be rediscovered in the 1990’s and have since been restored.   

At the Royal Cornwall Show we watched sheep judging, found wool and some of us had another royal encounter seeing Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal who was also touring the show.

One of the highlights of our adventure was being invited to visit the Doc Martin set where they were filming Series Six and meeting actor Martin Clunes who, unlike his television personality, wasn’t at all curmudgeonly.  

We attended a performance of Antony and Cleopatra at the Minack Theatre where the Cornish Coast featured as the backdrop.  

Not knowing much about vicars and vicarages, we jumped at the chance to have coffee with Alan, the Vicar of Pendeen.  Between services the Vicar showed us the house, church and gardens and introduced us to some of the parishioners. We were convinced that the Vicar had special powers as once again the sun shone on us.

The stones in Cornwall may not be as big as those at Stonehenge, but they are just as mysterious as we felt their power at this hidden away outcropping.

Having visited all the local wool shops we could find, and stopping at the WI Hall in St Just for an artisan show, we said farewell to Cornwall with just enough time to put in a few stitches before boarding the train to London.

The next day we spent time with designer Patricia Roberts who opened her Knightsbridge shop especially for us. After a pub lunch we walked to the Victoria & Albert Museum where Assistant Curator Kate took us through the Costume Gallery.  Kate made the display come alive as she gave us an insight to how it was developed.

One more yarn store stop and then it was au revoir to London and England with dreams of our next adventure to Paris and a river barge tour through the French countryside in 2014.