Self-Catering
One of the most difficult things when you’re on holiday can be deciding where to eat. But staying in self- catering apartments can make meal times a lot easier for you and your family and here’s why. For a start you can cook what you want. Each of the kitchens at Rooks, Robin’s Nest and Sea Song are fully-fitted with hob and ovens, all the utensils you need to make a meal, and there’s plenty of space to prepare your food. You don’t have to be dictated to by restaurant menus, you’re free to eat what you like. Not only can you eat what you like, you can eat when you like. Our self-catering holiday homes allow you to be flexible around your meals, take your time because you don’t have to rush so the next customers can have your table, your time is your own. And it doesn’t have to be a chore; every supermarket now stocks a huge range of ready-meals that can just be popped into a microwave or oven and a meal is ready in no time.
Fish and chips
Or there’s the traditional British fast-food of fish and chips. We’ve got good fish and chips available locally; there’s Peckish fish and chips in Camelford, or Smugglers fish and chips in Delabole. You can get fresh fish and chips on a Wednesday night at the Horseshoe Inn at Tresparrett – get there between 6.00 and 7.00 to place your order. Or the fish and chip van calls on Thursday nights in Jacobstow village hall car park, again get there early for your fish cooked to order. Slightly further afield there’s the Smiling Sardine in Port Isaac, Rock and Roll Plaice in Rock or Jon’s fish and chips as well as Barny’s in Wadebridge. By common consent the best fish and chips in St Ives is Becks in Carbis Bay, right on the doorstep for Sea Song.
Pasty, Pasty
Sticking with the traditional, a Cornish pasty makes a tasty supper. Try to avoid the mass produced ones full of a sort of grey sludge, and go for something home-made by people who know what they’re doing. Although Ann’s Pasties are the award-winners who nearly always carry off the national prizes, her shop on the end of the Lizard is a long way to go for a pasty – though make sure they’re on your shopping list if you’re down that way for the day; I think there’s also a shop in Helston and a new Ann’s Pasty shop in Porthleven. Holidaying in Sea Song at Carbis Bay means you have a choice between St Ives Bakery on bustling Fore Street with their array of handmade pasties; or SH Ferrell & Son who are also famous for their mouth-watering pasties. But be warned – you’ll need to get there early if you want your pick of the best; they don’t hang around for long! Hampsons of Hayle just few miles away also has a great reputation for excellent pasties. There’s Chough Bakery if you spend the day in Padstow (which was crowned winner of the Cornish Pasty World Championships in 2016). In Camelford Cornish Maids quickly sell out of their freshly-baked traditional pasties so you might have to drive to St Kew though Aunt Avice pasties (right by the petrol station) also quickly sells out and for good reason: they’re delicious. Tintagel where Pengenna Pasties do a roaring trade might be your next port of call. In fact you could even decide to start your own pasty trail – there’s surely a need for a well-written guide to the best and you could be just the one to do the research. It’s a project I’ve often been tempted to do myself.