Cornwall

Fancy a winter break at a hotel that promises NO Snow and backs up the promise with a free night if the white stuff arrives.

Fancy a winter break at a real traditional British hotel that those black and white movies often feature and are oh so English. If so, you will be hard pressed to beat The Nare over looking Carne Beach in the Roseland beauty of Cornwall.

Family run proper hotels are a dying breed but at The Nare my experience confirms that smugglers might have gone but the end of  is not nigh.

I first visited The Nare after fleeing from St Ives to escape probably the worst hotel I have ever stayed at. I always take hotel brochure pictures with a pinch of salt but this one needed a ton of the stuff.

The second visit confirms this is a great location for a few days break. Rooms are great, food is good, service is excellent and if cold outside its warm inside. Views out to sea fantastic good indoor and outdoor swimming pools and the pluses go on.

Dress codes are a bugbear for many but at the Nare, you have a dining choice of men wearing a jacket (very traditional) or no jacket but smart casual in an adjoining dining area with the same good food.

Walks nearby are plentiful nightclubs and discos do not exist. The Coast Path starting at Nare Head is a good example of one of the walks that brings out the best in Cornwall. During World War 2, this area saw the best in film making make believe. To steer enemy bombers away from the important naval base at Falmouth experts from Ealing Studios creating a dummy railway system fake roads and buildings plus lights that simulated poor blackout arrangements. As bombs were dropped metal drums filled with oil and fitted with explosive charges were set off to simulate bomb damage and fires.

Current proprietor Toby Ashworth is part of the family history associated with the Nare and its long support of local art and artists. If you visit, get him to tell you about his Grandmother and her determination to get recognition for Cornish art. She was very successful.

A great day out that does not need hot sunshine buckets and spades or sandcastles is a train trip from Truro to St Ives. Change at St Erth for the short pretty branch line chug to St Ives. This place has real character and a winter visit beats the crowds.

Barbara Hepworth’s studio and garden of sculptures is a must as is the work shop of one of our finest every potters Bernard Leach. Take time out at the Leach pottery to see a short recently restored film from the 1950’s in which he describes production techniques. It is a truly wonderful period piece and you do not have to like pottery production to enjoy a glimpse of life more than 60 years ago.

My sound track for this Cornish experience included lots of Bobby Womack and the restful view of winter sunshine on the sea from my room at The Nare hotel was made even better by the guitar playing of Antonio Forcione and cuts from his Sketches of Africa album. Perfect fit.

PS: The Nare has no background music (hooray) which is a blessing. Cornwall does suffer with rhythms from the dark ages and sound systems designed to be devoid of quality.