Cider, Tea, Rum and Crab

On our last day in St Ives, we finally ran out of luck and the clouds and drizzle crept back in. What’s one to do on a day like this?

Visit the cider farm of course!

We huddled back into coats and hoodies and set off to Healey’s Cyder Farm, just outside Newquay. Here, you can wander in and out of the small barns on the farm and poke your nose in on all the busy worker bees bottling and packing the lethal ‘Rattler’ cider.

I couldn’t help but get distracted by all the animals dotted around to pet and dote on…

But the Mr found something else to coo over…

We jumped on the back of a tractor trailer to take a tour of the orchards, and spotted a few other furry beings.

No, not those furry beings.

All that bumping and jiggling around on the tractor had made us hungry however, so we snuck back to the café to sample one very Cornish delicacy that we hadn't yet managed to wolf down.

Cream Tea!

After all agreeing that clotted cream was most definitely meant to be on the bottom, we dusted off our crumbs and headed back for a mid afternoon snooze.

Led by our stomachs once again, we headed back into town to try one place which has been on my radar ever since we decided on our trip. The Rum and Crab Shack.

The name pretty much sums it up. The food revolves around a number of seafood dishes, everything from a spicy gumbo to a whole lobster, and everything in between.

The drinks menu is unrivalled by anything I’ve seen before. There is a set menu dedicated to all the rums available, split into categories such as light, dark and overproof etc. It almost sounds like a challenge to try each one…maybe next time!

For those not quite ready for a rum, there are a number of craft and speciality beers both on tap and bottled, and of course a number of cocktails. I had to try a mojito at the rum shack, after all!

Being my birthday treat weekend, as soon as I saw the menu I knew I was going all out. Steak and ½ lobster for me please! I look pretty happy with it, eh?

Unfortunately the lighting (and maybe the rum) didn’t help my amateur photography, but just look how juicy this steak was!

Everything was cooked to perfection, I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful! The lobster was so meaty and covered in a lovely light butter, and the steak was, quite honestly, the best steak I've ever had in my life. It's going to take one heck of a steak to beat that bad boy.

Being a bit of a veg freak, I loved the fact that the salad was such a main feature of the dish, rather than being an afterthought. It's such a pet hate of mine when a really excellent dish is let down by some wilted leaves from a supermarket bagged salad. But don't panic, there were chips too.

Everyone's food was just as huge as mine, so there wasn't a lot of room for dessert, especially after the morning's cream tea. A digestif however, is always a good idea!

Cheers!

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Hub, St Ives

Looking out over the harbour in St Ives is the uber cool restaurant and bar 'Hub'. Stripped back with the usual urban decor, Hub emanates a chilled out atmosphere, enhanced by the ground floor windows that completely open up, giving a full landscape view of the sea.

With the promise of good New York style big American food, and a poster advertising Tiny Rebel Brewery beers outside, we were sold, and fought our way inside.

Hit with the threat of an hour wait once we walked in, we grabbed a table and hung onto it for dear life. Being a Bank Holiday, St Ives was looking crazy busy, and we had already struggled to make reservations in other restaurants. Figuring a couple of cocktails would ease the delay anyway, we studied the immense menu.

The Hub specialises in gourmet burgers, hot dogs, and just generally a bucket load of smoky meat. Being the huge glutton that I am, I wanted everything on the menu. Luckily for me, The Hub does a fantastic slider tray. A mini version of the pulled pork bun, cheeseburger and hot dog, you get a little bit of everything including added fries, pickles and a whiff of a salad. 

The wait for food wasn’t as long as we expected (or we were numbed by the excellent mojitos on offer) and out came this cracking lot.

Vegetarians avert your eyes now.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the epic slider tray. Let's take a closer look shall we?

I am not ashamed to say I needed a little help finishing these bad boys off, the tray was so huge! The 'Boston Bun' (the pulled pork roll) was by far my favourite. Packed full of juicy pulled pork, and plenty of sauce to dribble down your chin. I know amongst all of the outstanding meat on show that this might sound odd, but the buns are incredible, and really make the burgers and rolls shine. The Hub uses a local artisan baker, and they are fiercely proud of their fresh local produce. Quite rightly too, when it tastes this good!

The round up of the other mains...

 The 12 hour slow smoked Cornish beef brisket topped with meltingly gooey Swiss cheese.

The 'Double Double', a fantastic tower of pulled pork and sauerkraut hiding under a smoked pork hotdog, and balanced precariously on a bed of hand-cut fries. 

We also ordered a bowl of pulled pork nachos for the table, as we all wanted a bite, but no-one was ready for the commitment. We needn't have worried, they were huge. Chunky tortillas topped with pulled pork and grilled cheese, with healthy helpings of guacamole, sour cream and salsa.

It's fair to say, we were completely stuffed. All of our meals were of such a high standard, especially considering how busy the restaurant was. The prices were excellent value for the size and quality of the meals, and also the seafront location.

I'm looking forward to a repeat visit, especially to work my way through more of the cocktail menu!

Splashing Around

After a good sleep, we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to get out in the sun! Sinking the obligatory two morning cups of tea that I need to function, we threw on some clothes and wandered down to the beach before breakfast.

We stayed in Hayle, which is only about a ten minute drive from St Ives, but in my opinion, the beaches here blow St Ives out of the water. Slowly shelving blue seas and a huge expanse of golden sands, and when the clouds disappear and the wind stops, you could easily feel like you were hundreds of miles away.

Losing track of time, we collected shells and paddled for a while, until our bellies rumbled for breakfast. We trundled back to the van for some food, and then jumped on the little train into St Ives for a bit more aimless wandering.

If you can jump on the train into St Ives, even if it's only for two or three stops, please do. You'll be rewarded with the prettiest view, as the train meanders along the coastline for a few miles. You can jump on and off to a few of the smaller beaches dotted around the area too, and it's much cheaper than the in-town parking.

I haven't been to St Ives for so many years, that everything seemed to different from memory. Hence lots of trawling up and down little alleyways, getting lost numerous times and getting sidetracked by pretty doorways and cute houses!

An hour or so later, the clouds started dissolving into baby blue and we headed down on to the beach to chill out for a while.

And 'chill out' we did. Utterly proud of myself, I did what I'd been threatening to do all weekend. Get brave and get in the sea! 

I felt pretty smug legging it back out of the sea in a bikini when 90% of the (sensible) population had chickened out in wetsuits! Challenge completed, we bundled ourselves up in fluffy towels and headed back on the train to warm up before our night out. But more on that later, as there is way too much food to come to fit on one post...

As I Was Going to St Ives...

On a rainy Friday morning, we packed the car full of Haribo and ridiculous 80's driving anthems and headed once again over the Severn Bridge and down the long stretch of M5 to Cornwall.

After 5 long hours, we jumped out of the car to be met with a warm gust of sea air, glorious sunshine and wall to wall blue skies. Completely overdressed from the Welsh weather that we left behind, we launched ourselves down the hills to the crowded beaches tearing off layers and pulling on flip flops as we went.

Being Bank Holiday Friday, St Ives was incredibly busy. The car parks, beaches and pubs were spilling over at the seams. But there was only one thing on our minds to fight our way to first...

Ice cream! Coconut, and vanilla with salted caramel. Unbelievably creamy and lovely summery flavours.

Instead of joining the crowds, we dawdled our way through the intermingling streets, taking in the sights and a little window shopping.

And as per usual, it didn't take me too long until I got sidetracked from the cute cottages by all the beautiful food on display.

St Ives is full of tiny little streets, with quaint little cottages in every nook and cranny. Some with the funniest of street names too!

Starting to feel a little weary after all the travelling, we headed back to check into our caravan and crack open some cider and fizz with our feet up. The girls rustled up a picnic style dinner from bits and pieces picked up from our dawdling around the local delis. The main star of the meal that we always look forward to however, is Jo's mums quiche. It's starting to become a bit of a tradition that she makes these for us when we go away, so if you're reading this, thanks Jan!

Bellies full of food and sleepy heads from the long drive, the girls snuggled on the sofa while the boys popped out for a cheeky pint. We fell asleep with the curtains open, staring at the stars and hoping for another lovely sunny day tomorrow to make the most of...