All Treats at Poltarrow - Happy Halloween!

A little pumpkin carving......

 

Treats lined up for the children staying in the cottages......

And fancy dress outfits....

 

And we're all set for a spooktacular Halloween!

Judith
Poltarrow Farm
Self Catering Cottages and Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Cornwall

 

 

Days out - Harvest Time at The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Once again it's the time of the year when the gardeners at Heligan put together a magnificent display of the harvest from the kitchen garden.  This year they have concentrated on the pumpkin and every variety going must be featured .....

At first glance I thought they had added oranges to the display!

Carved wooden mice have been added to the display

 

A harvest wheat sheaf

The tables in the tea room had been given autumnal centrepieces

It was a great display and I'm glad I popped up to see it.  The gardens have lots of activities over the next couple of weeks to celebrate the Harvest  - details can be found here

Judith
Poltarrow Farm
Self Catering Cottages and Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Cornwall

Around the farm this Autumn

As I took Grandson Guy out for a walk yesterday I took my camera with me to take a few photographs to capture Autumn around the farm....

Titus walking on ahead up the back drive

The front drive where the Horse Chestnuts are throwing down their conkers

Cyclamen planted last year have bloomed again

This Acer in the farmhouse garden is a vibrant colour

There have been a lot of toadstools and mushrooms around the farm this year

Conkers we collected placed in a bowl - I love their mahogany colour

Judith
Poltarrow Farm
Self Catering Cottages and Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Cornwall

Farm Friends - New arrivals at Poltarrow

During the summer I acquired some new bunnies for the Pet's Corner.  Two, boys and one girl - one boy was unneutered so what we discovered the other day was not wholly unexpected ... ... ...

 Two new arrivals huddled together in the corner of the hutch!

The proud Mummy ...

... and Daddy

 

Katherine
Poltarrow Farm
Self Catering Cottages and Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Cornwall

Cornwall on Screen

I recently went to see the new Richard Curtis film "About Time" which despite mediocre reviews I really enjoyed.  We are very lucky to have a great family owned cinema in St Austell which is relatively new and sparkly but never very busy - my best friend and I went in the opening week, on a Tuesday evening when all seats are £5 and there was about 20 of us in there!  The film is an easy to watch romantic comedy and I thought the relationship between the main actors of the film appeared really genuine but by far the star of the show was the Cornish scenery. 

My friend and I discussed where in the county the scenes were shot and she confidently stated that is was the Lizard peninsula in the far west.  On returning home I was aghast (and slightly embarrassed that I hadn't realised) to discover that it was in fact our very own St Austell Bay providing the panoramic coastal shots!  The film company used a private residence, Porthpean House, as the family's home. Porthpean is on the edge of St Austell (about 5 minutes drive) from Poltarrow. 

The scenes where the Father and Son walk along the beach were filmed on Vault Beach which is at Gorran (about 20 minutes drive from us).  This was a brave decision by the film company as it is about a 15 minute walk from the car park to the beach and there is no vehicular access (as you can see in the photo above).  Apparently the film company thought this location would mean beach would be quiet - which it was apart from a family of nudists a little further along the beach!

Another shoot location for the film was St Michael Penkivel Church which is part of the Tregothnan estate (this church was also used in the darkly comedic "Keeping Mum") Portloe, Fowey and Portmellon also feature.

Currently filming in Charlestown (about 10 minutes drive) is a Norwegian film company.  Libby and I took a stroll around the harbour last week to have a look.  The film is based on a popular pirate series called Captain Sabertooth.  

 

The set designers are so clever - when we saw this stone archway 
we couldn't believe it wasn't real.....

...until we saw the other side!



Here you can see the sabertooth on the bow of the ship...

... and the skull on the stern

The look-out was given a makeover to blend in to the surroundings

Cornwall has always provided inspiration whether it be for the artists in Newlyn and St Ives or the filmmakers: The Thief Of Baghdad, Jamaica Inn, Blue Juice, Sense & Sensibility, Straw Dogs, Disney's The Three Musketeers, Saving Grace and Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland have all used Cornwall's beautiful scenery.

Katherine
Poltarrow Farm
Self Catering Cottages and Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Cornwall

And that was Summer!

Well, another Summer has passed and my good intentions to keep the blog updated have gone by the wayside.  We have had a very busy Summer and are continuing to welcome guests in the cottages although the Bed & Breakfast is now a little quieter.

The weather has been glorious (at last) and the families that have stayed with us have lived at the beach during the day and made good use of the BBQs, terraces and balconies for outdoor eating during the evenings.

Beautiful days make for beautiful sunsets over the woods.

The vegetable garden has done so well this year and we have had a bountiful harvest beginning with salad leaves, radishes and beetroot followed by runner beans, potatoes and tomatoes; adding a couple of our own eggs and fresh figs and we have had several meals that have been entirely home grown - delicious!

All shapes and sizes and not a bit like Tesco's!

Beetroot and goat's cheese has become a favourite

Our grandson Guy and daughter Katherine have visited most days over the Summer and he has quickly grown into a proper little man.  They have used the swimming pool a lot, especially during July's very hot weather and Guy is a complete water baby.

Guy and Daddy in the pool earlier in the Summer

Libby and Katherine took him out into the Tumble room the other day and although obviously far too young to play he enjoyed the bright colours and 'sat' nicely to have his photograph taken!

And so we have arrived at October...October! Libby is being kept busy with making her delicious evening meals for the young families staying in the cottages and our thoughts turn to the list of winter jobs that need to be tackled and of course Christmas and what new ideas we can come up with to delight those who stay with us over the festive period.

Judith
Poltarrow Farm
Self Catering Cottages and Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast in Cornwall