The Cornwall Blog

Ok, so it may only be the start of September but already I am feeling quite autumnal. Kids are going back to school, the evenings are closing in and there is just that hint of cosiness, 'hygge' if you will. Cornwall has been very popular this summer, so it is quite nice to welcome the slower pace of life we are famed for down on the coast. If you are not quite ready to let go of summer, never fear because there is always an ice cream cone to grab, a wave to catch and plenty of oportunities for alfresco dining still to come. Welcoming autumn in Cornwall really has a lot to do with food, we do it well here, which I am sure you have heard! Just the other day I was sitting in the orchard garden at St Kew Farmshop and Cafe surrounded by apples ripe for the plucking, a great place full of atmosphere and tasty treats. You should have seen the size of my cinnamon bun!    There are some brilliant events to attend this month if you fancy it, St Ives Food and Drink festival is from the 17

As well as enjoying the great outdoors, the recent lockdowns have meant many attractions having to go online. Screen time is probably off the chart right now with home schooling and work Zoom calls but if you fancy taking in some culture from your living room, here are some Cornish suggestions. Until the 22nd of February the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston are holding Facebook live crafting events on Mondays at 11.30am. You can follow along and get involved for free. It's really tricky to network at the moment and make connections, on Saturday the 20th Feb there's an online event for those passionate about film. It's free but places are limited so you need to book, but a great opportunity to be a part of the Cornwall Film Festival .   For £10 the whole family can get creative along with the St Ives School of Painting. Their Sunday Art Club , aimed at kids between 7 and 12, is a brilliant way to spark creativity when it can get really boring at home. The next one is the 2

To celebrate the anniversary of the Moon Landings, Goonhilly, near Helston, is holding a rather special day. On the 20th of July 1969 the world watched, glued to their TV screens, as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the surface of the moon. These images were being transmitted by the Goonhilly satellite. To mark 50 years since this iconic event Goonhilly are presenting Apollo 50 , a family friendly day of education, science, tech, art and music. In fact you can see band Public Service Broadcasting perform songs from their album The Race for Space and Orbital will also be performing a DJ set. You can find more info at the website and get tickets.

Something a little different! If you haven't visited The Lost Gardens of Heligan then you really should. It is a beautiful garden, well its different gardens really - all mesmerising in there way. The Victorian garden full of borders and interesting plants snugly walled gives way to woodland walks with an emerging giant from the ground. Then you wind your way through the orchard towards a tropical paradise that snakes over the water. So many different hauticultral personalities, there is something for everyone. This December, Heligan can be seen in an entirely different light. Internationally renewed light artist Ulf Pedersen will be transforming the gardens by night with his characteristically colourful displays. Ulf said he wanted to:    “ …transform the act of looking into a physical experience - where audiences frequently find themselves immersed in a sensational play of light and colour as the space metamorphoses into something unique and magical.”  With all

Beer is big business, the popularity of local varieties and interesting brews has meant massive increase of choice for the consumer. This November the popular St Austell Brewery hosts their Celtic Beer Festival deep in its ancient cellars. With almost 200 ales, stouts and lagers to try and many award winning beers, its a key event for those who love the craft.  Best of all 100% of the profits go to the St Austell Brewery Charitable Fund, helping causes across the South West (raising £186,000.00 to date). You'll find the familiar Tribute, Proper Job and Korev as well as some new and limited addition beers to tempt. Entry is £10 which gets you your commemorative glass and some starter tokens and a brochure. The 19th festival will run on the 25th of November with 4 bars and music from great bands both day and night. Find out more at the St Austell Brewery website.

We have just had our shortest day (yay) but we still have a long way to go for those bright summer evenings. The dark nights call for cosy nights in, or for glamorous nights out! For a break from the norm head to Truro's Hall for Cornwall and be entertained by ballet, live music and theatre. What caught our eye is the classic ballet of Swan Lake showing on the 18th and 19th of January. Tchaikovsky's score is sensational, the story of Odette who is fated to be a swan by day and a princess by night, meets Prince Siegfried and a story of love unfolds in this well-loved piece by the St Petersburg ballet. You can also find tributes to Fleetwood Mac, Elvis, Abba and The Beach Boys Story! Something for everyone in Cornwall's largest theatre.      

St Austell Brewery are hosting their 18th annual Celtic Beer Festival in the depths of their ancient cellars. There will be almost 200 beers to sample, along with favourites Tribute, Proper Job and Korev. Live bands will be playing day and night and 100% of the profit goes to the breweries charities in the South West. Taking place on November the 26th it proves to be a must for beer lovers out there. The brewery itself was founded in 1851 by Cornishman Walter Hicks, and the company is still family owned and independent. According to their website - and it is changing all the time - they have produced 981,792,168 pints since 1851! Find out more about the festival here.

The kids may well have gone back to school but Cornwall is still buzzing with plenty to do. This month we have a food festival in Truro, a fish festival in Newquay, and a design festival at Trereife House - and Looe hosts its music festival! Looe is a vibrant harbour town and once a year down on the beach crowds flock to hear a real variety of bands in this much loved festival. This year the Fun Lovin’ Criminals are taking to the stage where previous acts have included The Darkness, Reef, The Stranglers, Levellers and Seth Wakeman to name a few. Its an eclectic line up of national and international bands with music workshops and live music on every corner of this seaside town. And in some what of a change of direction, Laurence Fox, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in ITV drama Lewis will be seen heading out on his first tour at the Looe Music Festival. Bringing indie sounds from his debut album Holding Patterns . As the festival grows year on year so does the fringe

There is so much to do in Cornwall in August! When the weather is like today (a scorcher) then the coast will always be a pull but there is always so much to do inland too. Take the Cornish Steam and Country Fair, previously known as the West of England Steam Rally. Located at the Sithians show ground outside Truro, the fair first took place back in 1955 with just six steam engines. Today over three days you can see almost 100! So what can you expect? Plenty of shiny brass, vintage cars, tractors, motor cycles, heavy horses - the list goes on. You can also see how things worked on a farm in way back when. There are dog agility shows, brass bands and a traditional fun fair! Something for everyone. Running from the 19th to the 21st of August 2016. You can find out more at their website.

Not long now to the first North Cornwall Gin Festival ! Hosted by Wadebridge Wines , in the heart of the North Cornish town, on the 23rd of July. The festival charges a small entrance fee and provides 50 different gins to try! This promises to be a truly grown up affair with interesting and unique stalls, fresh lemon and limes and herbs, exclusive chocolates, live music and lawn games. You can find out more at the Wadebridge Wines Facebook page, or check their website .

Starting tomorrow, the 9th of June, and running until the 11th June 2016 is the Royal Cornwall Show. This annual event really draws the crowds! Every year the visitors are around 120,000, not bad for the show that starting in Truro over 200 years ago as a ploughing competition between farmers! Today, alongside the best livestock and animals you will find Cornish wrestling, flower shows, the food tent (with free samples!!), show jumping, a steam fair, dog show, local businesses, health and beauty, the list goes on! Located at the show ground just outside Wadebridge, the RCS often boasts a royal appearance. A great place to head if you want to see the cream of Cornwall and enjoy the buzz of a crowd! Find out more about the Royal Cornwall Show .  

It seems you can't move for festivals these days - and Cornwall is no different! Having said that they are loads of family friendly fun. This month, Sunday 15th May, we have Lostfest , in my neck of the woods, Lostwithiel. The event raises money for FLEET, a charity who provide equipment for emergency services in Cornwall. For those who don't know, Lostwithiel is a charming ancient stannary town which is nestled quietly a little in land in a wooded valley. Well, normally quiet, but come Lostfest the streets are buzzing with life. Expect delicious food lining the streets, traditional crafts, handmade gifts, medieval re-enactments, a vintage fair and a couple of local bands. From by the river, to under the trees, the church yard, museum, the shops and cafes - all over this little town fun is unleashed. Lostwithiel is such a pretty place to visit, just up the hill you will find the Restormel Castle. There are two parks that follow the Fowey river and the Tudor bridge is a

Looking for a fun way to spend the day? Want to learn more about our wonderful Cornish wildlife? Join our knowledgeable staff and students to explore and survey the wildlife around Penryn campus on Saturday 21st May from 10am-5pm. This FREE event is open to all ages and is brilliant for families who are looking for entertainment with an educational focus! Activities will include nature walks, small mammal trapping, treasure hunts, moth trapping and many more. Enjoy our raffle with amazing prizes, make your own wildlife with our arts and craft stalls, get your face painted and have a jump on the bouncy castle! Wildlife and charity organisations from all over Cornwall will be joining us with loads of exciting stalls, activities and opportunities for you to get involved in. Food and drink will be available to buy from a range of local suppliers, and in the shops on campus. This is the fifth annual BioBlitz and following the success of the previous events, this year’s is set to be

With ceramics by Adam Buick and Rowena Brown 25 March to 6 May 2016 Porthminster Autumn by  Emma Jeffryes New Craftsman St Ives open their 2016 season with an exhibition of work by St Ives artist Emma Jeffryes, Jerwood Makers prize winner Adam Buick and ceramic artist Rowena Brown. In recent years Emma Jeffryes has established herself as one of St Ives’ most distinctive and well-loved painters. Her naive paintings of the town’s unique landmarks and vistas draw on a palette of vivid ocean colours and her lively brushwork conveys the vibrant energy of this busy coastal community. Ceramicist Adam Buick, who has shown at New Craftsman since 2010, was one of only five artists selected for the prestigious Jerwood Makers prize in 2013. His beautifully understated, Korean inspired Moon Jars are created from clays, grit and metal ores sourced directly from the land around him and focus on the individual’s subjective experience of landscape. Ceramics by Rowena Brown 

Join us for this FREE Community Event on Saturday 12 March 2016 Come along to the Leach Pottery on Saturday 12 March and help us decorate tiles for a new mural we are creating for Smeatons Pier. The mural will decorate the pier’s newly refurbished sheltered seating area as part of the St Ives regeneration project, and you can be a permanent part of it by creating your own unique design. During the session you will be asked to create a design on paper, before transferring it to your tile and painting it. Finished tiles will be fired at a later date and successful designs will be included as part of the mural project. We are running four one-hour sessions throughout the day. All ages and abilities welcome. Sessions will run from 10-11am, 11.30am – 12.30pm, 1.30 to 2.30pm and 3-4pm. This event is FREE but booking is essential. Maximum two tickets per booking. See our Eventbrite page via www.leachpottery.com or direct at www.eventbrite.co.uk to book your place now. Leach Pot

Barry Krzywicki | Group of porcelain sake cups on a tray The Leach Pottery begin their 2016 schedule with a varied exhibition of contemporary pots selected by John Bedding, a one time student of Bernard Leach, ex Leach potter and current Joint Acting Director of the Pottery. The works of individual studio potters are highly unique. Each have different strengths to their work: some makers adhere strongly to tradition; some, through the repetition of familiar shapes and glazes, make pieces which evidence their expert craftsmanship; others have an inquiring mind and are strong on innovation and experimentation; still others have a strong sense of design, creating works that are clean, sharp and precise. As a well-known collector and authority on contemporary ceramics, John has chosen works which define these varied qualities and demonstrate the breadth of skill and creativity to be found in pottery today. The exhibition includes traditional stoneware by Phil Rogers and John Jelf

  From the 28 November 2015 to 16 January 2016 the renowned St Ives ceramic studio Leach Pottery are hosting an exhibition. Douglas Fitch and Hannah McAndrew present A Love Affair with Clay, these established potters have lectured in Japan and the USA and are presenting their new work. Now partners in marriage as well as ceramics, much to the delight of the pottery community, you can see their shared influences of English pottery. They share their time between Hannah’s studio in a quiet corner of rural Galloway, Scotland, and Douglas’s studio in mid Devon. Hannah loves pots that have a purpose and Douglas decorates his with appliqué decoration or sgrafitto, using traditional slips made from local materials. Founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, the Leach Pottery, St Ives, is among the most respected and influential potteries in the world. Over the last hundred years it has forged the shape of Studio Pottery in the UK and beyond. So for something a