The Cornwall Blog

For now, as we find ourself in December, Cornwall is in tier 1. This does mean we have more freedom as we come out of our second lockdown in England, with businesses opening up and restaurants able to serve. For the more cautious thankfully our spacious county provides plenty of outdoor fun for all the family. As I type the sun has come out, it is so much easier to handle the restrictions when the weather is fair! Winter in Cornwall though I have always thought is actually a real treat. Many attractions are opening up and although most require booking, taking a little more fore-thought than before, brilliant days out are still possible. Here are a few of attractions I'd like to highlight for December, including the re-opening of the Jubilee Pool in Penzance. Maybe not your first thought for winter, but Britain's first geothermal pool is an Art Deco gem. Tickets are expected to sell out fast, so to book yours head here .    An annual favourite, Ed...

I just love looking at old photographs, it makes history feel real and tangible. If you are travelling down west to Penzance this year, from the 12th Jan to the 16th of March you can see a new exhibition at Penlee House. This creative hub will showcase around 100 images in their Luminaries exhibition , revealing how west Cornwall looked in the Victorian era. The collection contains some of the Gibson & Sons archive which Penlee acquired in 2016, plus professional and amateur photographers from the time. These include Robert Preston, William Colenso and John Branwell who was the first owner of Penlee House. A fascinating glimpse into the social history in this beautiful part of Cornwall, and a chance to see what has changed, if anything, in the last 100 hundred years.

Way down in Penzance we have Penlee House, internationally renowned for its collection of British art, in particular, from the Newlyn School of artists. It was in 1997 that the gallery received a much needed refurbishment and has consequently become a leading regional museum. This month until the 3rd of June the gallery and museum are running an exhibition entitled 'A Casket of Pearls: Celebrating 20 years of collecting' . You can see how their collections have developed over the two decades with a chance to view fine and decorative art, social history, photography and archaeology. There is also free family fun with drop-in workshops every Saturday from 2.30pm-3.30pm, great to get the kids involved! Oh and you can get a locals pass too. Do check out their website to find out about the Newlyn School of art , fascinating to think in 1884 this little fishing village could count 27 skilled artists among its residents!

From the 15th to 30th November 2013, Lighthouse Gallery present an exhibition of new works by two exceptional painters whose works draw inspiration from the landscape and its wildlife. Catherine Hyde trained in Fine Art Painting at Central School of Art, London. She is well known for her symbolic and richly atmospheric paintings of hares, stags, owls and fish whose journeys through her broad, glowing canvases bind the elements, seasons and beauty of the landscape together. Catherine recently illustrated Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's original fairytale ‘The Princess’ Blankets’ and Saviour Pirotta’s ‘Firebird’ which were both nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award for distinguished illustration. Ingebjorg Smith is a Masters graduate of the Glasgow School of Art and has worked as an illustrator for BBC Scotland, Gaelic Children's TV, Canongate Press and designed posters, sets and costumes for theatre productions Wildcat and Halaballoo. Painting from her studio amid the...

Painter Mark Preston has been drawn to the rugged, dramatic coastline between St Ives and Lands End since he was a fine art student in the 1990s. For the past year, Mark’s work has focused on capturing the beauty of the land and sea of West Cornwall throughout the four seasons. This exhibition of forty works, showing from the 6th to 21st September 2013, explores the Duchy in all its glory; sun, rain, storms, spring flowers, winter seas, enticing beaches and wild landscapes. Although based in Derbyshire, Preston is a devoted painter of the Cornish land, coast and sea, fascinated by the way in which the changing seasons affect these spectacular places. Inspired to become a landscape painter through many painting trips to the Peak District, Cornwall and Scotland with his artist father, Rex Preston, Mark paints outdoors using acrylics, with relatively little time spent in the studio. Direct contact with the landscape and natural elements are essential for his painting. Working wi...

The Three Belles’ are returning to Cornwall for an extra special performance this year! The Andrews Sisters style vocal trio met at the University of Portsmouth and formed in their final year in 2011. Since graduating they have turned singing close harmonies and donning their victory rolls into a full time job! When they weren’t busy singing on stage, The Three Belles spent the most of 2012 working on a script with their author friend and ex ‘The Bill’ script writer Matt Wingett. 

The Three Belles have been touring in Cornwall for two years performing at different events all along the south coast. The girls produced their interactive 1940s experience night, IN THE MOOD at the Portsmouth Guildhall and the St Ives Guildhall, Cornwall, where it SOLD OUT! They also took their theatre show, SING SING SING to the and The Stag, Sevenoaks and more recently to New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth where it too SOLD OUT!  They are very excited to bring their brand new show t...