Polperro, Cornwall (Part 3)

Continuing to walk around Polperro, this will be the last post on this particular village. Do check my previous two posts if you have not as it is such a picturesque and interesting place.
I will share some interesting history at the end.

Something different - a house decorated with shells

We are actually on the east side of the harbour having come down from the cliffs on the west side

I don't think I could concentrate on reading here

walking along these narrow alleyways is fun

We come to the museum and tearoom

We are ready for a break and some light refreshment

Just a scone with butter as neither of us like cream and certainly not the famous Cornish clotted cream that everyone goes wild over

cottages built right into the cliffs

I would love to have been able to swim here

but it is time to turn around and head back

but maybe a photograph first

These jumbled houses are the work of Cornish fishermen. They wanted a place to store their gear and Pilchard catch, and over that a loft divided into rooms like the cuddy of his boat. He reached the ground by means of stone or wooden steps.

Wending your way along traffic free streets to the small harbour, you are treading the paths where once fish were carted, and under cover of night, Brandy casks and Tobacco bales wee carried into their hideouts.

Make no mistake, this peaceful fishing cove was once a thriving centre for the area's smuggling.

Wagon loads of contraband left here, some heading across Bodmin Moor, en route to London

(There will be more on Bodmin Moor in a later post. 

Polperro, Cornwall (Part 2)

We are ready for lunch but so many eating places we are not sure yet where to eat. We will look around.

Smugglers Cottage

The Three Pilchards - where we finally ate

We finally decide on a pub where we can eat way above the rooftops with a good view of the inner harbour. 

There are several eating terraces on different levels on the hillside and being so hot we decided not to eat inside

We really pitied the waitresses who had to climb so many steps to deliver the food

We went as high as one could go and 

we ordered Cottage Pie and I have to say it was the best we have ever tasted

It was not minced/ground beef but large chunks of the most tender meat I have tasted with lots of mushrooms and gravy to die for

Along with that before eating we had to clean off the table with napkins, my bottle of water and hand sanitising spray

The gulls were circling - part of the Cornwall coastal experience!

Towards the end of our meal we went down to a lower level to find some shade 

Having eaten the tide had come in

Note the wooden beams holding the upper part of this building up

Still walking we come to the wall that divides the inner and outer harbour

No, we didn't!

We are going up onto the cliffs instead

You don't see it here but will see it clearly later

There is a cave underneath these steps

You can see why it was a smuggling area, lots of caves in the cliffs

The outer harbour

One of the caves

We are making our way to the top

and walking down the cliff on the other side looking out over the English Channel where it meets the Atlantic

and on our way back watch these young guys diving into the harbour

Another group of swimmers 

and someone who likes the high life

and some more on the way up

I still have another post to do on this lovely cove but I will spare you the 150 photos I took!

Do visit the previous post if you have not already done so as it is so picturesque