Focusing on that ‘forgotten corner’

Wednesday, 08 August 2012

MANY holidaymakers motor down the A30 to the picture postcard destinations in the west.
Those that do, leave behind them a part of the county often described as a ‘forgotten corner’ of Cornwall. More fool them.
Alison Hodge publisher’s ‘Exploring South East Cornwall’ may go some way to redressing this tourist imbalance —but, hang on, isn’t the fact it is in a way ‘forgotten’ a large part of its appeal?
No matter, there are plenty of delights to go round and author Paul Lightfoot homes in on many of them in this informative little book, part of the publisher’s ‘Pocket Cornwall’ series.
As with much of Cornwall, the industrial past has left its mark in the area, dramatically so in the case of St German’s, where another majestic railway viaduct designed by the great Brunel straddles the River Lynher.
It is the Rame Peninsula that is a large part of the ‘forgotten’ territory.
From the fascinating Port Eliot to the beautiful National Trust grounds and property that is Antony and the charming Italianate garden at Mount Edgcumbe, the area is replete with reminders of a grand age of country estates.
Inland, south east Cornwall has a landscape peppered with the remains of what was once a thriving mining industry, be it crumbling old engine houses or the near mystical granite railway sleepers near Kilmar Tor.
But while mining declined, tourism stirred — Looe and Polperro are popular holiday destinations and the author homes in on a charming spot for walks, the lush West Looe Valley.
l ‘Exploring South East Cornwall’by Dr Paul Lightfoot is published by Alison Hodge Publishers, price £5.
COLIN BRENT

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