June 29: Cornwall

After this morning’s breakfast, we welcomed another couple from the UK on the trip that showcased many of the important filming sites of Poldark.  Our first town was Padstow, a town, civil parish and fishing port on the N coast of Cornwall.  Activity was spry for a summer morning, and we stopped at several shops carrying Cornwell-made items such as decorated clothes hangers and sponges covered with painted scenes.  Soaps from  the area, photographs of sites in northern Cornwell, marmalades and honey as well as jewelry by local silversmiths filled the aisles.  I chose a book about the female German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, and otherwise roamed around the town.  Another quick stop was devoted to Port Isaac, the location of the “Doc Martin” series.  

Our next stops were Bodmin Moor and Ross and Demelza’s house at St. Breward.  Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in NE Cornwall.  It includes the highest point in Cornwall, Brown Willy, and Rough Tor, the second highest peak.  Many of Cornwall’s rivers have their sources here.  It has been inhabited ever since at least the Neolithic Era, when primitive farmers started clearing trees and farming the land.  They left their megalithic monuments, hut circles and cairns, and the Bronze Age culture which followed left further cairns and more stone circles and stone rows.  By medieval and modern times, nearly all the forest was gone, and livestock rearing predominated.  

Our stop was Nampara, Ross and Demelza’s house, now a privately owned farm.  Nearby is also the original cottage where Dr. Enys resided.  These sites are set with an imposing backdrop of Bodmin Moor’s Rough Tor and Brown Willy, mentioned above.  The oldest known owner of Nampara House was Joshua Poldark, who lived there with his son Ross.  At some point Jud and Prudie Paynter became servants of the house.  Joshua Poldark died in 1783.  Ross was also thought to have died, but he came home later that same year, and that is where the tale begins.  

The house, though fictionalized as Nampara, can be found close to St. Breward, a village in the area.  Scenes featuring the exterior of Ross Poldark’s cottage were shot on the wild and rugged Bodmin Moor.  Interior shots of Nampara House were filmed on a set in Bristol.  Nampara Cove, which in the show saw everything from smuggling to shipwrecks, is found in Porthcurno, nearby.  

Many cast members were seen riding in the Bodmin Moor area.  It was also the site of the miners’ cottages, such as the one that Ross gave to Jim Carter and his wife Jenny.  However, interior shots of Nampara were shot at Bristol, and Trenwith, the house of the Trenwith Poldarks, was filmed 3 1/2 hours away at the Chavenage House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.  It was awesome to actually stand and imagine, once again, the scenes that rolled like a spool of memories through my mind as I saw it all.  Clouds were lowering, and the place had a forlorn aspect, especially as concerns the broad and treeless aspect of the moor in all its isolated state.  

Our final visit of the day was Charlestown Harbor, site of Captain Andrew Blamey’s house (painted pink!); the slipway that doubles as St. Mary’s on the Isle of Scilly, and the wharf where Ross and the merchants transacted many a deal.  The port of Charlestown developed in the late 18th century, and the town and harbor are relatively unchanged.  Charlestown grew out of the small village of West Polmear, which consisted of a few cottages and three cellars, where pilchards (sardines) were processed.  The population amounted to nine fishermen and their families in 1790.  Before the harbor was built, trading vessels landed and loaded on the beach.  The port was built to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines.  Now Charlestown is a tourist destination whose attractions include the architecture and the sea.  It has also been featured in quite a few films.  

Before we returned to our hotel, we had fish and chips to celebrate our being in the UK.  Mushed peas were not my favorite, but fish and chips were delightful.  Once we returned to the hotel, we had a “business” meeting of the group to share photos and email addresses.  We enjoyed a wonderful fruity dessert and coffee, and then I walked upstairs to write this blog.  Another fine day, and I wore some Wellies to tramp through the Poldark farm.  I could get used to those Wellies!  Rain now, but it may turn sunny before night falls.  Weather conditions here never remain steady.  Always an umbrella at hand, and even that is mostly useless, as winds and waves are constantly whipped up into a froth.