The Virtual Traveller - Cornwall (short version)

Audio transcript:

Over the last few days, the weather in Cornwall had been absolutely beautiful. Warm and sunny every day so far! I was staying in a hotel which overlooked Newquay, a seaside town on the north coast of Cornwall. I was really pleased when I heard that an international surfing competition was taking place whilst I was there, and had found a perfect place on the beach to watch the surfers in action.

The waves were huge! At a guess I would have said that they were at least 2 metres high. I have a terrible sense of balance, so there was no way that I would ever consider trying this sport! I was fascinated by how the surfers made it all look so easy! There were great celebrations on the beach when a local man won the last event of the day - everybody agreed that it was the perfect end to the competition.

I had read a number of guide books about places to visit in Cornwall, and was very keen to see the famous Eden Project near St Austell on the south coast. The drive there took me about 40 minutes. I left fairly early in the morning because I wanted to try and avoid the crowds. Eden was built to help people understand how important plants are in our everyday day life, a bit like a living museum!

My first view of Eden took my breath away! There were two huge greenhouses which looked like giant bubbles, but were made from glass. The largest dome is said to be big enough to fit the Tower of London inside! Many different plants, which usually live in very hot places such as rainforests, were growing in this dome. It was extremely hot inside and at one stage I thought I was going to embarrass myself by passing out! Luckily this didn't happen! The second dome was slightly smaller and, thank goodness, cooler. Plants which don’t need such high temperatures were growing in there. I spent a couple of hours looking around the greenhouses before exploring outside.

After so much walking, I decided to find a cafe where I could relax and have some lunch. I ordered a Cornish pasty and a glass of orange juice. The waitress told me that in days gone by, fishermen and miners used to eat pasties which were made with meat in one end and fruit filling in the other! Personally, I prefer to eat my main course and pudding separately! I decided to stick with a modern day pasty, made from meat and potato, and then treated myself to a delicious Cornish ice cream afterwards! It rounded off my visit perfectly!