“Ringside seat at ever fascinating spectacle”
My husband and I, along with friends, came to St. Mawes for the week just before the intense summer holidays began. We chose this village as a base from which to explore Cornwall, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. The village is very charming, with a surprising number of good restaurants for its size, and with interesting houses and gardens, as well as the atmospheric castle fortress at the end of the street, to be seen on strolls around town. We understand that the village, and Cornwall, get pretty crowded in the last part of July and August, but we felt we timed our stay just right between the sleepiness of the off season and the too busy holiday time. Of course the weather was, as the locals said, "rubbish," for several days. However, that's just the normal part of visiting England, where it can be any weather any day. There are great hikes close by--we enjoyed hiking around the peninsula across the water from us.
The village is dominated by its beautiful harbor, and Pier Cottage boasts a panoramic view of it all. We spent considerable time in the cottage sitting transfixed before the wall of windows watching the boats come and go--one of the treats was watching a regatta with much discussion about our favorite sail boats.
Pier Cottage is very comfortable for 2 couples, with a nicely equipped kitchen for cooking light meals. We loved the bakery just across the street where somebody in our group popped over each morning to get something fresh and delicious for breakfast. The small grocery just a short walk away seems to have about everything one needs for a short stay. The lounge is very comfortable with leather furniture, and the dining area is spacious--we never felt cramped. Parking is tight in the village, and the spaces in front of the cottage seemed to be filled full time by the same cars that didn't move, but we didn't have any serious problem finding a place in one of the two parking lots nearby.
We did encounter a significant plumbing problem on our last two days as both toilets in our two bathrooms backed up and overflowed (even when not used!) This apparently was related to a major break in the water or sewer mains way north of us in Cornwall, which caused problems over much of the peninsula and which of course would not be a usual problem one would encounter. However, the local young woman who looks after the cottage, although quite pleasant, was not up to dealing with this problem very well--either in providing information or any ready solution. Luckily we are experienced and handy home owners (though we were a bit stumped by the British toilet anatomy, quite different from American), and we limped along with temporary measures, but we were happy to leave that inconvenience behind. This occurrence was likely a one time crisis, but some further training for the young caretaker and a close relationship with a local plumber would be a good thing.
The other drawback in the house was the absence of wifi, which of course we knew beforehand. However, public wifi in the village is nearly non-existent. The cafe in the nearby hotel advertises wifi but it is open only for lunch. This lack may not be important to other travelers; however, we find, in our frequent rentals in Europe, that it is becoming unusual. These are minor quibbles, provided only to give full information, and we would highly recommend Pier Cottage and St. Mawes.
