Captain Jack Hits Newquay 27th May - 2nd June 07

Yes my friends its holiday time. Slipped in around a busy gig season, which kicked off with a vengeance last week, we decided that it was high time that Captain Jack ventured back to his pirate roots and visited the south west of England or pirate country, well apart from all the surfers that is! Well to be fair a good holiday is just what we needed. A break from the toil of work and a chance to spend some quality time with the wife lol! Now as my close relatives will know I am not a big lover of holidays in the U.K. Not that I don't like it, there are some great things to see and do in good old Blighty, but your just not guaranteed the weather!

So as we set off in the tipping down rain to Newquay we both thought that the week was going to be a washout, but at least we had the a first series of Heroes with us to watch if the rain got too much. But we arrived at Newquay to find the storm that had hit the south-west just about blowing over and that was really the last of the bad weather for the entire week. We had booked ourselves into a little B & B called Pencrebar situated just off the main street through Newquay on Berry Road. The hotel was perfectly situated for going to all of Newquay's best bars and club's. Parking was great as we had our own private car park to leave the car in just around the corner from the hotel. The rooms were brightly decorated, on-suite and came with a t.v. and a fridge.

Now as a B & B obviously the breakfast is all important and the hotel came up trumps. They provided a great choice of various breakfast's, including full english, bacon buttie's, continental or vegetarian. You have as much toast and cereal as you want, tea or freshly brewed coffee and a constantly topped up jug of orange juice. All in all, for the price you could not ask for more. Its small and clean, no noise and a great breakfast thrown in.

So as we were down for a week, and I like my food, I have decided to give you all a day to day run down of what we did and where we ate, for if you ever venture down and fancy a good meal. We ate out every night and visited many of Newquay's finest drinking establishments so I have plenty to tell you all!

Sunday

As our first day in Newquay we got our bearings first and with the weather not being brilliant we decided not to venture to far from the hotel. We were both starving after the journey down, but being on holiday we wanted a few beers first to settle us into the holiday mode. First up was to get some cash out, but as this was the Run To The Sun weekend, famous down these parts for being the busiest weekend of the year, most of the cash machines were cleaned out! We ventured into the center of town to find a bank that had some cash in and luckily found one. First port of call was The Central. I had been in here before on Darren's stag do, so I new it was a good pub. Loud music and Red Stripe on draft, but a downside as the beer is served in plastic glasses, which I feel always makes it taste a bit flat. Next up was Newquay's best known pub Buzio's. This is a truly great pub/club. Now the last time I was in here I wasn't disappointed, and this time was no different. Buzio's prides itself on having the best beers, and they hit the jackpot this time. Whilst on my stag do in Prague we came upon a little number called Desperados. This is a mix of lager, tequila and lime and is fantastic when served cold, and they have it in Buzio's. Oh joy! Well a few bottles later we decided to go for a traditional Sunday meal or a curry! We found a great little curry house I had spotted across the road from our hotel. The Green Thal is a small curry house with only about six tables, is very reasonably priced and the food was great. Not much in a way of choice for drinks, just lager out of cans and warm wine, but the curry more than made up for it. Then we ended the day and toddled off to bed to dream of drinking more Desperados.

Monday

We decided, as it was a Bank Holiday, to spend the day exploring Newquay. The sun was out so we went for a walk around the town to look at all the great little shops the town has to offer. We wandered around the little gift shops, and saw some great shops selling all kinds of flavoured fudge's (my personal fave was dime bar). We wandered around to the beach and the harbour, sat on fistral beach watching the surfers, which made me very thirsty! So off to the pub. We went to a pub called The Fort which overlooks the harbour. Great pub this one with a large veranda to catch a few rays on and drink a nice cool pint. Then it was off round to The Red Lion for a pint of real ale. I had a lovely pint of the wonderfully named Cornish Knocker. This is a real great pint, and I'm sure has blown many knockers off in its time. The highlight of the day was finally finding a lifeboat charity bow worthy enough of throwing my tuppence into and I finally found one on the harbour ( Hint for future projects Lou!)

As for grub today we both fancied keeping it simple. So we spotted a great looking little pizza restaurant on Crantock Street called Dino's. The sign in the window claimed to have to best pizza in Newquay on sale, and it didn't disappoint. The food was great, served quickly and very cheap for a good homemade pizza. Genuine Italian guy runs the place and uses genuine Italian ingredients to give what was no doubt the best pizza I have tasted for a long time. Only let down was the fact it wasn't licenced but other than that no complaints. To round the night off we ventured to the Newquay Arms to have a beer and watch Phil Taylor in the darts. And to round the night off back to Buzio's for a few Desperados!

Tuesday

Today was the first day we decided to venture away from Newquay on a day trip. We decided to visit Lands End and Penzance. Lands End is everything you would expect on a sunny day but I imagine not much fun if the weather is bad. Luckily today was a sunny day. There is lots to see there and an all-inclusive ticket allows you into all the sites. There was for some unknown reason a Doctor Who exhibition with lots of props from the current runs of the series ans you can see below.

Its a great fun day out and the scenery does really take your breath away at times with the sea crashing into the rocks below the cliffs. We also visited the first/last shop in England perched on top of the cliffs and saw the world famous sign.

We also had our first genuine Cornish Pasty sat in one of the many picnic areas on top of the cliffs. We then sped off to Penzance. It a lovely little place with lots of quaint little shops to walk around, and a great promenade to stroll along. There is also a Pirate shop selling all kind of pirate knick-knacks! Oh and shells..... The only downside was we probably could of spent more time in Penzance as there was still lots to see and not much time left on the car park! Ah well more to see next time.

As for food today we went to our first Mexican. Senor Dicks is on the main street in Newquay opposite Buzios. Is brightly painted and not badly priced. The food is great although the portions are huge. You really do get your money's worth but don't eat in the day if you plan to go there! Lots of cocktails available at the bar, some nice Mexican beer's such as Sol and Corona. Only fault was the service tailed off during the meal, but it was the end of the night and they all probably wanted to go home! We then went to Newquay's Wetherspoons, just across from our hotel. Great pub this one with cheap beer and lots to choose from including some great local beers on draft including the Cornish Blonde.

Wednesday
Today took us to Truro. Truro is well known in the area for its excellent shops and there are plenty to walk around to see, although they are quite expensive! We walked around for a couple of ho0urs and decided on a spot of lunch in the market square at he aptly named Market Inn. The food was very nice and I had a huge mug of excellent coffee. As the weather started to turn a bit blustery, we headed back to Newquay to glorious sunshine, so we strolled down to the harbour to soak up the sun. We were amazed to see the Harbour Sea Lions which live nearby and follow the boats in as they return from there fishing trips, much to the enjoyment of all watching.

They are great to watch and we must of spent at least 90 minutes just watching them swim by after every boat that came into the harbour.

For our meal tonight we had spotted a steak house on one of the main link roads The Braefel Inn. Well it had to happen sometime and this was it. This was the worst food we had all week. For a steak house too not be able to cook steak correctly is a sin. We both asked for the steaks to be cooked medium and they were closer to well done! They even had people getting up and walking out as they had not been seen by waitresses for nearly 40 minutes, despite asking for them to take their orders. Over cooked and over priced this is a place to avoid, although the pint of lager shandy I had was quite exceptional!

Thursday

Today we set of for Falmouth for a day of maritime bliss. This is a naval town with a naval tradition, which oozes out of every pore of the town from the harbour to the pier. It also houses the British Maritime Museum which houses some great artifacts from our Great British maritime history. We spent the first part of the day looking round all the shops and then had a sit on the pier as the tugs took out a huge cargo ship into the channel. But it started to rain so we headed back into town for a spot of lunch. We found a great little brasserie called Clarks where we ate a fantastic lunch. We then spent a good two hours in the Maritime museum where, even if your not into your boats, there is lots to see. There is lots of info on how the tides affect how we live and lots of stories of courage and bravery of Brits and the sea, such as Tony Bullimore, who survived being capsized on a round the world solo boat race, and John Fairfax, who was the first person to row solo across the Atlantic. There was also the boat that Ben Ainslie won Olympic Gold in at the 2002 Sydney Olympics.

We left the museum and headed off around to Pendennis Castle, built by Henry VIII to keep guard of the entrance to the River Fal and keep the marauding pirates at bay.

Today was our favorite day of the holiday so far and to top it off we had by far and a way this best meal of the entire week. When we came down on Darren's stag do we went to this place and we had a great meal that night. I had always promised to bring Hayley down here and so I did. in my opinion the best restaurant in Newquay is the Meadery. This place is a genuine little gem. Its set out medieval style and is a very top notch Steak House, but it serves up so much more. There is your normal steaks to choose from, but it also sell your not so run of the mill meats such as veal, wild boar and venison. It also sells genuine old style mead, a drink similar to port, in 1/2 litre jugs, drank in miniature pint pots. I had the rib eye steak and Hayley had the Venison. Both were cooked to perfection and topped off with a rossini sauce (a mix of foie gras, truffles and demi-glace). Best meal of the night and believe it or not cheaper than the rubbish we had the night before. We then ventured down to Newquay Aussie bar Walkabout. Much better than the one in Hanley, and finally headed back to, yes you've guessed it, Buzio's for a few more Desperados! A truly great day.

Friday

As our final day came we decided to take a leisurely drive out to St Ives for the day. The sun was yet again belting down. St Ives is a lovely little Cornish village set on the side of a hill going down to the harbour, beach and pier. Your best bet is to park at the top at the leisure center and pop on the bus down to the town, unless you fancy the walk. There are lots of little quaint shops to look around but the harbour was my favourite. We strolled round and sat for a while on the pier watching the tide come in and collect up the bots that had been sat on the sands. We lunched at one of the many little cafes around the beachfront and couldn't resist one of the ice creams from the Cornish ice cream shop.

For today's meal well the plan was set out. We went to the Weatherspoons across from our hotel to watch the England Vs Brazil match, and of course to drink the cheap beer, of which I had many! And what better way to top off a Friday night than with a ruby murray! We had found from our wanderings around Newquay a curry house which claimed to be the best in the area, so beered up I accepted their boast, but they were right. The Maharajah lives up to its boast with ease. They have many house specials with locally caught seafood included in the curries. But we both went for our favourites mine a Chicken Tikka Massala and Hayley a Chicken Passanda. Both were really tasty. The rice was great and the naan was cooked to perfection. We shared a bottle of house white wine which was also a great wine considering it was the house wine, and it really went well with the curry. Its probably the fanciest curry house in the area, with sea views and an extensive menu, but it is probably one of the best curries I have ever had and it lives up to it's reputation.

So there we go. Plenty for you to get your teeth into if you ever venture down to Newquay. We loved our week away, and although it's not as lavish as a 5* All Inclusive trip to to Caribbean, it has it's charm. We enjoyed it so much we booked to go again for our first wedding aniversary in August. And of course that will mean another trip to Buzio's to clean them out of Desperados!