Dream A Little Dream

Happy New Year!

It’s that time of year when, after those heady 12 days of Christmas, the fun grinds to a sudden halt. It’s back to those 7am starts, trudging to and from work/school in the semi-light. Someone will ask: “What’s the weather like outside?” and there will only ever be one answer: “Grey.”

Welcome to January. The days are short, the post-festive finances tight. So parlous is its reputation, it even plays host to Blue Monday - the third in the month, judged the most depressing day of the year – and it has even been suggested that family law solicitors are besieged with enquiries about divorce in January, especially following the intense proximity enforced by the pandemic.

But before you cast a sideways glance at your partner while googling solicitors, it’s worth remembering that January was named after Janus, the Roman god of gates and doorways. Janus was always depicted with two faces: one looking back upon the year gone by, the other towards the future. So banish all thoughts of depression and divorce, and dream a little dream of Cornwall instead.

Because it’s still here, at the end of the A30 or the Great Western Railway, and it’s just longing for you to come down and visit. You know how Terry Wogan used to say he didn’t have millions of listeners, only the one? Well, that’s how Cornwall feels about you.

So, this dream trip: when will it be? In the summer heatwave, your toes lapped by the tide, bathed in the rays of a north-coast sunset, perhaps with a cheeky beer in hand from a nearby beach bar? Or at Easter, when the woodlands are alive with the sound of birdsong and running water, the air fragrant with the scent of bluebells and wild garlic, the temperatures balmy (but beware the unexpected cold snap). What about autumn, that golden season when the crowds have died down and the waters are gloriously warm after a summer beneath the sun’s rays.

Or maybe you are impatient – heck, February half-term is only round the corner. Did you know that spring has arrived in Cornwall as early February 10? It’s true: when the champion magnolias in six of Cornwall’s great gardens have 50 blooms each, spring is officially sprung. That’s why so many gardens throw open their gates from mid-February, the glorious displays of camellias, just too good to be kept a secret.

Next decision: where? Just over the border, past the Coming Home Trees, in historic Launceston or the verdant Tamar Valley? Push on a little further to the wilds of Bodmin Moor, for a stank up Roughtor or a cycle ride around Siblyback Lake? How about a jolly seaside holiday in Bude or Newquay, a sailing expedition to Fowey or Falmouth, or an elegant city break in Truro? Or go the whole hog and head for the engine houses of West Penwith – next stop Scilly - leaving the rest of the world far, far behind you?

If it all seems vibrantly real to you, that’s because it is. This doesn’t have to be a mere reverie; all of these scenarios are within easy reach, at the click of a button. Simply browse the Visit Cornwall website for further inspiration, book online or pick up the phone and speak to one of Cornwall’s many friendly accommodation providers, who are waiting to turn down the bedspreads and knock up a gut-busting Cornish breakfast for you (hog’s pudding, anyone?).

Now, with that thought in mind, off you go on the school run. And remember, it could be worse – you could be home schooling again…