Porthleven - Just another Cornish Village?

Cornwall. As a family we do it every year with the in-laws. Being 50 & sometimes grumpy, I have had my fill of Cornwall and its picturesque fishing villages, or so I thought.

Port Issac, Mousehole and wherever else we have stayed & visited over the years. It's beautiful, dramatic and every other descriptive you have seen about Cornwall, It's correct. With lockdown came no foreign holiday for team Frogson, so we travelled to Cornwall and the village of Porthleven for this summer. Probably why I was especially grumpy, no guaranteed sunshine, no flights, just the 6-hour plus drive from Nottingham down to the bottom of Great Britain. Let's go.

Porthleven is pretty flat in comparison to the other villages we have stayed in and also quite large. You can google the history on Porthleven at your convenience, It's well worth it. This year we rented a cottage with stunning views over the harbour, the views erased the grumpiness instantly. There is something special about being at the side of the sea, no matter where, is it the air? the freshness? Back to the village itself, lots of independents with a very relaxed feel about the place. And of course, it had the Haunted Pub. This one being The Ship Inn. A stones throw from our cottage, so a 5 min walk in the warm summer evening to our new local, which was heaving with locals. Where had everyone come from? This was a slight party atmosphere. Did lockdown or Covid happen down here!

Porthleven is a great base for walks, beaches & everything Cornish close at hand.

Most mornings we spent at the Harbourside Cafe having a full cooked breakfast, just to help with the economy of course. Eat out to help out.

Arriving in Porthleven, I spotted the Football Club Porthleven AFC on the left as we drove in. As a family, we love a bit of football. At the first opportunity I checked out their FB page & noticed they had a bar open on Saturday afternoons. The sun was shining, I thought it best to go investigate. When I arrived a few of the board & ground staff were milling about drinking, I was welcomed in like a local which was very nice. With a beer in hand, staring at a football pitch which is actually bigger than Wembley. Fact. But no football. (Well there was the day after, & me being me, would I be allowed in to watch a friendly?) I cant say :)

A few more nights were spent at the Football Club (Putting back into Grassroots), & subsequently found out that Hucknall Town (Close to us), played them in the FA Vase, & Mansfield Town had also travelled down for a friendly many years ago. Football really does unite people.

Porthleven itself, the location makes for dramatic waves when the storms blow in. Which they did on this holiday. Rather than being grumpy about this, I embraced the weather and watched the spectacular waves batter the harbour and surrounding area. No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.

If you are ever down this way, I do recommend a visit to Kynance Cove. It's stunning. A tip here is to get there for 9 am, have breakfast in the cafe at the beach & watch the hordes descending down from 11 onwards. It's a sight in itself.

Porthleven in my humble opinion is the best Cornish village to stay in. The food, the location, the people, the football club, made me turn my grumpy face upside down. I would return at the drop of a hat. If not just for a Penang Beef Curry at The Little Thai Kitchen. (May do a blog on that next)