Sluttery Travels: The Llawnroc, Cornwall

I hadn't been to Cornwall since I was a little girl, but the lure of seafood, cream teas and seas as blue as a Thomas Cook holiday brochure called me back last weekend.

Unlike when I was six, I got to travel first class on the train down which was an enormous treat, especially when I'd got well clear of industrial cityscapes and started to see the sea twinkling out at me from the windows. Mmm, holiday. I stayed at the Llawnroc Hotel in Gorran Haven, a boutique hotel nestled in a tiny village a stone's throw from the most glorious sea, sand and cliffwalks, and about a 20 minute taxi journey from St Austell.

I stayed in a seafront suite which made me feel like I was Marilyn Monroe. Seriously. I loved everything about it: the bath had little lights along the sides and - on really lazy days - you could see the television from the bath. There was also a PlayStation 3 in the room (there's one in every room, not just in the suites) and my boyfriend and I borrowed games from reception, although we just ended up watching a How To Train Your Dragon DVD again because it's fantastic.

The view from our window! Holy mother of mackerel!

Loved this ENORMOUS chandelier in the reception....

...and the zebra print chairs and striped carpet. And yes, I did stare at it until my eyes started to bleed.

The Llawnroc has a fine dining restaurant, but the food was plenty good enough in the bistro. This is a starter. I'll repeat that. This whopping great plate of scallops and pork belly is a starter.

This equally enormous steak is, thank God, a main course. It was utterly delicious.

The next day we went for a hearty trek around Gorran Haven and the cliffs. We ended up going the wrong way at first, but on the bright side, it introduced us to this gorgeous view of the beach.

I put filters on the view from our window for the obligatory smug Instagram-to-Twitter photo, but I don't think any are needed for the sheer amazing blues of the Cornish sea.


We walked around to the village of Portmellon and had a pint in the seaside pub there before heading off again to the fishing village of Mevagissey, which was also utterly beautiful. By now I was starving and kept on muttering things like "Cream...clotted...crab" while my boyfriend distracted me with unnervingly successful games of I Spy.

Mevagissey had a freaking aquarium! All of the fish, lobsters, crabs and so on had been caught locally. It's not everyday you get flashed by a crab, but that totally happened here.

One long stomp back across the cliffs, and we'd thoroughly deserved our ice cream. We sauntered back to the hotel where people were sitting outside with their dogs and a G&T, and felt ridiculously relaxed - well, and knackered, too, clearly.

Gorran Haven and its surroundings were utterly stunning and I can't wait to go back. I'd love to hear tips from Sluttery readers on where to explore in Cornwall as I'm totally converted.

Kat was a guest of The Llawnroc Hotel and of First Great Western Trains.