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Maltese Invade Cornwall

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By Joe Smith

A bleary-eyed Team Malta totters down for an early breakfast. There are obvious signs that, following the euphoria from the previous evening's Awards Dinner, partying had gone on deep into the wee hours. Well, who can blame us on this one? Eight major awards between four photographers is not a bad haul, more so when one considers that the Overseas categories were done away with this time round.

So there we were, tackling our eggs, bacon and sausages in slow motion and trying to think with a clear mind of the adventure that lay ahead of us.

You see, Ruben had it all planned out. After checkout, we were to pick up a hired car from Heathrow, drive for four hours down to Cornwall and spend three days in a cottage, perched on a cliff in a place called Portwrinkle. Of course, loads of photography along the south coast was also part of the itinerary.

A short taxi ride to Heathrow's car-hire terminal later we discovered that the hired five-seater had space for all of us, but not the luggage. We decided to upgrade, but Ruben wasn't amused when we were presented with a comfortable, automatic seven-seater with ample space for all of our stuff, and us. You see, Ruben had volunteered to be our driver as he professed to be experienced in driving overseas and also because of his 'great sense of direction'. Being a car buff, he was mumbling something about how an automatic gearbox kills the joys and thrills of driving. The rest of us looked at each other with some trepidation, but after a few jolts, stomach-wrenching decelerations and handbrake turns, Ruben got the car smoothly out of the parking lot and took a southerly direction.

Sitting in the front passenger seat was the techie amongst us and we were barely a couple of hundred metres out of the parking lot when Ramon pulled out his portable GPS gadget and keyed in our final destination. Again, Ruben insisted that there was no need for this as his orientation skills were second to none, and secondly this gadget also took the fun out of driving along the narrow country roads.

For the three of us sitting at the back, it became somewhat amusing at times seeing the two at the front arguing. After a couple of wrong turns we were on Ramon's side and there were moments when the whole situation was verging on mutiny!

Four-and-a-half hours later all this was behind as we drove out of Plymouth and followed the signs to Portwrinkle. It was already late afternoon, the light was failing but we could easily appreciate the beauty of this wild part of England. The excitement of the photographic hunt welled up inside us and we were raring to go come morning.

It was dark, windy and drizzling when we arrived at the cottage. The fresh, salty gusts from the Atlantic crashing on the beach below hit us squarely in the face as we got out of the car. We just hoped that the following day would be in accord with what the weatherman had predicted - cloudy with short, sunny spells

At this point we were famished and, after dropping our gear down in the spacious, warm and welcoming cottage, we drove off in search of somewhere to eat. We didn't have to go far. A couple of miles and we were in Downderry, devouring delicious nosh in the charming restaurant, The Inn on the Shore.

After a good night's sleep, yours truly was the first up and prepared breakfast for the rest of the gang. The day looked promising. Dark clouds, with the occasional break. Perfect for some moody landscape shots.

We walked down the 100 metres to Portwrinkle beach and a tiny cove. Waves were crashing in over the jagged rocks and the tiny breakwater that curves out into the wild waters. Tripods were quickly set up, weighted down and we were soon clicking away.

Next stop was the delightful harbour town of Looe, with its dainty houses perched on the terraced sides of the river, and colourful boats and yachts resting in their cradles at low tide. The wind was really blowing through the valley here and at one point I had to help an elderly lady cross the bridge spanning the river.

After a hot tea and a delicious Cornish pasty at a riverside cafe we drove off to the picturesque fishing village of Polperro. We immediately fell in love with this place. A narrow winding harbour, with boats high and dry at low tide, leads to two small breakwater arms, then to a sandy cove and finally a narrow channel between jagged cliffs to the open sea beyond. 'Had us all thinking of smugglers!

Somewhere along the way we met two English, fellow photographers who suggested a visit to Talland Bay which was only around a 45-minute drive away. We were not disappointed. A beautiful wild bay (at least in winter) with a pebbled beach and rock outcrops. Sloping into the bay down to the water's edge is a beautiful, smooth rock formation, magenta in colour. We could have done with some extra light to be able to pick out this unusual feature but we were quite happy with what we had in the bag.

By now it was getting late and we decided to call it a day. So after a short coffee stop in Looe, we headed for the cottage. A quick shower and it was time for dinner. Our landlord had suggested a restaurant just up the road called Finnygook. A name derived from the ghost of a murdered smuggler who supposedly still roams the narrow streets of the vicinity at night. An open fireplace was crackling inside and the steak was one of the best I've tasted.

On Wednesday we woke up to a gorgeous sunny day. Clear blue skies with not a single cloud in sight. We must have rubbed off some Maltese weather on the Cornish coast! The plan for the day was to drive for a couple of hours to St Ives, stopping at Carbis Bay, and then proceed to Land's End. Of course, there were several stops along the way as photo opportunities presented themselves in this beautiful and varied landscape.

St Ives is another delightful harbour town with an extensive sandy beach. Very popular in summer, we were told. The low tide presented numerable opportunities to capture abstract and semi-abstract images, kids playing on the wet sand and colourful boats adding to the chromatic spectacle. We spent quite some time here before heading west towards the Penwith Peninsula.

The rugged coastline at Land's End is spectacular although the best shooting points are limited due to the fencing off of dangerous areas of the sloping cliff-face. Still, it is a sight to behold and we were really glad that we managed to make it to the westernmost tip of England.

It was time to head home via Mousehole and a short stop in Penzance where we had a quick glimpse of St Michael's Mount fading away in the soft evening light. We decided to stop for dinner at Polperro before heading back to Portwrinkle. We needed to have a good rest as an early morning departure for Heathrow was on the books.

At 3:00am we were all packed in the car and we set off along the narrow lanes into a thick fog. Visibility was only a couple of metres and this was the moment we were really thankful for Ramon's Garmin! We were quite sure that our driver was too!

On the flight back home I suggested that we should hold a collective exhibition of our take on Cornwall and discussions are under way with a gallery. We are really thankful to Ruben for making all the necessary contacts, driving us to our destinations most of the time and for organising the whole thing to 'near' perfection! He was indefatigable.

We're not so sure he'll be the one in the driver's seat the next time round...but that's another story!



Updated 27/04/2026 16:44:22 Last Modified: Monday, 27 April 2026