July 2009
CORNWALL, ENGLAND: This is a short video giving you a snapshot view of Tredethy Country House, where I spent a week, writing and working on Yellow Dawn; plus a glimpse of Padstow harbour and then Tintagel Castle.
Around 4pm I arrived at the hotel. It was just beyond a small village ominously enough called Helland, right on the edge of the Moors. Before I got there I was thinking, Oh God, please don’t be like the Leviathan hotel in New Zealand… a real horror show, but, no, my slight fears were totally unfounded. As soon as I finished the 20% incline, twisting round and round the tight curves of a hill, I pulled off the narrow road through twin stone gateposts onto a vast gravel drive and caught sight of the wonderful stone structure sitting astride a level area with lawn and forested grounds sloping away. I thought of Corso, in the 9th Gate, arriving at the Chateau St. Martin. I parked up and wandered across to the front door. No sight of any reception. It didn’t seem like a hotel at all. Did I have the right place? The door was locked. A sign said, “Between Noon and 4pm please ring bell”. So I did. Then a very attractive Italian woman comes down, greets me, welcomes me, and guides me upstairs… through amazing high-ceilinged rooms, up a gargantuan oak staircase, around a passageway and up smaller stairs into the roof area. There were only two rooms up here, both massive, with en-suite shower/bathroom, and a comfortable lounge attached to each. The windows overlooked the grounds, the forest descending the hill and climbing up the other side of the close valley… hills.. forest.. sky… clouds. Beautiful. Perfect. I was here for the next six nights.
The hotel is called Tredethy Country House, postcode, PL30 4QS
Google it and you’ll get images and a map view of the surrounding terrain.
It’s owned and run by Marco and his wife.
It’s not a glossy corporate brochure. It’s a well-appointed house with crumpled edges: and it’s these things that give it so much character.
Marco isn’t a servile English gent. He’s a proud man who works his arse off to run the place very well with a small crew. He can come across as blunt but he’s just being direct and very much left-field. He’s a character that slots into the vibe of the place. I spent a lot of time downstairs in one of the lounges chatting with him, often late into the night and I was genuinely sad to say goodbye at the end of the trip.
When I wasn’t chatting with Marco, or out bouncing around Cornwall, I spent every morning and every evening camped in a big armchair by a tall narrow window overlooking the grounds, with a supply of coffee and my paper notepad and print outs in my lap. I’ve been working on the next phase for Yellow Dawn. A lot of good ideas but it means pushing back starting Dog Eat Dog (again!) until I can get all the concepts down in black and white. Not a bad thing though, as it means I’ll be able to weave these fleshed out ideas into the book.
Then to Padstow. An evening there watching the sun set over the harbour whilst a local brass band played out. Padstow’s a fantastic place to spend a day or so.
Then to Tintagel Castle:
More a pile of ruins on an impressive set of cliffs, it’s certainly worthwhile doing. Be prepared for the leg-burning climb back up to town from the bottom of the castle complex.
Only three of the many many reasons why you should make the effort to visit Cornwall. One of many treasures of this tiny island – the UK.
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RELEVANT LINKS:
- Tredethy House Hotel:
http://www.tredethyhouse.com/
- Details about Tintagel Castle on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintagel_Castle
- Dog Eat Dog – novel:
http://www.davidjrodger.com/science%20fiction%20and%20fantasy%20cyberpunk%20h…
- Yellow Dawn – The Age of Hastur – RPG:
http://www.davidjrodger.com/yellowdawn.htm
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