Don’t let the fickle British weather dampen your spirits. William Gray picks five unusual activities for rainy days in Cornwall
Geevor Tin Mine in the sun (Shutterstock)
Evoking the atmosphere of Cornwall’s rich industrial heritage, Geevor makes a riveting day out when the weather forecast looks rusty. A working mine until 1990, some of Geevor’s tunnels are open to visitors, but first you take a self-guided tour of the mine building – a vast metal skeleton of rusted beams, pipes, plankways and colossal stone-grinding cauldrons. More information
Lobster hatchery sign (Shutterstock)
Cornwall’s quirkiest quayside crustacean attraction, the National Lobster Hatchery is small (and can get busy during wet weather), but offers a fascinating glimpse into the lifecycle of lobsters. Little nippers are hatched and reared here before being released into the wild to replenish stocks around the south-west. As well as the laboratory, there are show tanks containing resident lobsters, sponge crabs and rockpool critters.
Boscastle village, Cornwall (Shutterstock)
Get face to face with ‘horrible history’, wise up on witchcraft and curses, peruse torture instruments (used for extracting confessions from witches) and meet Harry the tarred head.
Beehive in Cornwall (Shutterstock)
Try hive-fresh honey in fudge, jams, ice cream or dripping from the end of a spoon. There’s also a Living Honey Bee Exhibition (where you can peer at beehives housed in glass-fronted cabinets), a Winnie the Pooh shop, a tearoom serving light lunches and cream teas and a chance to make your own beeswax rolled honeycomb candles.
Cows in Cornwall (Shutterstock)
Watch the legendary ice cream being made, have a go at making your own variety and try a taster of flavours ranging from clotted cream vanilla to hoky poky.
The cows are milked each afternoon at around 16.30 to 17.00: 100-odd Jerseys and Guernseys filing into the barn, which has a viewing gallery with faded displays on countryside wildlife and why milk is good for you. The milking process is clinical and efficient, with cows barely visible beneath a tangle of hoses, cooling sprays and machinery.
Downstairs you can stroke the newborn calves, which will lick your hands like big soppy puppies.
Wanderlust contributing editor William Gray is author of the Wet Britain eBooks series – packed with all-weather attractions, indoor activities and even things to do that are fun in the rain. Cornwall is first to get the Wet Britain treatment.
Wet Britain: Cornwall is available in Kindle format for just £1.53, and is available to download on Amazon now.
