Cornwall's Larmorna Wink--a pub, a cove and a way of literary life

October 6, 11:19 AMDC Ireland & UK Travel ExaminerLaura Harrison McBride

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The Larmorna Wink Pub, Cornwall, England, by S.P. Tiley

Considering that the queen of all mystery writers, Agatha Christie, was born in Cornwall, it seems fitting to offer a series of articles about places used by British mystery writers in their books. Christie, naturally, used several. But an author currently producing mysteries, of the gentler type Christie introduced (no horribly dismembered bodies frighteningly scattered about, just a sudden corpse or two, quietly and peacefully decomposing) is Martha Grimes. Not only does she often set her novels in the southwest of England; she uses the name of a local pub as the title of the book. Here, then, as the first in an occasional series about Great British Mystery Locales You Can Visit, is one about The Lamorna Wink, by Martha Grimes.        

The Pub itself

The Lamorna Wink was the title of a 1999 mystery by Grimes. As usual (although not always), the star was Detective Richard Jury, ably supported by a former peer, Melrose Plant, who relinquished his title to be an ordinary man. (You can hear Rex Harrison singing, “I’m an ordinary man,” can’t you, from the restoration of the film of My Fair Lady?  No…well, perhaps you’re too young. But it’s available from Netflix, and, while it might make some yearn for a more beautiful, simpler time, it puts some husbands to sleep. Yes, voice of experience.)

Lamorna does have a pub, photo above, that has gotten good reviews. In 2007, Business Wiki reviewers gave it five stars out of five. Reviewers noted its great value, service and food quality. It is a nice pub.  And it is only a short walk from one of the most beautiful sandy beaches in Cornwall. In fine weather, a beachfront café offers teas and snacks. Sitting there watching surfers set off in wetsuits is a fine way to idle away a fall or spring day.  A stroll to the “conveniences” will take you past a charming stream burbling over stones as it makes its way to the cove. You might well meet a lovely dog, shaking off the wet after a romp, or be offered a tour of a sandcastle by a child who has built one on the silvery sands. (Children seem to play in the sand a lot longer into the chilly weather than they ever would in the states.)

It is easy to be totally charmed by the vistas, the sea—very blue-green just there—and by the sound of gulls overhead, looking for a choice morsel. Artists are, and in local shops, you will find seascapes worthy of shipping home.

Authors, however, seem to have taken Cornwall as their own.  Rosamunde Pilcher set her famous The Shell Seekers in Cornwall, and she did live part of her life there.

Other authors besides Grimes have made it a frequent locale, sometimes for work, sometimes for life itself.  While author Derek Tangye wrote more than 20 novels based in and near Lamorna, thriller author John le Carre made his home near there. And there he was when Tangye penned the last of his “Minack Chronicles” about his satisfyingly simple way of life at his daffodil farm, Dorminack. Le Carre delivered Tangye’s eulogy.

Getting there

Getting to Lamorna is not difficult. Starting from nearby Penzance (you might recall that city as a literary setting used comically by Gilbert & Sullivan), you’ll have a bit of main road, but then you’ll wend your way through what I like to call “green tunnels,” the twisty south-of-England roads that offer a sense of peace and environmental intimacy it’s difficult to get otherwise in a motorcar. On the way to Lamorna, you can stop off in Mousehole, pronounced Mauzell. There you will find the home of Dolly Pentreath, who died in 1777, taking with her the last spoken remnants of Cornish, a Celtic tongue now of blessed memory.

It is possible, of course, that the Cornish tongue, in racial memory, accounts for at least some of the British fascination with poetic prose and with stories. The Celts, still a strong influence in Cornwall, preserved their history through stories, songs and poetry.

When to go

The only truly bad time of year to visit Cornwall is the dead of winter, when hoar frost that looks lovely on fields and moors can make the roads hazardous. More ecologically conscious than the U.S., Cornwall and nearby Devon county councils customarily do not overload the tarmac with deadly chemicals. 

Any other time of year, though, you might get a fine day or two. Admittedly, there will be more in summer, but my visits in October have been symphonies of fine weather, in fact, making it possibly my very favorite time to go. There are fewer tourists, which is nice, and yet, the sun is almost as warm as in summer, and the outdoor tables are still available at the cafes. Green is mixed ever so slightly with russet and yellow, providing a visual feast. And even the nose is in for a treat as wood fires, still quite common in the southwest, are lit and enjoyed with a fine glass of something around public and private firesides.