She sells seashells by the sea shore – Cornwall style diary

With the amount of planning I’ve put into our trip to the seaside this weekend, you can tell I’ve not gone on holiday for seven months (and before my North American friends roll their eyes, long weekend holidays every few months is definitely a thing in the UK). Our last trip out of London to Copenhagen literally feels like years ago, folding our winter clothes into backpacks and boarding the airport bus to Luton airport with my mom.

While I recognise most Brits do a day-trip to Cornwall, we decided for J’s birthday we’d plan a long weekend getaway to the seaside where we can eat all of the Cornish pasties, ice cream and seafood we can dream of. I’ve spent months, searching the internet for delicious eats and historical facts about this southern-most treasure in the UK. Today, I watched Rick Steeve’s brilliant YouTube episode about the booming tin industry in Cornwall years ago.

For J and I’s Cornwall ‘staycation’, we’re staying in Penzance which is a town near the southern-most tip of England with a port and a train station (this is essential, as I still haven’t braved driving in the UK yet!). Our plans for the holiday include walking the Penwith coastal path to St. Michael’s Mount (a tidal island with a castle… but not like the tidal island in the ‘Woman in Black’… I hope), visiting the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens and walking to the smuggler’s cove village of Mousehole. Aside from sightseeing, we also plan to eat our way around Penzance with our sights set on fish and chips (in a greasy, paper bag), Cornish dairy and pasties.

Packing for this weekend adventure is particularly fun because much like my home province of Nova Scotia, one weekend requires outfits for every element. So far, our weekend in Cornwall is promising a lot of sunshine, a bit of rain, and some thunder and lightning… so just a normal weekend in the British summertime.

I packed an array of outfits: my favourite flowy dresses for nights out, athletic wear and shorts, and, of course, a couple ‘summer’ jumpers (yup, that’s a thing in the UK). Because it’s just a weekend trip, we’ll be packing light to fit our things in backpacks so versatility is key. For the train journey to/from Penzance, I’ll wear my leggings and a jumper, swapping to shorts for afternoon exploring before dinner and something floral for the evening (groundbreaking for me, I know). I’ll also have my skincare routine handy to ward off signs of travel (and pints at the pubs).

When it comes to my favourite spots to shop, I really love Topshop for denim, & Other Stories for jumpers and dresses, and H&M’s conscious line for trendy florals. Aside from the below pieces, I’ll have my rain jacket (naturally) and white trainers packed as well. Now, it’s time to get exploring!

Stay tuned for more seaside updates!