LITERATURE, ARTS
and CRAFTS IN
NORTH CORNWALL.Literary Connections to North Cornwall
The magic of North Cornwall has inspired some of our greatest writers. Tennyson, Dickens, Hardy and Swinburne have all climbed the steps to the castle at Tintagel, while nearby Boscastle provided the setting for Thomas Hardy's novel A Pair of Blue Eyes.
Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman had a life-long love affair with North Cornwall, apparent in poems such as Seaside Golf and his autobiographical Summoned by Bells. Wild and mysterious Bodmin Moor is at the heart of Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn. And for a really heady experience, sit in Parson Hawker's wooden hut on the Morwenstow cliffis, where the vicar penned his verses.
But there's no need to take the writers' word for it. You'll see and hear the inspiration of North Cornwall spilling out in colourful festivals such as the twice yearly St Endellion Music Festivals, with the county's finest classical musicians and singers; at the internationally-famous Bude Jazz Festival, where toes tap all over town; and the Cornwall Folk Festival at Wadebridge - a rollicking celebration of folk traditions. At Bodmin's Cornwall Theatre Festival, the town stages a week-long display of drama and dance.
You're just as likely to come across inspired art in the area's workshops and galleries. At the Indian King Arts Centre in Camelford, you'll find local art, writing and woodwork; and down the winding lanes, in hamlets and market towns, are dozens of rural workshops, home to a growing number of artisans from quilters to candlemakers. Amongst the pottery, paintings and woodcarvings you'll find that hidden gem which captures the spirit of North Cornwall. You'll then be smuggling some inspiration home with you.
Literature, Arts and Crafts
Cornwall Theatre Festival - First week in July
St Endellion Music Festivals -Easter and August
Cornwall Folk Festival - August Bank Holiday weekend
Bude Jazz Festival - August Bank Holiday weekend
Betjeman Centre, Wadebridge - (01208)812392
Indian King Arts Centre, Camelford - Tel: (01840) 212111
North Cornwall Arts Events
(01566)772117 Arts and ticket information.
Details of arts and crafts events are listed in the North Cornwall Arts Events brochures available from local Tourist Information Centres and libraries listed below.Tourist Information Centres
BODMIN
Shire House, Mount Folly (01208) 76616 (tel and fax)
Email : bodmintic@visit.org.ukBOSCASTLE
Heritage Coast Visitor Centre Cobweb Car Park (01840) 250010 (tel and fax)
BUDE
The Crescent (01288) 354240 Fax: 355769
CAMELFORD
North Cornwall Museum, The Clease (01840) 212954 (tel and fax)
LAUNCESTON
Market House, The Arcade (01566) 772321 Fax: 772322
PADSTOW
North Quay (01841) 533449 Fax: 532356
POLZEATH
Coronation Gardens (01208) 862488 Fax: 869058
WADEBRIDGE
The Town Hall Tel:(01208) 813725 Fax: (01208) 813781
Libraries
Bude Library
The Wharf (01288)352527Bodmin Library
Lower Bore Street (01208)72286
Camelford Library
Market Place (01840)212409Launceston Library
Bounsalls Lane (01566)773306Padstow Library
Market Strand (01841)532387Wadebridge Library
Southern Way (01208)812202
North Cornwall 2002 - Atlantic Heritage Coast