So, who’s been loving the BBC’s new and final series of the “can’t miss” Sunday night period drama? We here on the farm certainly have, and with viewing figures off the charts it seems we are not alone.
We have been trying to decide who the main star of the show is, Aidan Turner playing the dashing but down on his luck Captain Ross Poldark, or the Cornish landscape itself? The North Cornish coastline features strongly in the programme, and the fact that we enjoyed such great weather last summer when they were filming, just makes the county look all the more enticing.
Filmed at a variety of lovely locations, most are easily accessible from Coombe Farm Cottages. The early scenes when Captain Ross Poldark brings Demelza back to his house, at the cross roads, is filmed at Minions up on Bodmin Moor near the Hurlers Stones (with the sea superimposed). This ancient landscape has not changed a great deal from the time in which the Poldark story is set. One of the shots of the horses galloping up and down the coastline was shot at Stepper Point, on the west bank of the Camel estuary near Padstow. Trevose Head provides the headland in background. Just stunning, come and see for yourself.
The plot is closely entwined with two other things Cornwall is world famous for, no, not pasties and cream teas… tin mining, and smuggling!
Tin Mining was an important factor in shaping the look of today’s countryside, even though it’s been 145 years since tin mining ceased in Cornwall, and disused tin mines are an iconic symbol of Cornwall’s heritage.
As for smuggling (Ross Poldark went to the war to escape smuggling charges). Cornwall was perfect for smuggling because of it’s long expanse of rocky coastline, with remote coves ideal for unloading illicit cargo. It was difficult for the hard pressed customs officers to patrol. The most popular goods smuggled into the county included tea, gin, brandy, rum and tobacco.
Anyway, we are already waiting for next week’s instalment, to find out if Captain Poldark can turn his luck around, and to see which parts of beautiful Cornwall we recognise. Either way, the views are easy on the eye…
#Poldark #Cornwall #CoombeFarmCottages