As many of us gather together with our families for Christmas, the conversation often turns to holidays and to what everyone has planned for the forthcoming year.
In the six years we have run holiday cottages in St Just, the season has extended further and further from the summer and that just goes to prove how much the area has to offer all the way through from January to December. So I thought I would look at what goes on in some of the 'off-season' months.
October and the dog restriction on beaches is lifted through to Easter, so that gives our dog owning guests a great chance to make the most of even more of our lovely beaches in West Cornwall.
November, sometimes just into October, St Just's Feast is held every year on the first weekend after 31st October to celebrate the dedication of the parish church. The celebration comprises a church service and civic procession on the Sunday, and on the evening and through to Monday a larger scale popular local celebration (in other words a few beers are drunk!) and the local hunt fills the Market Square. This is closely followed for fireworks night in early November by a display at the rugby club.
December is the time for mulled wine and roaring fires in the local pubs, the Christmas lights in St Just were switched on Friday, nearly accompanied by thunder and lightning, and the amazing display in Mousehole is well worth a visit.
In the New Year, forget the sales, the beginning of the year brings acres of fields of daffodils and empty beaches in West Cornwall. And the thing about St Just is that whatever time of the year you visit, because this is a real, working town, shops will be open, and the pubs are welcoming.
And before we know it, it is April and Easter, and the season has started again.
Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone, and we hope to see you in St Just in 2012.
