The fields ahead are yellow with daffodils and a soft ocean breeze smells of seaweed and smoked fish. I’m on an open-topped bus above Newlyn harbour near Penzance, where I arrived by train this morning. Through window of that train, I passed a frozen wonderland of icy floods and frosty trees, but west Cornwall feels like another country: lush ferns, palm trees and bright pink camellias flourish in coastal gardens. There are ancient crosses where green lanes meet, and Cornwall’s tallest still-standing stones, the Pipers, cast afternoon shadows like a giant sundial. Just beyond them, there’s a perfect top-deck view of the Merry Maidens stone circle. It may seem counterintuitive to explore by bus in a county known for twisty lanes and summer traffic jams, but it proves reliable and cheap as well ass sustainable.
