Five Black and White Facades of Polperro

Over the past couple of years, I've become somewhat fascinated with photographing facades, windows and doorways. There were the beautiful Doors and Windows of Boulogne and the Facades of Faversham.  Here are five of my favourite facades from the historic fishing village of Polperro in black and white. I also have some lovely desaturated colour photos which I will share another time.

This is the Polperro Post Office. I think it is probably safe to say that they make a good trade on the sale of their postcards. The coastline around Polperro is quite rugged and hilly which allows for beautiful aerial photographs of the little seaside towns beside natural harbours.

The owner of this store came out to chat to me when she saw me taking this photograph.  Rather than scolding me for doing so, she invited me to take a look inside. The shop was indeed filled with all the delights that you’d find in a car boot sale.

There is no doubt about it, if you’re visiting Cornwall you have to indulge in a cream tea. The scones are light and fluffy, fresh and still slightly warm from the oven. They are served with famous Cornish clotted cream and jam and are best enjoyed with a pot of tea. Traditional cream teas serve two scones per person because one just isn’t enough.

This is the doorway to the Sclerder Abbey near Looe. Strictly speaking, it is not in Polperro but I walked there from Polperro itself so surely that warrants inclusion here? Founded in 1843, this Roman Catholic abbey is presently home to an enclosed community of Carmelite nuns who arrived in 1981.

This is Chaipel Steps Cottage, one of the many places you can stay when you visit Polperro. I quite liked the look of these cottages which overlook the harbour and might consider staying there if we ever visit again. We stayed in the lovely Crumplehorn Inn during our stay, but they did not have an obvious facade to photograph.

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I had to think twice before publishing this post today. I had prepared it last week and it was scheduled to publish last night but then we received some terrible news from home and it didn't seem right, nothing seems right. You may have even seen the post pop into your reader before I deleted it again. In the end, I've decided to go ahead, partly to explain why I may be absent for several weeks while I go home (although I am finding a welcome distraction in browsing my Feedly reader at the moment) and also because I want to remember a very special week spent with my family before this tragedy befell us. Most of all, I just want to maintain some semblance of normality before everything changes.