Cornwall’s Plastic-free Penzance (an inspiration!)
Cornwall is a fairly small county on the tip of southwest England, and surprisingly one of its less affluent as one of the only incomes these days is tourism. This has led to an influx of empty second-homes.
If out walking, always follow the Countryside Code to keep all creatures safe. If at the coast, read about how to keep dogs safe by the seaside.
Don’t walk on sand dunes (to protect endangered natterjack toads) and keep you and dogs away from coastal birds and flowers (some are toxic) and seals. Join the campaign to ban flying rings, to help local seals.
Penzance is one of England’s first plastic-free communities, involved in litter clean-ups and beach cleans and local shops that use reusable containers. Local greengrocers turn leftover veggies into soup, there are many zero waste shops, and restaurants are part of the nationwide tap refill water station network.
Even the local lido is powered partly by geothermal energy. And this is also where you take the 3-hour ferry ride to Isles of Scilly (it only operates part of the year).
Meaning ‘Holy Headland’ in Cornish, there is a very mild climate due to the Gulf Stream, so you can even find palm trees growing here. And Jubilee Lido is England’s largest sea water version, designed in an Art Deco style.
