A ghostly trek to Jamaica Inn!
by cindy ~ July 12th, 2009. Filed under: wwwTrek.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love the “different”, so it stands to reason that I would love something that was haunted! Paul was awesome & came up with the Jamaica Inn to stay at. Like many people I had I heard about the Jamaica Inn in the film based on the book written by Daphne du Maurier, but I didn’t know it was haunted until he told me. A couple of weeks later we saw it was on the TV show Most Haunted, and “wooohooo”, they featured room 5 which was our room booked! How exciting!
But before the Inn we decided to take a drive around the awesome countryside of Bolvarin. As you will see by the video we weren’t disappointed. It ranged from exciting to enchanting. It really is a beautiful area. Though I would predict it is rather cold in the winter, it has that valley/moorish coolness about it.
The Jamaica Inn is located on the Bodmin Moors in Cornwall, a fitting location of course! This was also the one time I didn’t mind if it whipped up a storm. Nothing could be more fitting that the Jamaica Inn on a dark & stormy night! We got the dark & wet, but alas it didn’t bring forth the storm.
It has a cobbled courtyard, where it is said you can hear the old wagons & horses moving across it at night. Beamed ceilings, which in the bar are covered by a variety of currency notes, even an old $1 & $2 Aussie note! A warm log fire, a variety of ales also complete the rustic settings.
We checked in & were welcome by who I think was the manager, a very nice chap. He took us to our room, wher Paul had to duck walking down the hallway because of low ceilings (he’s 6′ 4″), though a few times Paul forgot & kept bumping his head. (**insert chuckle**). I have to say I fell in love with the bath tub! It was BIG & awesome… I could have stayed in there all night! Unfortunately I had to get out of the tub to head downstairs for dinner…sighs!
I love the atmosphere of old pubs, and this one didn’t disappoint! First priority was to order some drinks, and I beelined for a pint of the native Jamaica Inn ale. It was quite a thick ale, rather flat & warm… but then I expected that off English ale! I needed a coke after that brew!
Dinner was excellent. It was an enjoyable night sitting there taking in the ambience, good conversation & good food. A definate recommendation.
Then it was off to the room & to chillax for the rest of the night & see if any spooks were going to let themselves be known to us. Paul fell asleep quite soon, but I was a wake a lot of the night, waiting to see if anything would happen.
It was told on TV about a woman in the mirror & I sat & stared at it much of the night, but alas nothing.
At one stage it got very hot in the room, even though the radiator wasn’t on & there was a window open.
There was the odd knock & the sound of voices, but most of that could be contributed to other guests in the Inn as sound travelled quite clearly.
But all in all, and uneventful night. Morning came & I was soooo tired from waiting up most of the night. However, the thought of a huge continental breakfast was too good to stay away from! So it was pack quickly so we could rush down for brekkie, then we would grab our bags afterwards.
Breakfast was awesome. We had cereal, toast, a slab of cheese & a slab of ham served with a croisant (and I do mean “slab”). There were juices & fresh brewed coffee. Delicious!! Again, the ambience in the dining room was enchanting, with much to look around at while you ate your breakfast.
After breakfast we quickly threw our bags in the car, then decided to take a more leisurely stroll around the Inn in the rain, and take in a visit to the museum at the Inn.
In the museum you could relive the smugglers experience, for which Jamaica Inn is famous. They have a huge collection of smugglers artifacts. You are taken around by audio presentations by who is meant to be Demon Davey, the Vicar of Altarnum & the arch villian of the book by Daphne du Maurier. There is also a memorial room to Daphne du Maurier which includes her Sheraton writing desk & a packet of du Maurier cigarettes & a dish of her favourite Glacier mints.
As we left the Inn it started to pour down with rain, and was a fitting image to leave to Jamaica Inn with.
If you’re ever in the area, it’s defiantely worth a visit!
