The Old Success Inn

“It’s a bit gloomy”, I was told, referring to the only pub in town.  Suzy was stuck in Singapore so I ventured alone to Sennen Cove in Cornwall and what better way to while away a cold & windy Saturday night than with an ale or three and catch up with old friends in a warm pub.

Sennen Cove is within walking distance of Lands End with all the inherent windswept ruggedness of the landscape and the local inhabitants.  Legend has it that many years ago, Sennen Cove was a poor & isolated fishing village, surviving on pilchards & mackerel and some would say wrecking & scavenging; that quaint Cornish custom of lighting false signal fires on the headlands to deliberately drive sailing ships onto the nearby reefs & shoals , then rowing out and nicking anything of value.  The locals would then celebrate their “success” back at the pub.  (It is not recorded if the pub also welcomed the shipwreck survivors).  The other version of the legend refers to the success of catching a boat load of fish, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

The pub, the village and the people now seem strangely at odds with the new surfing culture sweeping Cornish beaches; (apparently started by some Australians) with Sennen Cove subjected to ski-lodge type buildings & a large sea side carpark; but I went into the pub anyway as it was almost next door to my lodgings.  Drinks were at London prices (they don’t get many shipwrecks these days); service was immediate as there were few people there even at 1900 on a Saturday night and the food appeared unremarkable with a lot of fish dishes.  Apparently it’s heaving with surfers and live music on a Saturday night in summer.

I didn’t eat at the pub as the offer of home cooked Shepherd’s Pie, back at the house, was too appealing, even for a closet vegetarian.  Larger Beers available are Carlsberg, San Miguel, Carlsberg Export with Bitter Beers: Tribute, Tinners; HSD, Guinness.  Blackthorn Cider & Cornish Rattler if you like apples in your drink.  Wine on tap from Australian, Sth African & Californian vineyards gave Chateau Cardboard a whole new meaning.

With all the history, I thought this Public House unremarkable, although a pleasant enough place when the Cornish weather is blowing dogs off chains.