As Eddie Izzard famously remarked in one of his skits “Look, you’re British, so scale it down a bit.”

We’ve been experiencing that first hand on our trip, mainly in form of tourist attractions. It’s not that there aren’t any, au contraire, the place is filthy with things to do and places to see. But we learned quickly to scale down our expectations a bit.

A prehistoric monument of standing stones with a mystic history? Sounds grand! In reality Stonehenge is quite small and overrun with dissappointed-looking tourists. Cheddar gorge, the largest gorge in the United Kingdom? Bring it on! We almost missed the whole thing if it hadn’t been for the sudden onset of tacky tourist shops along the road.

So we’ve scaled it down a bit. Don’t expect too much and sometimes you get pleasantly surprised. As with the Minack Theater in Porthcurno, Cornwall. The theater is built into the side of a cliff, overlooking the sea. It was conceived and built (almost single-handedly) by one woman, Rowena Cade. Her gardener and a couple of friends helped with the heavier lifting… It is an absolutely amazing spot and the amount of work that has gone into it is mind-boggling. Seeing a play there might be a bit uncomfortable (cushions anyone?) but in my book it beats the circular stone pile anyday.