Green Fields and Hissing Swans: Finding Inspiration in Helford, Cornwall

In 2023, Taylor and I took a trip to celebrate my birthday, and we headed to England!

The last stop on our trip was Helford in Cornwall. It’s on the Helford River and has a completely different feel from the rest of Cornwall that we’d been exploring. Where we were, it felt like being in the middle of the woods. It was so rainy (it was England after all) and we had to buy rain boots so we could walk through all the fields without getting soggy.

We stayed in a really charming Airbnb. Across the street from the house, there was a path that led down to the river, and we could just pop out and walk over whenever we wanted. It was so beautiful. The river had swans — they were gorgeous but mean! I really wanted to be friends with them, haha, but they hissed at us and even flew at us a couple of times, which was a little scary, but it didn’t take away from how amazing the area was. Everything was so green and peaceful.

It rained almost the entire time we were there, which added to the vibe. Helford was so different from the rest of Cornwall we had seen. It felt quiet, secluded, and kind of magical in its own way.

One other memory from the trip: we watched the King's Coronation while we were in Helford. It felt a bit surreal, sitting in this cozy little house surrounded by all that nature while watching such a historic event on TV (and it was cool to actually be in England during it!).