Daphne du Maurier Cruise
"LAST NIGHT I dreamt I went to Manderley again." The magical opening line of "Rebecca", one of Daphne du Maurier's finest and most enigmatic novels. And what better way to visit and explore du Maurier's Cornwall than on a classic yacht?
Du Maurier lived much of her adult life at Menabilly (the inspiration for Manderley?), a sumptuous country house near Fowey, one of the du Maurier heritage sites we visit during this literary sailing cruise on Cornwall's South Coast.
We start from Falmouth, and on the first day make passage to Fowey, a fascinating West Country port in its own right. The following day is set aside for visiting the du Maurier sites in the Fowey area - notably Menabilly, but also the bookshops in the area that specialise in du Maurier.
The next day we set sail again, this time bound for Helford, off which leads the mysterious (and very beautiful) Frenchman's Creek - inspiration for the du Maurier novel of the same name - and which we explore in Leopard's tender (dinghy).
Helford has a fine pub (and a very good - and very expensive! - restaurant) and, depending on how the fancy takes us, we may or may not eat ashore. As on other evenings, we are likely to find ourselves vigorously discussing du Maurier's novels...
On the fourth day we sail back to Falmouth, often anchoring in St Mawes before taking the ferry over to Pendennis Castle to explore this ancient historical site with its du Maurier associations. The fifth day sees us returning to Falmouth itself.
Cruise dates for 2008: TBC; cost per person £495pp inclusive of all on board costs. Click here to email an enquiry. To find out more about Daphne du Maurier, visit the Daphne du Maurier site.
Get up to speed on du Maurier at this year's Daphne du Maurier Festival 8th - 17th May 2008 - 10 days of entertainment: star names, drama, music, talks, concerts, guided walks, plus local & free events.