The Distracted Wanderer

Anyone who has ever watched the British comedy series "Doc Martin" or historical drama series "Poldark" already knows how beautiful the county of Cornwall located in South West England is but I'm here to tell you that it's even more amazing when you're wandering the picture-perfect peninsula yourself! Want to make it even more amazing? Stay in a historic lighthouse like the Lizard Lighthouse  located on the most southerly point of mainland Great Britain.  Lying within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Cornwall’s nationally protected landscape with the same status and protection as a National Park, the lighthouse is located on the tip of Lizard Point which is the most southerly point of Lizard Peninsula in the civil parish of Landewednack which is the most southerly parish in England.  Yes, there's a lot of "most southerly" going on here but in spite of its name, there aren't any lizards going along with that! K...

Used in its narrowest sense, the term "Down East" refers to the coast of Maine from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border, a term that originated from the fact that when ships sailed from Boston to ports in Maine - which were to the east of Boston - the wind was at their backs, so they were sailing downwind and hence were heading 'down east'.  These days folks head Down East from all directions in search of delicious seafood, quaint seaside villages, fantastic views, and, of course, lighthouses which is one of the reasons that I pointed the car north and went Down East this past fall along with my friend Claire who was visiting from England. Our itinerary gave us two nights in the lovey little town of Lubec, the easternmost town in the contiguous United States, and home to one of the most photographed lighthouses on the East Coast - West Quoddy Head Light. West Quoddy Head, where the lighthouse is located, overlooks Quoddy Narrows, a strait on Passamaquoddy Bay w...