St Austell is a very small town, but is a good base for a short visit to Cornwall's many attractions. The town itself boasts the main Hight Street shops such as WH Smiths, Boots, Tesco, Superdrug, Burtons, the major Banks as well as a 5 screen cinema, 10 pin bowling alley, a working Brewery, take aways, pubs and cafes. The town lacks any non-pub night life such as restaurants, but the food served in the local pubs is excellent and inexpensive. The White Heart Hotel restaurant is not now recommended by some locals as it has recently changed ownership/management and is allegedly attempting to provide services on the cheap. the Hotel's newly ...  Read the complete review

It was way, way back in the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) that the very first porcelain was produced. Well it was easy for them as they had lots of the natural ingredients required. This was the Tang dynasty of China, obviously, as porcelain wasn't really made elsewhere until a guy named Bottger knocked up a few decent pots in Meissen, Germany in 1708. No doubt, at the time, China and Germany thought they had it all sussed, and the market sewn up, but things changed in the 1740's. For this was the period when china clay deposits were found in Cornwall in the area surrounding St.Austell. And damn good it was too. So good the Cornish named it white gold ...  Read the complete review