For an authentic green mini-break, I booked a hotel that doesn't even market itself as “green” but fits the description simply because it's a 500-yard walk from Redruth railway station in Cornwall.

After a short stroll down a hill and along a peaceful lane lined with cabbage palms and rhododendrons we arrived at a Georgian manor that has been converted into a cosy three-star hotel with traditional furnishings (grand piano in the lounge and antique-like fittings throughout) and a small in door pool.

The hotel was full of wedding guests and - we were surprised to find - runners. The annual Cornish marathon was beginning the following morning and many of the entrants were staying at the hotel overnight: a carbohydrate-loading “pasta party” was being held in a function room.

We jogged along to our room, which was plain but fairly spacious, decorated in pale yellow, with a tiny TV, chintzy curtains and two cream horseshoe-shaped chairs. The view, past more cabbage palms, was of a hill with a former tin-mine tower poking out at the top. Redruth was once the tin-mining capital of Cornwall.

After exploring the small town centre - which was a little dull and full of youths, one of whom had a bleeding nose and was explaining to a policeman “I was head-butted outside the library” - we took a bracing walk along the hilly north Cornwall cliffs. It was quite beautiful.

Back at the hotel we chatted to a group of marathon runners at the bar. Dave had run 84 marathons, including events in Las Vegas, Rotterdam and Florence. But his mate Bill, in his sixties, put him to shame with 297 triumphs. He wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan “The 100 Marathon Club”.

Food at the restaurant was mixed. My three-course table d'hôte meal consisted of a vegetable soup that was not unlike a canned variety, followed by a simple salmon and mashed-potato pie, overcooked carrots, frozen peas, and then a reasonable lemon mousse pudding. Service was friendly and efficient.

Afterwards, we guiltily drank beer as runners full of pasta paced to their rooms for an early night. And then, the next morning, we strolled back, with small, green, carbon-friendly steps, to Redruth station.

Need to know

Penventon Park Hotel, West End, Redruth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, TR15 1TE

Mystery Guest paid £87.50 for a B&B double. Three-course meal £22.50.

Room 5 out of 10

Food 5.5 out of 10

Service 8 out of 10

Value 6 out of 10

Rating 6.13

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