A pub is celebrating its heritage with new signage, just in time for Speak Cornish Week.
The Bowgie Inn in Crantock, Newquay, has installed new signs around the venue displaying specific translations of certain Cornish words as a nod to its heritage.
The installation coincided with Speak Cornish Week, which began on Saturday.
Speak Cornish aims to make the language accessible to all and increase the use of Cornish in community life.
Sally Pickles, Owner and Director of The Bowgie, said: "We hadn’t necessarily planned for our signage instillation to fall in line with Speak Cornish Week, but I’m so pleased it has!
"It gives even more reason to celebrate our beautiful new signs, which I couldn’t be more delighted with.
"The new signs we have installed around the venue really feel like the perfect finishing touch to our refurbishment, which took place from 2018 to 2020.
"It’s just lovely to have those little details taken care of, after so much work on the building itself.
"I love the professional feel they create around The Bowgie."
The Cornish words feature proudly in a few places around The Bowgie.
The most noticeable of them is in the entrance way, where the sizeable Bowgie logo is displayed on a white wall with the words "Dydh da - Hello" written clearly underneath.
Cornish words are also used on the signs outside of the entrance: "Welcome - Dydh da," "Cheers - Yeghes da!" and "Thank you - Meur ras."
The use of the "Thank you - Meur ras" is particularly fitting with the "Meur ras" theme of the Speak Cornish Week this year, which is encouraging individuals to acknowledge and express their thanks for everything there is to be grateful for after such challenging times.
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Sally explained: "The idea of adding Cornish words to the signs sprung from our love of Cornwall and our Cornish heritage.
"We just thought it would be a lovely nod to our beautiful county and our history to have the language on some of our signs.
"The Bowgie has been part of this landscape for the best part of 50 years and we felt having a few Cornish words around the venue would be a great way to celebrate and remember that.
"We love our history, and as a pub aim to use as much Cornish produce as possible wherever we can.
"This includes our diverse and large range of Cornish drinks behind the bar from a variety of local suppliers, such as St. Austell Brewery, Camel Valley, Skinner’s, Healey’s, Cornish Orchards and Tarquin’s, to name a few.
"I’m thrilled with how the signs have all turned out.
"The huge “Dydh da - Hello” sign in our entrance way is certainly hard to miss as you walk in!
"It creates such a welcoming atmosphere that I hope all of our customers will feel and enjoy.”
The designing of The Bowgie’s new signage was carried out by Idenna Creative Agency, who worked alongside Graphique Media Solutions (GMS) to produce and install the signs last Wednesday.
In addition to the signs in the entrance way and outside the entrance to The Bowgie, there are also new signs for the car park, toilet facilities, fire exits, board room and no-entry points.
Sally said: "It’s taken quite some time to get to this stage; the new signage is something that’s been in the planning stages for months, so to see the signs finally installed around The Bowgie is so exciting!
"The fact that the whole process has fallen in conjunction with Speak Cornish Week is extra special.
"I think the work that organisations such as Speak Cornish do is so incredibly important for keeping our Cornish heritage alive, so if our new signs can go some small way to contributing to that, then that’s all I could ask for."
The Bowgie Inn is open from 11am every day.
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