Happy Holiday Memories

These pics were taken on the last holiday I had with George. He hated having his photo taken and would never pose or smile. Sometimes I would resort to taking the back view. We stayed at St Austell and this one was taken at its little port of Charlestown. I've written about it before here.

Another day we took the clay trail from St Austell to Wheal Martyn Clay Museum which, by the way, is well worth the visit. We had walked from St Austell more than 2 miles at this point because we hadn't found it easy to find where the trail started.

We were almost at the museum here and found this strange sculpture a little further on. I posted about the clay trails and Wheal Martyn on 2012 as well.

Back at our cottage George had to repair to the dog friendly smoking area outside and made friends with the resident dog.

Photographs bring back so many lovely memories.

My Working Week

It’s been a funny old week, workwise. This morning I was writing about professional negligence in the construction industry. In between taking Jade to the beach and preparing our favourite chicken meal for the oven this afternoon, I’ve been finding out about the HD CCTV, CMOS sensors and progressive scanning systems that I have to write about next. Earlier in the week I was enjoying the memory of last year’s holiday in the corner of Cornwall where it so happens that a caravan and camping site requires content for a new website and other marketing material.

That’s why I revisited all the holiday pics and posted the jungle pic here on Wednesday. I took that when we visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which had been on my bucket list for a while. You can find more about that holiday in my November posts last year, including this one which was the first in a series about that garden visit. 

The pic above was taken at the nearby Megavissey harbour on a misty day.

Wordless Wednesday: Heligan Jungle

Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum and Country Park

Somehow I managed to lose a few blogging days last week. It’s been a bit tricky trying to meet writing deadlines that are earlier this month than usual because everyone, me included, wants to take time off for Christmas. Anyway, I have a small window of time today, so I thought I’d tell you about our visit to Wheal Martyn as promised.

The final day of our Cornish holiday seems in the dim and distant past now. Actually it was only the end of October, and just looking at our photos takes me right back to it. It was the first day that we woke up to rain, but it was our only chance to see the open air clay museum exhibits, so we went anyway. And once we were there, the rain lessened and finally ceased.

In any case, we started with the indoor displays that told the story of the workers when this was a working clay mine, and of the lives of the local community. And we read about some of the characters connected with the mine over the years, all of which I have to admit has gone out of my mind right now.

Jade was very well behaved in there, but glad to emerge into the open air at the far end. Then we were following a historic trail through the former china clay works, and the first thing we saw was an enormous waterwheel. At 35 feet high it is the largest working water wheel in Cornwall.

 From there we entered a yard with some ancient vehicles and railway carriages that showed how the end product was transported away from the works. 

Here we found more shelter from the rain and more indoor exhibits to wander around, before heading upstairs to where the clay was dried on a tiled floor heated by hot air from furnaces in the blacksmith’s workshop below. When it was dry, the clay was packed into barrels ready for transportation.

After this we followed a roundabout route passing another water wheel, and noting various methods of moving water around to and from the settling tanks and sand drags.

 Jade was not too sure about entering the flat rod tunnel, through which the rods from the massive water wheel below pushed the power used in the pit. 

But she did follow us as we bent down to walk through it on our way to the pithead viewpoint where we could see more modern methods of extracting the clay taking place far below us.

On the way back we passed this quaint seat waiting for tired ramblers. 

We also took in a nature trail that pleased Jade no end. Then she was tired enough to rest in the car while we polished off another Cornish pasty lunch.

Wordless Wednesday: Megavissey Harbour on a Foggy Day

Wordless Wednesday: Cornish Claymine

On the Clay Trail

The area around our Cornish holiday home in St Austell is where much of the county's china clay has been mined. Most of the clay works have closed down, but there is a network of trails that were originally used to transport the clay from the mines. In 2005 the first of them opened for use by walkers, cyclists and horse riders and more have been developed since.

We took one of them that goes from the town of St Austell and runs parallel to the road going north towards Bodmin. It's a very easy route once you find the start. The local map didn't help, and we must have walked an extra mile trying to find it. We asked several locals who sent us round in circles until we finally found someone who knew what he was talking about.

Almost immediately we met a rather belligerent dog, who scared Jade witless. His owner got him under control and apologised, saying he was a rescue and he wasn't sure about his early history. He made us think how lucky we are to have our own rescue dog with a really sweet temperament, who is eager to make friends with everyone we meet.

So we walked on along the clay trail high above the road and found ourselves almost on a level with the great viaduct that carries the trains over it.

Soon we came to some old works buildings partially overgrown; we found it fascinating to imagine them when they were busy in their heyday. In the next photo, Jade was scrutinising them as we approached.

We passed other dog walkers who had stopped to chat with a cyclist coming from the opposite direction We were to meet and chat with him on our return journey, when he was taking his shopping home further up the valley.

Our destination was Wheal Martyn Clay Museum, some two miles from the start of the trail. It is on the far side of the road, and we were directed towards it at a junction. Here the trail divided and our section took us over the road on a footbridge.

If we had continued we would eventually have arrived at the Eden Project, but we were warned that it was quite an arduous trek with steep inclines and too far for us oldies to walk. I'd been to the Eden project before and we didn't go again this time because of having Jade with us

However, it was only another half mile to Wheal Martyn where dogs are allowed and encouraged, and we could recharge our batteries with a genuine Cornish pasty lunch before hiking back. At Ruddlemoor village, close to the museum, the old chins clay railway siding had been turned into the village green with welcome seats for weary walkers.

These larger than life china clay figures welcomed us at the museum entrance a few hundred yards further on.

We ate our lunch at on of the tables in the entrance hall specifically placed just outside the cafe for people with dogs. Then we retraced our steps along the trail to St Austell. We'd decided to return by car so we'd have plenty of energy for the country park that surrounded the outdoor exhibits. It was a few days before we were able to do that and I plan to post about that soon.

I hope you've enjoyed travelling the clay trail with me. If so, please let me know via a comment.

Charlestown in Cornwall

I’m taking you back to Cornwall again. So far I’ve only reported on one day of our holiday. Another day we found our way to St Austell’s little port of Charlestown. It is very picturesque and made even more so because it currently houses the three square-rigged tall ships in my photographs.

 It is privately owned and today I discovered that it has just been put up for sale by its owner who is retiring and hopes someone else will take it over as a business, together with his staff. They build and restore ships and run training in seamanship on the tall ships, which are also hired out as film locations. The harbour was used by Tim Burton for his Alice in Wonderland film when the grown up Alice sets sail for China in one of the tall ships. The port was also featured in other films, including one of the Three Musketeers movies and an episode of Dr Who.

Charlestown gets its name from the person who conceived it, local industrialist and landowner, Charles Rashleigh. Built in the late 18^th century, it was originally used mainly by fishermen and for transporting locally mined china clay.

Members of the public can walk all the way round the port, crossing the narrow metal bridge that tops the rising gate that allows boats to enter or leave the inner harbour. Jade wasn’t too keen to set foot on that, but once we persuaded her she was happy to cross.

The beaches on either side of the harbour are private and although public access is allowed, dogs are not, so we didn’t descend to them. The small village that surrounds the harbour also houses a feted museum, The Shipwreck and Heritage Centre, but again we didn’t want to leave Jade outside so we missed that. Of course the South West Coast Path passes through Charlestown and we did walk some of that and got more intermittent but gorgeous views of the Cornish coastline.

Lost Gardens of Heligan: Part I

I was really excited when I learnt that from October 1^st you can take your dog with you to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It was only a few miles from our week long Cornish retreat and was on my list of desired places to visit, but I wouldn’t have made it on this occasion if we couldn’t take Jade.

Lost no longer, over the last 20 years, these gardens have been extensively restored and returned to their former glory around the 400 year old seat of the Tremayne family not far from the coastal village of Megavissey. And we are lost in admiration of the dedication and passion it must have taken.

As we had Jade with us, we decided to take the woodland walk as soon as we entered. This meandering path cuts through the woods which skirt the edge of the estate and form the shelterbelt for the house and gardens. The wood is home to some small Heligan pigs that help to keep the ground clear.  They are contained behind a low electric fence which we were warned to keep Jade away from.

 The other side of the path has been decorated with some fascinating garden sculptures, all well in keeping with their surroundings. Here is the first, the rather scary Giant’s Head.

The next one is the reclining Mud Maiden. She just wouldn’t fit into my camera lense, but I got most of her to show you. The head is a bit unclear but you can see a hip, thigh and waist as well as a shoulder and arm.

The final one is the grey lady. She’s a bit of a giant too. Made of wire, you can look right through her to the trees behind, so she’s quite hard to see in the photo. Everything was in silhouette so I’ve added a lot of light to try and make it easier to make her out.

She stands close to the end of the woodland walk and was inspired by a ghostly grey wraith said to haunt this area of the estate. The sculptors of all these were Sue and Pete Hill. The grey lady is a recent addition and has been planted with wild roses.

After this bit of the walk we headed down a steep hill into the hollow that houses the jungle. That calls for another post so our memorable visit to the Lost Gardens of Heligan will be a series on here.

Wordless Wednesday: Cornish Tree with Character

It's Holiday Time

Phew! All my October work is finished and submitted, together with my invoice. Last load of washing, last big food shop all done. Meals organised for son who will be here. Only have to finalise lists and pack the cases now.

I'm off tomorrow and will be in Cornwall for a week from Saturday, with hubby and Jade. We'll be taking her for walks on the South West Coast Path. Yippee! See you when we are back.

This picture of the path on a Cornish cliff top is by Trevor Rickard.  

Notes on a Name

I’ve been a Knill since I was twentyone. Even though I recently married for the second time, I’m still using the name for my byline – and all those bills and bank accounts that I haven’t got around to changing.

My first husband’s family hailed from the west. We used to visit his Aunt Ida Knill and her unmarried brother, Harold, who still lived together in the family home – a cottage next to the church in Pilton, Barnstaple. They were great church goers, and early in the 19th century, the Knill family made up the complete church bell-ringing team. I was once shown a poem that had been made up about them. I believe it was published in the local newspaper. How I wish I’d managed to get and keep a copy of it.

Recently, I was browsing the web and came across a pyramid folly just outside St Ives in Cornwall, called the Knill Monument. The text says that it was meant to be a mausoleum for a former mayor of the town, John Knill, who built it in 1782. Sadly, however, he died when he was in London and wasn’t brought back.

But his will instructed that “10 young virgins and 2 older women, possibly widows, accompanied by the local minister, the mayor of St. Ives, a violinist, and a customs and excise man”, should dance around the monument while everyone else sings the 100th psalm "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands."

This spectacle can still be seen on 25th July once every five years. I imagine it takes some doing to be sure you’ve got 10 young virgins, let alone a willing customs and excise man, these days. But I’m setting a date for 2011, which is the next time it’s due to take place.