AN EASY RIVERSIDE WALK TO ST. CLEMENT, CORNWALL

We went for a short walk along the tidal Tresillian River, our intention being to visit the lovely village of St. Clement and its fine old church. This is about 3 miles from the city of Truro.

It's a pleasant walk - simply follow the river path. The tide was on the way out on our visit. 

On the right is we passed a small lake. All was silent other than a dog barking in the distance.

I'm always fascinated by the old Cornish dry walls. In the example below there are sections of vertical and horizontal stones.

The gate below indicated that we were approaching St.Clement, which is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The village backs onto the river.

Our first sight of the village. A few cottages have a prime view overlooking the river ...

… and they have their own access to the river.

Turning right into the village the tower of the church of St. Clement comes into view. The old name was the church of Moresk.

Strange to see the traditional red phone box. It seems out of place - though it's reasonably up to date and can be used for e-mails and texts.

There are more old cottages on the approach to the church ...

… plus Church Cottage with the church tower in the background.

 It is believed that the church was built in 1249 but was enlarged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

A quick look inside the church.

We now followed our footsteps back to our car passing the riverside cottages ...

 ... and The Old Vicarage, dating back to the 1500s, but not as it once was! It's now an upmarket Bed & Breakfast emporium.

The tide was on its way out and the river was turning quite muddy - so lots of free food for the birds. All in all a very pleasant walk, which can be extended by following the local footpaths - perhaps to Malpas.

Parking the car:

We parked at the end of Tresillian village (3 miles east of Truro). We were driving from the St. Austell area, on the left, there is a big car dealership, after this is a pull-in off the main A390 - just before the sign as shown in the photo below. There is room for about five cars - if everyone parks neatly. otherwise there is some parking on the opposite side of the road.

Hope you have a good week ahead. To close the post a few flowers my wife received from our son.

All good wishes ~ Mike.

ST. AUSTELL TOWN PHOTOS & THE EARTH GODDESS

There's been a rumbling of sorts, in St.Austell and all because of a new piece of artwork, as above. It's big!  It is the UK's largest ceramic sculpture and is said to have cost £80,000. Oh, and in the photo above I missed off the very top of the sculpture. The title of the artwork is 'The Earth Goddess'.

The controversy rumbles on because some Church leaders are urging the town council to significantly change or remove the goddess. They claim that the local authority has likely, unknowingly, chosen to reject God by allowing the artwork to be erected.

Anyway let's move on, I'll come back to the Goddess later in the post. For now though, lets take a look at some of the much older parts of St. Austell town. Below is the Coral Moss shop and ...

... then a local Estate Agent. Property prices are rising in Cornwall.

Next we have the lovely Holy Trinity Church. There has been a church building on this site  since 1169. Part of the current building dates back to 1290.

The church stands on high ground and overlooks the White Hart hotel and pub. The hotel was previously the town house of Charles Rashleigh the Charlestown founder. See my previous post Photos and a Brief History of Charlestown, Cornwall

Another view of the church.

Looking from the opposite side of the church is the old Market House. There is also a free, but small, museum.

A touch of street art on the side of a building next to the Market House.

If we look outwards from the front of the church there is Fore Street, one of the main shopping areas. It has to be said, though, that, as with many towns, there are a few empty shops.

A view of the church looking back from Fore Street.

We have now slipped out of the Fore Street and into Biddicks Court where there is the Wetherspoon outlet called Rann Wartha.

A couple of photos from the back street.

Moving on to the newer part of St. Austell - a butcher and a greengrocer but no candlestick maker. There are bakers though, so a ready supply of pasties is available.

There are lots of flowers in this new(er) section of St. Austell.

Below is looking outward from the shops.

Four photos now of some of the flowers by the newer shops. As you can see I managed  to click the pics when there wern't too many people about.

So here we are again back at the controversial earth goddess - including the top part.

I guess when the goddess is in the right position, with the cinema and flowers in the background, she doesn't look too bad at all.

A close up of a section of the goddess.

Nearby there is a pleasant odour of fish and chips - even though I'm vegetarian!

I wonder what some of  St.Austell's well known people, from the past, would have made of the goddess?

That's all for today. I have, though, written a previous St. Austell post: A Flavour of St. Austell, Cornwall - 26 Photos if interested.

All good wishes ~ Mike.

Looking at Mevagissey, St Mewan and Gover Valley

A changeable morning weatherwise as we popped into Mevagissey. It looked pretty much as usual.

The harbour was colourful in the chilly sunshine but ...

... there's often something quirky hidden away. Not sure who this fellow is, but he looks a little unsettling.

The mural is from a previous poppy day.

A few of the boats in the harbour.

A bit of blue sky and cliffs to the east of the harbour.

Moving inland from Mevagissey some blossom ...

... and blooms.

We passed by the church at St. Mewan,  which dates back to Norman times. The bell tower foundations and the base of the font were built way back in 1100.

There is a local legend that the church builders were prevented from building the tower any higher by the Devil himself. He would throw down stones each night when he considered the correct height had been reached, to his satisfaction. Mind you, I have heard similar tales where this has happened to other churches.

Just around the corner from St. Mewan church the long straight road has views across the green countryside. 

Sadly developers have started to build houses alongside the road. But, in saying that, affordable houses are needed in Cornwall.

Moving on we made our way down the narrow  road which leads to Gover Valley ...

... stopping at a view point.

Finally we were in the valley and all was well with the world.

Thanks for visiting my blog ~ Mike.

Similar Posts:

(1) A Perfect Chilly Winter's Day in Mevagissey, Cornwall - 12 Photos

(2) 33 Photos: A Circular Walk Based On Gover Valley, St.Austell, Cornwall