Walking by the River Fowey and Fowey Town, Cornwall

As we walked along the Esplanade at Fowey all was quiet and peaceful. A sailing boat made its way silently towards the sea.

As we reached the town there were a few people wandering about, mostly tourists. The chill in the air must have kept people indoors - though goodness knows why.

The quay was quiet and the ferry, which crosses the the river to Polruan, had very few passengers.

By the quay is the Marine Aquarium.

The cruise ship Ocean Nova was anchored on the opposite side of the river.

We walked along Fore Street passed The Lugger pub. The oldest pub in Fowey, however, is the Ship Inn which was built way back in 1570.

A few small boats moored on the river.

An abundance of flowers spill over the road just before Customs House Hill.

The road is narrow, very narrow, luckily it's one way traffic.

More of the river.

The photo below shows the car and passenger ferry which crosses the river to Bodinnick.

The house by the river, with blue shutters, I have mentioned in several posts. This is where Daphne du Maurier was living when her first book was published.

About turn as we return in the direction of Fowey Quay to devour a Cornish Pasty - mine  a veggie version.

 The church grass has been allowed to grow, which somehow makes it more inviting.

After consuming our pasties - okay plus a pastry and coffee we made our way back along the Esplanade to where our car is parked.

The cruise ship can be seen from the water's edge. Always a pleasure to visit Fowey whatever the season.

ANOTHER DAY - had a flying visit into St. Austell.

It was good to see flowers. The tulips seem to have lasted well.

YET ANOTHER DAY - My wife had a dentist appointment in Truro so, while she had her check-up, I walked to Truro's Victoria Park. I met a strange lady while on my way!

I passed the Cornwall Council building - note the languages are in English and Cornish.

The gardens are next to the County Courts.

Here I am in the park with the bandstand in the distance.

A water fountain and ...

... a close up of the traditional bandstand.

More water but only a trickle of a stream.

The viaduct is used by trains. Below is a pleasant walk through the trees.

A few of the mature trees look outwards to a view of the city.

As I wandered I came across this memorial, so a touch of sadness.

The gardens were originally created to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

That's all I have time for so I head for the steps in the photo below I'll be back at the County Courts and can retrace my steps back to my wife's dentist - it seems all went okay.

Thanks for visiting my blog. All good wishes ~ Mike.

Here's a post of a lovely walk from Fowey: The Magical Hall Walk at Fowey Cornwall - With Lots of Photos

and also a May flower post : May Flowers In Cornwall

Walking at Carlyon Bay, Truro Harbour and Three Wise monkeys

My dear old dad would have said that it was definitely brass monkey* weather. It was cold but we ventured out to Carlyon Bay for a walk along the beach. 

There were only a few people about. Hope the couple below weren't having a paddle, brave if they were.

The sun was doing its best to make it through the cloud cover.

Just the one boat to be seen, which stayed close to the shore.

A problem with the beach is that there is Sandy River cutting through the sand, the water comes from the cliffs.

Towards the end of the beach grasses grow and in the summer a few naturists may also be on display.

At the far end of the beach the river makes its way into the sea - though the river often changes its course.

I guess the beach, in the photos above, look reasonably pleasant. One of the problems though is the fence you can see in the photo below. Behind the fence is where, in 2003, plans were made to build apartments and shops here. This never came to fruition.

So what is left behind the fence are rocks and other debris.  It's all a bit of a mess.

The cliffs are quite high in places as the next two photos show.

Good to see some gorse in flower at the foot of the cliffs.

Moving on - another day.

I had to visit my dentist in Truro for a routine check-up. Afterwards I had a quick look around Truro Harbour. The water is tidal so it often looks a bit muddy. Today though, the water was nicely polished and shiny.

From here it is possible to see the Truro Cathedral spires in the distance.

From the harbour, during the summer, there are boat trips to Falmouth. It's a lovely way to spend some time, especially on a sunshine day.

On one occassion, while on the trip, we were lucky enough to encounter a race for working boats.

They are known as Truro River Oyster Dredging Boats - the name describes their purpose. Traditionally they were made of wood. They are also referred to as Falmouth Working Boats. It's quite a sight to behold. 

There are a few more photos on my post:The Race Is On For The Working Boats 

*Mentioning my father's saying about brass monkeys reminded me that my Grandmother always had three brass wise monkeys on her fireplace. These were a reminder that we should hear no evil, see no evil or speak no evil. 

I guess though, more importantly,  we should also do no evil.

That's all for today, thanks for your visit, have a happy week ahead ~ Mike

A Wander Around the City of Truro, Cornwall

It was a bit of a grey day but my wife had a dentist appointment in Truro. I took the opportunity to walk around the City.

Not a particularly good day for photos but I wandered about. 

The photo below shows Truro's Coinage Hall which has a long history stretching back to the 1300's. Cornish tin was assayed here prior to being exported. The present building was built in 1848.

One of the numerous buses, in various colours, that service the Truro area

Next is Upper Lemon Street which has a long history. There's a photo of how the sreet looked back in1890 here. 

I wonder how many of these traditional phone boxes are used nowadays. When a teenager I remember phoning a girlfriend using such a phone box. I knew of a way to make free lengthy calls so could chat to her for ages. Anyway, had better move on quickly.

This is a newish part of Truro with a large Marks & Spencer shop at the far end.

Primark makes sure it is noticed by shoppers.

Nearly opposite to Primark is a more traditional building: the Market Inn.

Wandering back now towards where I started.

I nearly forgot to mention Truro's Cathedral with it's spires high above the shops and other buildings.

I have previously written posts on Truro Cathedral here.

More buses.

Here's a bit of an oddity near to the Cathedral. The pointed building below is/was St. Mary's church spire. According to what I have read, there had been a church here since the 13th century. 

In 1768 the church was altered and a 39 metre high spire was added to the building. In 1880 the church was demolished to make way for the Cathedral. In 2015 the spire was moved to it's present position - as seen below - which is by the Cathedral Green.

Finally a road, on the way out of the city - it has humps for 100 yards and a speed limit of 20 mph. Not much I can add to that!

I thought I'd better finish off the post with a photo of Truro Cathedral. I snapped this a while back, on a bright day. As you can see the Truro River tide was out - so it was feeding time for the birds. 

P.S. A few Autumn scenes.

This is a wild area nearish to where I live.

Looks quite interesting but, as there was quite a chill in the air, I didn't linger too long.

Many thanks for visiting my blog, take care, have a good week ~ Mike