The Ancient St Piran's Holy Well and St Piran's Church, Trethevy, Cornwall

In my previous post I mentioned the rock carvings at Rocky Valley. In the same area of Trethevy are also other old places of interest.

In the photo above, for instance, is St. Piran's Holy Well. It's thought to have been used, as such, for several centuries. 

The present structure of the well was recorded in 1880 and was built around a slate support for an adjoining open fronted cart hut. Until recently water was drawn by a hand pump at the back of the building.

St. Piran is, of course, the patron saint of Cornwall and close by to the well is St. Piran's Church - photo below.

The church was first recorded in 1457 when the vicar at nearby Trintagel was granted a licence to celebrate mass here.

The church was probably used as such until the early 1700s. A gravestone was found dated 1707.

For many years the church was used as a farm building, until 1941 when it was restored for use as a mission church.

A lot of the church has been, perhaps, over restored and most of the medieval features have unfortunately been lost.

All within the same area is also St. Nectan's Kieve and Waterfall, which I'll mention in a future post. 

When following the path that leads to the magical waterfall you pass a granite Roman Milestone as shown in the photo below. The pillar has been damaged - as it was used as a gate post for many years!

A badly worn inscription reads:

IMP C DOMINI NGAL LO ET VOLUS

Translated this says "The Emperors, Caesars our Lords Gallus and Volusianus". (AD25-253)

Will continue in the same area with St.Nectan's Waterfall in my next post.

See also:
Early Bronze Age Rock Carvings at Rocky Valley, Cornwall

Early Bronze Age Rock Carvings at Rocky Valley, Cornwall

Something a bit different today. The two rock face carvings - photos above and below - are from Rocky Valley, Cornwall, quite near to the well known village of Tintagel on Cornwall's North Coast.

The carvings were discovered in 1948 and there is an official sign which states:

ROCKY VALLEY ROCK CARVINGS

Labyrinth Pattern Carvings 

probably of the Early Bronze Age (1800-1400BC)

This monument is protected under 

the Ancient Monuments Act 1913

Similar patterned carvings have been found in various parts of the world such as in Crete and Galacia, Spain.  Below is  a photo, from Wikipedia showing a similar design in Galacia.

All in all sounds convincing but there are those who would spoil the story by reaching a different conclusion, Some question the carvings and say they may only be 300 years old maximum. 

The main reason to doubt the age of the carvings is the fact that there aren't any similar examples in south-west England. 

Personally I'd like to believe that the carvings are thousands of years old. Many others seem to to agree as they have left coins, ribbons with messages, candles and so on nearby. Very New Age - if that term still applies nowadays. 

Above: a similar carving in Galacia, Spain

15 Photos of Flowers in Cornwall, England

A few flower photos I have snapped in the month of June in Cornwall, England. The one above is from my own garden and the following two were taken from the cliff path leading to the lovely village of Polperro.

The next four flower photos were snapped at Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Now five photos of flowers seen while walking in Cornwall walking.

And below another photo from the Lost Gardens of Heligan - this is their Sundial Garden.

Next we have a field of wild flowers.

Finally, looks like there will be some blackberries once the flowers have dropped.

You may also like:

(1) Growing Apple Tree From A Pip - Plus Cornwall's Eden Project

(2) The Lost Gardens of Heligan : 8 Photos of Plants, Jungle and Farm Animals

(3) Trelissick House and Gardens With Stunning Maritime Views

The Government Communications Headquarters Situated on Beautiful North Cornwall Cliffs

A few weeks back we were walking along the north Cornwall coastal path when we came to quite a climb! See photo above - there were many steps that seemed to go on and on. But such is life!

As we climbed we saw the unexpected - lots of satellite dishes! Not having walked this particular stretch of coast before I wasn't sure what all of this was. Then I remembered the GCHQ Bude.

I have now read a little about this. I discovered that there are actually 21 satellite antennas. 

This is one branch of the (UK) Government Communications Headquarters. 

Its agents gather information by secretly listening in to phone conversations, satellite signals and reading e-mails. They decode messages, monitor communication between people, and ensure that the Government's secrets remain secret.

According to Wikipedia the antennae are generally orientated towards satellites of the INTELSAT , Intersputnik, and INMARSAT communications networks over the  Atlantic Ocean, Africa and the Indian Ocean, as well as towards the Middle East and mainland Europe. 

Between 2011 and 2013, a torus antenna  was installed, which is capable of receiving signals of up to thirty-five satellites simultaneously. 

From its inception, the station has been an Anglo-American co-operative project. It was the United States NSA who paid for most of the infrastructure and the technology.

So, be careful what you say, you never know who might be listening ...

Walking at Golant, Cornwall

I like walking, as you may have gathered from my posts - and not necessarily following a pre-planned route. It's sometimes just nice to walk.

The photos today are of such a walk starting at Golant, Cornwall. We parked the car alongside the river. The tide was out as you can see from the photo below.

We passed the Fishermans Arms pub and headed for a footpath.

The yellow arrow on the sign indicated that this is a Public Footpath and the black cross shows that this is part of the Saints' Way.

We walked through the woods ...

... with glimpses of the River Fowey.

The path wiggled about but was clear of any hazards - not that we expected any!

The sunshine made it's way through the tree tops casting bright patches on the grass.

The trees gradually disappeared and the fields opened up before us.

Wild flowers tinted the fields.

And then ... well, I think this is my favourite view - photo below.

A few cattle joined us as we walked until ...

... we reached St.Sampson's Church.         

There was a lovely view from the churchyard. Oh yes, and the church has it's own Holy Well.

It was then downhill to the river and back to our car. 

All in all very pleasant and uplifting!

You may also like:
A Walk With Stunning Views at Tintagel, Cornwall - 20 Photos
or / and
33 Photos: Circular Walk Based On Gover Valley, St.Austell

Truro and Truro Cathedral, Cornwall

I have written previously about how difficult it can be to get a decent photo of Truro Cathedral - as it is surrounded by other buildings. It then dawned on me that there might be a view from the tall multi-story car park. 

Sure enough, there was a better view, as above - and the car park was empty on the top floor. I always park somewhere else.

Anyway, we were in Truro as my wife had a dental appointment. The view below is from our dentist's practice, with the cathedral hiding behind trees. 

While waiting for my wife I wandered along Boscawen Street which still has the original cobbled surface and drains by the pavement.

I then crossed the road by the Balisha Beacons. They were named after Leslie Hore-Belisha, a Minister of Transport who, in 1934, added the orange beacons to pedestrian crossings.

From there I passed some repairs being made ...

... and down a side road passed the Cornish Food Box.

After criss crossing a few roads I started to make my way back to the dentist in time to meet my wife - with her clean, white teeth!

And a final photo of Truro Cathedral from the top of the car park, but in my haste I chopped a little off one of the spires - bother!

Other Posts About Truro:
(1) Truro Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(2) Let Off The Lead In Truro and The Victoria Gardens - While The Cathedral Watches On.
(3) Comparing Old Cornwall With Today