Robin Redbreast In The Sunshine

Brrr! Quite chilly and windy this morning, but while out walking I saw this lovely young robin almost basking in a moment of sunshine. We had a brief chat and each went on our separate ways.

PENTEWAN, CORNWALL: COMPARING HOW IT LOOKED IN 1900 WITH TODAY

The photo above is of of Pentewan, Cornwall and part of the harbour, circa 1900. So over one hundred years later I tried to find the same scene.

It was difficult and I was unable to get the exact view. I climbed a small path (safely) up the side of the cliff and found the very same cottage, as the photo above shows. It looks very much the same - as was the skyline. When I tried to go higher, to exactly match the 1900 photo, there were too many bushes and trees to take a photo.

I snapped a photo from ground level to show where the cottage is positioned. Unfortunately another property has been built partly in front of it - spoiling the view. I placed a red dot on the cottage.

The house directly below the red dot is the old Harbour Master's residence.

In the late 1800s, and early 1900s the harbour would have been full of tall sailing ships exporting local china clay, metals and the like all over the world. That is all in the past, it's now a quiet village during the winter, spring and autumn - but gets its share of holiday makers and tourists during the summer season.

The photo above and below show how Pentewan looks nowadays - well on a sunny, blue sky day when all the holiday makers must have been on the beach!

TRADITIONAL PHONE BOX AND POST BOX

On Wednesday's visit to The Lost Gardens of Heligan it's always good to see the traditional red phone boxes. It would be such a shame to see them all disappear.

LOST GARDENS OF HELIGAN IN WINTER

Camellias at Heligan

A strange day yesterday: cold, grey but at times flashes of a blue sky. We decided to visit The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Not the best time of year to go to Heligan but we have a local's annual pass, so it's interesting to see the gardens through the seasons.

Not much colour this time of the year, just early flowers, like snowdrops and camillias. Only a few farm animals bracing the cold, mostly sheep at the moment.

Sheep feeding

The different formal gardens are all tidy and well cared for and there are lots of woodland to walk. I like to head for the jungle and the lost valley.

Sundial Garden

On the way to the jungle we passed the 'witches hat' (photo below) - a sculpture made of charcoal. Make of it what you will!

Witches Hat Sculpture

At last the rope bridge and jungle scenes.

The Burma Rope Bridge

After walking through the jungle we made our way back to the car. The photo below shows the view from Heligan's overflow car park - not that it was used yesterday.

Heligan's Overflow Car Park

THERE'S ALWAYS A WELCOME IN CORNWALL!

I decided it was advisable to retrace my steps - it can sometimes be a problem walking along unknown paths and tracks!

MORE VIADUCT AND TRAINS, CORNWALL

Trenance, Cornwall Viaduct

Yesterday my post was VIADUCT AND TRAINS, CORNWALL and I'd like to continue this theme today. Above is another photo of the Trenance Viaduct, but from a different angle to yesterday's picture. My Internet friend, Laurent Truillet, noticed the pillars in front of the viaduct and asked if the 'previous bridge was a wooden bridge'. 

The original Cornish viaducts / bridges were indeed wooden - built on masonary piers.

I found the photo below (in the public domain) of the Truro Railway Carvedras Viaduct from 1859. This shows the wooden construction supporting the railway lines. At the time this was done to save money, but was a false economy as stronger stone viaducts had to be built in 1899.

The original stone piers remain next to the newer viaducts.

Truro, Cornwall Viaduct

The photo below shows the Truro Viaduct from Victoria Gardens - a photo a snapped early last year.

Truro Viaduct today

VIADUCT AND TRAINS, CORNWALL

I had to visit someone this morning and snapped a few quick photos while on my way - nothing special but it turns out there is a theme to them.

The photo above shows part of the Trenance Viaduct, Cornwall.

A viaduct was first built here in 1858 but had to be replaced in 1899. It's quite a construction as it has ten piers and is 115 feet (35m) high and 720 feet (220m) long.

The photo below is a small river - made white by china clay deposits - running under the viaduct.

Purely by chance, as I was approaching a footbridge over the railway lines I heard a train. I rushed to the top of the bridge and managed to get a photo - but not the front of the engine! The train was transporting china clay - I seem to have mentioned china clay quite a lot recently - see my post: China Clay Country for example

I quickly went to the other side of the bridge to take another photo as the train thundered through St.Austell station.

The train would have travelled over the Trenance Viaduct I mentioned at the beginning of this post. So, along with china clay, it all fits together nicely - purely by chance. That is, if there is such a thing as chance, coincidence synchronicity etc. But that's a whole different conversation!