2020 - Happy New Year (Bledhen Nowydh Da in Cornish)

Another year - wishing you happiness and success.

As Albert Einstein is quoted as saying:
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

Bledhen Nowydh Da* 
Mike

*Happy New Year in Cornish

Perranporth Beach Loved By Surfers, Bodyboarders, Beach Lovers, Children and Dogs

The beach at Perranporth, Cornwall seems to go on forever. A bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but the golden sand stretches for at least three miles accompanied by clear water.

I'm always happy walking on a beach - though there was one time I wasn't - but that's another story for perhaps another time.

Perranporth is on Cornwall's north Atlantic coast and is popular with surfers, bodyboarders and the like. There can be some good surf and waves. 

The beach is also liked by dogs - as you will see by the photos.

The beach is dog friendly and they are allowed on the sand all the year round. There is one restriction though during July and August when dogs must be kept on a lead from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. And, of course, any dog mess must be cleared away by doggie humans.

The RNLI are on duty during the main busy times of the year. Their website gives dates and times when they are present on Perranporth beach.

As you wander along the sand there are sand dunes behind the beach.

Their are also cliffs and rocks depending on how far you walk.

The photo below shows the most popular part of the beach, especially in the summer months. Most people don't like to walk much further. There are tyre marks on the sand as the beach had just been cleaned.

If you keep walking around the bend or headland shown below you will find that ... 



… the beach continues and there are lots more sand dunes. 

From the lovely stretch of beach above I headed back to where I started ... the dogs were still having fun!

See also:
Miles and Miles of Beaches at Perranporth Cornwall Bring Miles and Miles of Smiles

Visiting St.Austell and Charlestown Over the Christmas Period

My gosh, Christmas Day is now a memory, but it'll be pleasant to remember the day with fondness at some future time.

I'm writing this on Boxing Day. 

How Boxing Day came about is not absolutely clear. The most popular thought is that this was the day when servants and tradesmen would collect their Christmas Boxes i.e.money tips for good service - from the gentry or their employers.  These money gifts or 'boxes' were mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary entry for December 19th 1663, so the tradition goes way back.

In days of old churches would have a box in which to place contributions for the poor at their Christmas Day services. These boxes were then opened on the 26th for distribution to the needy.

Another explanation for Boxing Day dates back to when sailing ships set off to discover far away lands. They would take with them a sealed box full of money as a good luck talisman, to help keep them safe on their voyages. When they returned safely a church service of thanks would be held and the box was presented to the vicar or priest.

This box would be kept until Christmas Day when the contents would be shared with the poor.

Anyway, I digress! I was in St.Austell today, thus the photo at the top of the page and the photo below.

The flower photo is art work in the new section of St.Austell town.

The weather is very mixed, one minute a rainbow and then showers. The building below - a block of flats (apartments) - is the only high rise housing in Cornwall, as far as I know.

On Christmas Day, in the evening, we headed for a walk at Charlestown with my son and his family. It was very cold, dark and not really a good time to snap photos - but all was peaceful.

The final photo is messing with some software, it's the same picture as the one above.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Not long to go now! Christmas for me is a season of differing emotions. There's the smiling, expectant, happy grandchildren, but there are also memories of Christmases past and thinking of my wonderful mother and father. There would be a stocking full of gifts with larger presents under the tree from Father Christmas. I remember such love, joy and excitement.

That's part of my tree in the photo above. Our adult children make fun of it. They ask, "Why don't you get a new one? A real tree perhaps."

The thing is though,  this has been a family tree since I was a child. I won't say how many years that is, but it's quite a while! So there are happy memories of my childhood Christmases and also those of our children when they were small and growing up. 

Somehow the tree has survived many moves and ups and downs.

My wife is happy with the tree as long as we have her childhood decorations hanging from the branches. That's one of them above.

Anyway, enough waffling on. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas - happy and peaceful.

Oh yes, Towser below is also from when I was a child, it belonged to my mother. If I touch his nose I know everything will be okay.

Happy Christmas everyone, hope you create some special, memorable moments that last forever.

Helman Tor Cornwall: Granite and Far Reaching Views

A while back I published a post The Mysterious Creatures Guarding Helman Tor, Cornwall. Today I have a few more photos of the tor.

Following excavations there is evidence that the Tor was occupied in Neolithic Times. 

It is thought that stone huts and a settlement were once on this spot.

The Tor may well have been used as a place for ceremonies and trading.

Though the Tor is  a harsh environment it would have been preferable to - what would have been - the wild landscape below.

High points have always attracted people because of the feeling of security the views give them. From the Tor on a clear day both of the Cornish coasts can be seen - the Atlantic in the north and the English Channel to the south.

Exmoor ponies can sometimes be seen in the winter months. They are a hardy breed and help to keep the scrub down. I have seen them but for some reason have never snapped a photo of them.

I like to visit here and, as I have mentioned previously, have rarely seen other visitors. I guess it is off the normal tourist trail - most visitors seem to refer Cornwall's beaches and fishing villages.

The shapes and formations of the granite rocks are always fascinating.

It's not the easiest of places to visit as the roads are very narrow. I always have my fingers crossed that there is no one driving in the opposite direction - it seems to work, touch wood!

The Tor is now designated as a scheduled ancient monument.

See also:
The Mysterious Creatures Guarding Helman Tor, Cornwall

Nanny Moore's Bridge in Bude

Today a look at the 18th century Nanny Moore's Bridge in Bude. Above is how the bridge looks today and below how it looked in days of old. 

The three span bridge is a Grade II listed building and originally had a cantilevered section so that boats could proceed along the River Neet. 

Today it is only used by pedestrian but was built when carts and packhorses would trundle across.

Until the nineteenth century  it was simply known as Bude Bridge. So why the change to Nanny Moore's bridge?

Not sure exactly why the name was altered but it seems it was named after a 'dipper' who lived nearby.

A dipper would escort and help ladies, who wanted to swim in the nearby sea. She would be a strong person, sometimes in charge of a bathing machine. This was to protect the modesty of 19th century ladies - no bikinis and the like back then!

Another Bridge Post:

The 500 Plus Year Old Bridge in St.Austell, Cornwall

Padstow, the Mermaid and the Perilous Doom Bar

Such beautiful sand at Padstow when the tide is out. Nowadays boats are able to enter the harbour - but it hasn't always been that way according to Cornish folklore.

To quote from the late 1800s.  

The port of Padstow has a good natural harbour, as far as rocks are concerned, but it gets chocked up with drifting sands as to be nearly useless.

It was once deep water for the largest vessel and was under the care of a merry maid, most would call her a mermaid. But, whatever her description, boats could travel safely to the harbour.

All was well at Padstow until a man bought a new gun! Some say the man was a Tristram Bird others that it was Tom Yeo. But, whoever, the new gun was aimed at a seal. Tragically though it was the mermaid who was shot. She dived for a moment; but re-appearing, raised her right arm, and vowed that henceforth the harbour should be desolate.

The picture below shows Tristram Bird with his gun and the mermaid.

According to the many legends, following the mermaid's death there was a terrible gale. When the water subsided a Doom Bar or Bar of Doom was situated at the estuary entrance.

Since records began, in the nineteenth century, there have been over 600 wrecks, beachings and capsizes due to the Doom Bar - and, of course, the mermaid's curse.

The photo below is from 1911 when the French ship Angele was wrecked on the Doom Bar.

Today the estuary is regularly dredged and the Doom Bar has moved - see comparisons between 1825 and 2010 - charts by Worm That Turned.

Most boats can now reach the harbour at Padstow safely.

There is still lots of sand about, when the tide is out, as can be seen in the photo below.

For other Padstow posts please visit:

Padstow, Cornwall on a Sunshine Winter's Day

Padstow, Cornwall: Ghosts, Cornish Pasties, Fish & Chips And More