Portmellon, Cornwall - a Sandy Cove When the Tide is Out

We were heading off for a walk along Cornwall's coastal path and stopped off at Portmellon to park our car in a side road. We have friends who live nearby, so know of a parking spot. I snapped a few quick photos.

Portmellon is only about a mile from Mevagissey, but the road can be a bit hairy as it is so narrow. There is a detour, but this adds miles to the journey.

Opposite the small beach is the Rising Sun pub with locally sourced food.

The beach is sandy but there is a snag: it disappears at high tide with the sea almost lapping the road. 

The beach does have it's own slipway.

There are some very pleasant - and very expensive - houses overlooking the beach. Some of the old houses fortunately remain.

I mentioned that the sea almost laps the narrow road. At times though, it very much overlaps the road as can be seen by the following two photos. I snapped these a while back, when the weather was a bit rough - to say the least!

Houses along the road have flood gates and similar defences for when the water spills across the road, sometimes causing local flooding.

That's all for today, thanks for visiting my blog.

A couple of Mevagissey Posts:

(1) 13 Photos of Mevagissey Harbour, Cornwall

(2) An Introduction to Mevagissey, Cornwall The Two Saint Village

The Quaint Fishing Port of Looe, Cornwall - 14 Photos

 

We were in the popular fishing port of Looe (12-Sep-20) for the first time since the coronavirus took hold of our lives.

The bridge separates the town into West and East. We headed across the bridge into East Looe but stayed away from the main shopping street - as it was packed with people. 

Though a fishing port tourism has taken over as the main business.

We walked alongside the river. This is the view looking across the river to West Looe.

The sun was shining and everything looked at its best.

River and fishing trips were on offer.

The weather gradually clouded over when we reached the Old Lifeboat Station.

Opposite is Looe beach. People seemed to be well spaced out.

We continued walking to the far end of the beach.

Looking at the beach and West Looe.

We retraced our steps. By then there were quite a few people wandering by the river.

We continued walking until back at the bridge. 

Many people were still heading towards the town.

Two more photos from the bridge. This is looking south at the River Looe.

And the view of the river looking north.

I mentioned at the beginning of the post how we avoided all of the people in the main shopping area. Below is a photo I snapped in the month of October. As you can see the road is very narrow, so it's easy to imagine how packed this can get when there are lots of tourists in the summer months. There's not much room for social distancing.

See also:

Looe Island and St. Michael of Lammana Chapel, Cornwall

Looe Town, River and Beach

The False Widow Spiders in Cornwall

Not my favourite creatures by any means, but a few have been spotted in my neighbourhood. They are the 'noble false widow spiders'. The posh name being Steatoda nobilis. Their body looks similar to a skull and the female often eats the male spider after mating.

According to Wikipedia "...the Steatoda nobilis is native to Madeira and the Canary Islands from where it allegedly spread to Europe, and arrived in England before 1879, perhaps through cargo sent to Torquay".

They supposedly got their name as they look very similar to black widow spiders which can have a very nasty bite - potentially dangerous. 

The false widow, as in my photos, can also bite but it is not usually too serious, something on a par with a bee sting. 

False widow spiders seem to like houses, sheds, garages and the like. The spider in my photos was from a house four houses along from where I live.

In England they are generally only seen in the south.

The quandary is what to do with the spiders if captured. I don't like to kill anything so I expect if I caught one indoors I would release it into the local woods.

For more pleasant creatures please see:

The Lost Gardens of Heligan: 18 Photos of Farm Animals, Plants and Jungle

or

Farm Animals Seen In Cornwall

Thank you for visiting my blog - Mike.

Visiting Cornwall's Eden Project During Covid-19

We went to Cornwall's Eden Project with our son and family. The first time I've been since the coronavirus. It was all very organised - probably a bit too organised for my taste but I guess this is what we have to expect nowadays.

Eve appeared to be quite relaxed about everything.

I only snapped a few quick photos as it was a family outing.

On the way to the biomes we saw Turvey the Turtle who eats plastic bottle.  

Nearly forgot, Adam was at work. Obviously there has to be an Adam where there is an Eve.

We wandered though the Rain Forest Biome.

A few flowers about ...

... and saw the waterfall.

We also went into the Mediterranean biome but I only snapped the one photo.

The biomes from the outside.

We moved on to the Core building and the enormous ceramic sculpture which ejects vapour rings. Children (and some adults!) like to see if they can catch the vapour rings before they disappear.

The sculpture pays homage to one of the world's smallest, but most important organisms: cyanobacteria. They represent the earliest form of life on Earth.

The next two photos are from a film about the exhibit. I think the second photo looks like a rabbit - the great rabbit of the sky

We then meandered back to our cars. All in all the Covid-19 adjustments are well done but, somehow, Eden didn't feel quite the same - but, I guess neither does life in general nowadays.

Kindly note: All visitors to the Eden Project must now pre-book a time slot in advance of each visit. This includes Members, Passholders, and those who can visit for free. And don't forget your masks.

Other Eden Project Posts:

(1) A Flavour Of Cornwall's Eden Project: 15 Photos

(2) Cornwall's Eden Project With The world's Largest Indoor Rainforest - Plus Much More

(3) More Flavour of Cornwall's Eden Project - 14 Photos

Thanks for your visit to my blog.

The China Clay Industry in Cornwall

The china clay industry in Cornwall was known as White Gold at its peak. It created great wealth - for some. Sadly the industry isn't what it was. China clay can now be produced more cheaply in other parts of the world.

It's now hard to imagine that in 1988 the industry produced, 3,277,00 tones of china clay. This was exported all over the world.

Back in the early 1900's half of the worlds china clay was produced in Cornwall. T

The china clay industry took off when William

Cookworthy (1705 - 1780) discovered kaolin (china clay) in 1745. It was later realised that the clay bearing area stretched over 25 square miles.

China clay, as the name suggests, is used for fine china and ceramics but has other uses too. It is used as an ingredient in the likes of glossy paper, toothpaste, cosmetics, paint, rubber tyres, paracetamol and so on.

The photo above and below were taken at the Wheal Martyn Clay Museum. Lee Moor No. 1 was built for a 4 feet 6 inches gauge railway / tramway and was used to transport china clay across Dartmoor to Plymouth Quays.

There are signs of the clay industry all around the St. Austell area. Even the small river, known locally as the White River, is coloured by the china clay.

There are various deserted buildings from the industry dotted about.

There are lakes, once used for washing the clay, which are now considered as dangerous. Some have a beautiful blue-green hue.

Mountains or hills - some are known as pyramids - have been made from the waste material of the china clay industry

A china clay works still in operation.

The final three photos show factories and buildings used within the china clay industry.

I was interested to discover that there is enough supply of kaolin - china clay - to last well over another one hundred years.

See also:

China Clay Country

Old Vintage Photos of Charlestown, Cornwall

The Mysterious and Magical Men-an-Tol Stones in Cornwall

 

My photo above is of the Men-an-Tol stones in Cornwall, sometimes referred to as the Crick Stone or the Devil's Eye. They are claimed to have magical properties.

Some say they have a fairy or piskey guardian who can make miraculous cures. In one case a changeling baby was put through the hole in the stone in order for the mother to get her real child returned. Evil pixies had exchanged her child, and the ancient stones were able to reverse their spell.

Changeling babies are often mentioned in ancient tales. They are typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, elf or other legendary creature which has been secretly left in place of a human child.

Getting back to the stones themselves, they are believed to be from the Bronze age and, if this is correct, would mean they are over 3500 years old. As to what they actually are or signify is debatable. They may once have been part of a stone circle, which would have given it a ritual significance or, alternatively, they could have been part of a burial chamber, the hole being for access.

The ancient stones have much folklore attached to them. With the obvious feminine symbolism it is claimed that if, on a full moon, a woman passes through the hole backwards  seven times she will become pregnant.

Men-an-Tol is said to heal many ills. It was famous in olden times for curing scrofula (lymphatic tuberculosis) and rickets in children. The children were passed naked three times (or some say nine) through the hole to effect the cure. 

Seemingly adults can gain relief from bad backs by crawling through the opening nine times. 

Radiation levels around the inside edges of the hole are quoted as being nearly twice of that found in the background environment, maybe this has some significance.

Men-an-Tol has been used for telling the future. In 1856 Robert Hunt wrote that the holed stone could answer any question. Two brass pins would be laid crosswise on top of each other on the stone. The pins would move by themselves, dependent on the question asked.

Rituals may also have taken place here, with the hole aligning to other ancient sites, or as a window into other worlds or dimensions. It has been suggested that passing through the stone may have signified a ritual re-birthing process - perhaps performed as a rite of passage or to ensure fertility.

Whatever mysteries the stones hold, it is a magical place.

Where to find Men-an-Tol:

Morvah Road, Bosullow, Penzance TR20 8NU