A Flavour of The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall

We hadn't been for a while, so thought a visit to Cornwall's Lost Gardens of Heligan was due. 

As we walked I snapped a few photos to give a flavour of the gardens. Apples are beginning to show above and below vegetables are growing (or will grow) under glass.

An abundance of flowers in the next few photos.

A couple of water lilies ...

... and back to other flowers.

Moving into the Sundial Garden with its original red brick walls.

Heligan isn't just flowers the various gardens stretch over 200 acres so there is plenty of open space

Moving on to the Lost Valley and the Jungle. The leaves get a lot bigger!

 We sat in the cool for a while by a pond.

A robin came to say hello by the water. Some say the birds can be messengers from beyond the grave. A bit fanciful, no doubt, but it would have been my mother's birthday - and she loved robins.

More large leaves as we make our way towards the exit homeward bound.

That's all for The Lost Gardens of Heligan for today: sometimes described as 200 acres of garden history, mystery and, perhaps, romance.

I'll finish off today's post with a few flowers from my own garden.

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

Charlestown Harbour on a Sunshine Day Plus Spit Beach

Time seemed to stand still as the sailing ship made its way along the Cornish coast. The blueness of the sea and sky seemed almost unreal.

The ship passed Charlestown and continued along the coast.

Meanwhile children enjoyed the water by the small beach.

A further ship passed by the entrance to Charlestown's Harbour.

There's always something interesting to see at Charlestown - well I think so. We walked away from the harbour to the small port. Across the water is the Pier House a pub and restaurant or, perhaps, somewhere for coffee.

A few wisps of clouds in the sky now.

We crossed the rickety bridge and noticed the Kelly's Ice Cream van park up and, miracle after miracle, my wife bought me an ice cream!

We wandered by the boats enjoying the coolness of the ice cream.

A final look back along the port to the harbour and sea. We made our way back home.

It was such a bright blue day at Charlestown but the previous day was somewhat different.

We intended to go to Par Market but forgot that it isn't open every day. Instead we went to nearby Spit Beach. The good thing was that there wasn't anyone else on the beach. The dullness of the day kept people away.

An old lookout from WW2 brightened the scene.

It's not a special beach, by any means, but there was a feeling of space and serenity. The tide was a long way out.

The low cliffs looked almost silver...

... when looking upwards.

We spotted a tent, but still no one in sight.

It may not have been so blue and sunny as our visit to Charlestown but fresh air, peace and quiet can be enjoyable too.

On leaving Spit Beach, the path was full of wild flowers including a mass of foxgloves.

And so ends this weeks post, thanks for the visit. Have a good week, all good wishes ~ Mike.

Bronze Age Rock Carvings in Cornwall - Plus Flowers

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.

The carvings were discovered in 1948 and there is an official sign that 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 also 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

Changing the post theme completely. As the photos above are a bit grey, okay a lot grey, I thought I'd finish the post with a bit of colour from my garden.

That's all for this week, many thanks for visiting my blog. All good wishes ~ Mike.