Walking to Black Head, Cornwall - With Magnificent Views of Coastline

We tried to think of somewhere we hadn't walked for quite a while and we decided a visit to Black Head would be our destination

We parked at Trenarren, there are about eight parking spots. Luckily there were only two other cars parked. 

Driving to Trenarren is fun as the lane / road is quite narrow and at times there is only room for one car. Fortunately there are a few passing points, so have to keep fingers crossed and hope you are near a passing point if a car comes in the opposite direction.

The mound of the Black Head Headland can be seen in the photo below.

Black Head is just over 150 feet high and was once the site of an ancient fort. There are also the remnants of a rifle range built in the 1880s.

 Somehow, as we were going from memory, we took a wrong path - but as it was a pleasant day it didn't really matter.

Close to the path leading to the headland there is a monument to Arthur Leslie Rowse (1903-1997) a writer, poet and historian.

He was the son of an uneducated china clay worker and was the first Cornishman to win a university scholarship, reading English at Christchurch College, Oxford. 

At last on Black Head - to the west can be seen the cliffs …

...and in the distance the beach at Pentewan.

A view to the east ...

… and the long sandy beach at Carlyon Bay can be seen.

A final view before the walk back to our car.

All very pleasant, I'm always happy walking the Cornish coastline.

Places mentioned in the post:

Looking For Lucky Shells at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall 

An Easy Walk at Pentewan, Cornwall Taking In Trees, Sea, Sand, Cliffs and a Private Cove For Lunch

Village of St. Clement, The Tresillian River and The Ancient Ignioc Stone

It was a pleasant day so we decided to walk alongside the Tresillian River to the small village of St.Clement. The photo above shows some of the riverside cottages within the village.

The river is tidal and looked splendid in the sunshine. Unfortunately the tide was going out so there were mud flats in places.

The path by the river is a decent width.

No boats on the river, only those not being used.

When we arrive at St.Clement we always look out for the row of cups and mugs on one of the buildings.

The main attraction in the village is the 13th century church.

By the side of the church is a very old stone (below) known as the Ignioc Stone. There is an inscription 'VITALI FILI TORRICI' which translates as 'Vitalus son of Torricus'. It is thought that the stone goes back to the sixth or seventh century. There is another later inscription, IGNIOC - most probably a personal name - which gives the stone its name.

There are many old memorial stones, including the one below for William Callaway from 1784, as an example. It reads:

Today, of Health and strength we boast 

To-morrow brings us down to Dust

May we, while Time & strength are giv'n

Believe in CHRIST & live for Heav'n

The church itself was closed, because of the coronavirus. After looking round the churchyard we wandered back to the river, where we munched on some sandwiches. Together with cups of tea, of course.

It was then time to start our return walk.

Lots of daisies on many of the stone walls.

The river looked nice despite the mud.

There's a small lake on the opposite side of the path. We managed to see a few small fish.

Lots of reeds by the river - and then we were back to our car, parked in a small lay-by.

Also see The Peaceful St.Clement Church by the Tresillian River, Cornwall. This has photos of the inside of the St. Clement church

The Noisy Squirrel Who Wanted More Food

We heard a heck of a row coming from our back garden first thing in the morning. We were immediately concerned in case an animal had been hurt.

We traced the noise to a large tree in our garden and we could see a squirrel - a grey squirrel. We weren't too sure what was wrong because of the awful noise he was making.

This finally stopped and the squirrel appeared okay as he was sitting on a branch.

We went indoors and both agreed we never realised squirrels made such loud noises.

I looked out of the window a few minutes later and there was the squirrel in our bird house, as per the photos. He seemed quite happy munching on the seeds and nuts I had left for the birds.

The food was soon devoured and the squirrel appeared to push the dish forward as if asking for more - see below - an Oliver Twist moment!

We occasionally have a grey squirrel passing through our garden as we live opposite a small wood.

I did a Google search and found the exact noise the squirrel was making on the British Library web site. It seems that they can make chattering, rasping and barking noises and can become particularly noisy when alarmed or angry. You live and learn!

According to the British Library they are highly intelligent mammals.

As I guess most people in the UK know the grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) were foolishly introduced to the UK in the 1870s from the USA. This consequently resulted in a decline of our native, more attractive, red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris).

Back in the 1870s there were an estimated 3.5 million red squirrels in the UK. Nowadays, in England, there are only an estimated 15,000. The major problem is that the grey squirrels carry the Parapoxvirus, which does not appear to affect their health but can kill red squirrels. And we all know about the danger of viruses! We shouldn't mess with nature.

Butterflies and Flowers on a Country Walk and in My Garden

Off track there is a stream and a few rhododendrons.

Once back on the lane, within the hedgerow I saw this small butterfly on an unopened fern. Not that easy to see because of the similarity of the colours.

Another view of the butterfly, showing the yellow on the inner side of the wings.

Unfortunately I'm not a lepidopterist as, on reaching home, there was another small butterfly on one of our garden chairs. I've tried to find - well had a quick look - but couldn't find these two butterflies on internet charts.

The next photo was taken from my front garden. On the opposite side of the road is a wood with various trees and also a nice display of rhododendrons.

A few more random garden flowers

That's it for today. All good wishes.

Pentewan Beach Cornwall and Seeing What is Sometimes Missed in Life

We walked to Pentewan Beach, Cornwall and found we were the only people enjoying the freedom, other than someone collecting shells.

Some of the rocks were covered with mussels, and other limpet like shell creatures, waiting anxiously for the tide to turn.

We walked to the cliffs where we spotted a sunflower painted on the rocks. This reminded us to look more carefully at the abundance of wild flowers growing freely - which we may otherwise have missed.

It's strange how easily we can miss all sorts of things in life. Sometimes we need a nudge to keep us focused.

Okay, I know the next bit is way off track to my normal posts, but I had been reading an old book from the 1930s. The author Dr. Paul Brunton wrote:

The great De Beer diamond fields of South Africa were discovered through a child picking out of the wall of an old Dutch farm a small coloured pebble - out of a wall which, for years, had been passed and re-passed many thousands of times by people blind to the treasure at their elbows ...

Wonder what we may have passed by. The author in the book went deeper though as he continued:

How many people have heard the gentle whisper of the inner self or felt its faint guidance, only to brush the visitants aside without understanding; how many have dismissed as mere thoughts the early intimations of diviner life?

Free seats at Pentewan for contemplation!

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Watching the Weather on a Walk Along the Beach at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall

Ah, blue sky and sunshine, perfect for a walk along the beach and, luckily, there were only about half a dozen other people at Carlyon Bay.

The thrift pink flowers stood proudly on the cliffs against the blueness of the sky.

The weather in Cornwall can be changeable. Often you can drive along the coast and find the weather is quite different.

Looking west was a mist - even though in a northly direction there was blue sky.

We walked along the beach and enjoyed the fresh sea air - and not a footprint in sight.

The sun did it's best to shine through the clouds.

After walking the full length of the beach we traced our footsteps, back towards the mistiness.

The cliffs were still standing …

… with blue sky in the background.

Whatever the weather, it's difficult to beat walking along a beach to lift the spirits.