Sunday 17 March 2019

A Glimpse of Lanhydrock House, Cornwall In 14 Photos

Dining Room at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall
A few days ago my post mentioned  Lanhydrock House and the estate's links going way back to King Charles and the English Civil Way. 

Unfortunately the house had a serious fire in the 1880s and had to be completely refurbished. The occupants tragically died in the fire.

The house now illustrates a late Victorian country house and estate.

The photo above is the dining room ready for a sumptuous meal. The kitchen was where the magic was created, so we start with photos of the kitchen. Lots of pots and pans ...


Victorian cooking pots at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

... and utensils.


Victorian kitchen tools at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

The scullery though wasn't quite so plush. Scullery maids  weren't on a par with the cooks.

Scullery at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

Tea would have been served to the lady of the house.

Tea time in the living room, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

As for the gentleman, I don't think I'd have got on with him too well, because of that 'trophy' on the floor. Times have fortunately moved on in that respect.

Drawing room, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

There is somewhere to have a glass of port ...

Sitting Room, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

... while in the meantime work carried on in the ironing room

Ironing Room, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

... and the Victorian dolls waited attention.


Victorian Dolls

Looks like someone was thinking of heading off on a journey.

Victorian luggage or leather suit cases

And so to bed ...

Victorian bedroom at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

... and in the morning the bath would ready - at the right temperature.

Bath time at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

That's about it, a quick tour of Lanhydrock House.

Large rooms for entertaining at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

Lots of space outside - about 890 acres I believe. The house is now run by the National Trust. Entrance is free to members. but for non members it is 15.35 for adults and 7.70 for children.

Estate at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

Saturday 16 March 2019

Mevagissey The Two Saint Village and Harbour - 10 Photos

Boats in Mevagissey harbour, Cornwall

It had been a rough night with high winds and drifting rain but by morning everything seemed more settled. We drove down to  Mevagissey to have a wander around the harbour - always an interesting place to visit.

Mevagissey harbour, Cornwall

Because of the bad weather during the night all of the boats were sheltered in the inner part of the harbour. The sea still got a little moody as we walked.

Sea spray at Mevagissey harbour, Cornwall

The attractive old cottages along the edge of the harbour have lovely views. It is said that the village dates back to the beginning of the 1300s.

Old cottages alongside Mevagissey Harbour

There's always fishing paraphernalia on the harbour side. 

Fishing equipment on Mevagissey harbour

The photo below shows the entrance to the inner harbour, where the boats are protected from adverse weather conditions. The shed-like building to the left is where - once through the harbour - the fishing boats unload their catch. Fresh fish is usually for sale.

The entrance to the Inner Harbour at Mevagissey, Cornwall

Various pots and floats are piled high on the harbour side - can just see the lighthouse in the background.

Lobster pots at Mevagissey Harbour

Looking across from one outer harbour side wall to the other.

Entrance to outer harbour at Mevagissey, Cornwall

And Mevagissey is looking good! The name, by the way, is derived from two Irish saints: St Meva and St Issey.

Lots of boats in Mevagissey harbour

A final photo of harbour side shops, one of them being She Sells. Remember the old tongue twister?

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The shells she sells are surely sea-shells!
So if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore,
Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells!


Shops and houses at Mebagissey Harbour, Cornwall

Friday 15 March 2019

Cornwall's Streets Are Filled With Money Waiting To Be Picked Up!

A pile of UK money coins

A different sort of post today - so no photos of Cornwall's wonderful beaches, cliffs, harbours and so on. Just a pile of money instead.

The coins in the photo are just a few that my wife has found. She finds them on a regular basis when we are out walking (in Cornwall). I never see them but she'll bend down suddenly and it'll be another coin found.

I put this down to the fact that she expects to find coins - so she does! My wife's father died when she was only four but he had a saying that the streets are full of money just waiting to be picked up. So perhaps he's sending her a reminder that he's still about - who knows!

Oh, and another thing, the coins usually arrive in batches of three. Many people say 'things' come in threes. If she finds two, she says that she'll find a third - and does. It's that word expect again working the magic!

I think on a much bigger level that we often tend to get from life what we expect to get from life.

Thursday 14 March 2019

South West Coast Path Walking From Trenarren, Cornwall

South West Coastal Path, Cornwall

The photos are from last year. We parked the car near Trenarren with the aim of walking for a while along the South West Coast Path - photo as above.

Cottage at Trenarren, Cornwall

But first we had to walk along a lane and through the mixture of cottages of the small hamlet of Trenarren. There was a Post Box  - some people still use them! When you look back how exciting it was to receive handwritten letters - much more intimate than the emails of today.

Red postbox in wall at Trenarren, Cornwall

The cottages were alive with pretty flowers

OLd cottages at Trenarren, Cornwall

And some people hope to receive post.

Old cottage at Trenarren, Cornwall

The lane turned into the path, as below - and at the end of the path there was a steep slope leading to the Coastal Path - as per the first photo.

Path leading to coastal path

I never get tired of the Coast Path and find it strange that so few people seem to actually walk the path.

Wednesday 13 March 2019

Lanhydrock House, Cornwall - Gatehouse Dates Back To 1651

1651 Gatehouse to Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

In yesterday's post about Respryn Bridge I mentioned Lanhydrock House. So today a quick look at the outside of the aforementioned house.

The gatehouse, as above, dates back to 1651. 

The photo below is looking at the house through the gatehouse.

Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

Though in yesterday's post I was talking about the 1600s the house was completely refurbished in the 1880s following a fire, which destroyed parts of the building and tragically ended the lives of its then current occupants.

It is often said that, despite the fire, Lanhydrock is the finest house in Cornwall. The estate covers some 1000 acres.

Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

Lanhydrock is open to the public and is now part of the National Trust. There are 49 rooms to explore plus gardens and woodland. I'll write a post, with photos, of the inside of the house at a later date.


Very old windows at Lanhydrock House, Cornwall

Tuesday 12 March 2019

The 15th Century Respryn Bridge And The English Civil War

Respryn Bridge, Cornwall

Other than being built in the 15th century Respryn Bridge may not otherwise appear very special - but it made it's mark during the English Civil War (1642–1651).

Respryn Bridge was guarded by Royalists at the outbreak of the Civil War and played an important part in the Battle of Lostwithiel in 1644. The bridge then lay between two estates Lanhydrock and Boconnoc - one side Royalist (King Charles) and the other in Parliamentarian hands.

Following success at Lostwithiel, King Charles rode over Respryn bridge in 1644, on his way from Boconnoc to Lanhydrock.

After the war, an avenue of trees leading up to Lanhydrock House from Respryn Bridge was planted by Lord Robartes to celebrate the King's victory.

Narrow Bridge at Respryn, Cornwall

Moving on from the Civil War. It can be seen from the photo above that Respryn Bridge is very narrow - only seven feet wide to be precise. There are many such narrow roads in Cornwall and these can take the uninitiated by surprise. An example of this was when the bridge was damaged in 2006 by a 40 tonne lorry that got stuck between the parapets while trying to cross!

View from Respryn Brudge, Cornwall

I wonder what on earth the driver was thinking? Perhaps it was his Sat Nav that led him astray but, whatever, the mishap caused £30,000 worth of damage,

Hopefully warning signs will now keep the bridge safe.

The photo below is another view from the bridge.

Fields and trees at Respryn, Cornwall

 
See also: The 500 Plus Year Old bridge, St,Austell, Cornwall

Monday 11 March 2019

More Flavour of Cornwall's Eden Project - 14 Photos

Biomes at Eden Project, Cornwall

The day was confused and couldn't make up its mind whether to be sunny or rainy. But we had planned to go to Cornwall's Eden Project so that's what we did. All seemed well at first.


Walking down to the Eden Project, Cornwall


But then it rained, it poured down and not another person in sight. So we headed for the biomes.


Raining at the Eden Projcet, Cornwall


The Rain Forest biome was pretty steamy and my camera misted up as soon as I tried to take any photos.

Rain Forest biome at Eden Project, Cornwall

In the biome there was, however, the photo by Sebastiai Salgado (as below). It was there to make a point about the uncontacted people of the world. To quote:

"The uncontacted Awa People, of the Amazon Rainforest, are particularly vulnerable. Like all uncontactable tribal peoples they could be wiped out by violent loggers who steal their land and resources, and from diseases like flu and measles to which they have no resistance."

Awa people photo at Eden Project


The orchids I tried to photograph gave off a pink mist - and my lens kept steaming up ...

Ponk orchid at Eden Project, Cornwall

... so we moved in to the, Mediterranean biome.

Mediterranean Biome at Eden Project, Cornwall

Lots of colour and a pleasant temperature inside.

Flowers in Mediterranean biome, Eden Project, Cornwall


I snapped a few flowers and ...

Flowers and plants in Mediterranean biome, Eden Project, Cornwall

... grasses.

Grasses in biome at Eden Project, Cornwall

Several birds reside inside the biome and I managed to get quite close to the little fellow below - he seemed quite friendly.

Bird in Mediterranean biome, Eden Project, Cornwall

We left the biomes and wandered round the gardens and finally the wild section.

Wildness at Eden Project, Cornwall

It was time to leave as the dark clouds were rolling in again and we had quite a walk to the car.

Eden Project biomes, Cornwall

Like many tourist attractions nowadays you have to exit by going through their shop. Somehow I managed to resist the Cornish cider!

Cornish Cider

Also see: A Flavour of Cornwall's Eden Project - 15 Photos

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