A Glimpse of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall - 21 Photos

We managed to get to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. They are only open, at the time of writing, from Wednesdays to Saturdays and then only for local people who have annual passes.

We found there was lots of room for visitors. Well I guess there should be with over 200 acres to explore.

An archway of apple trees below.

I snapped a few photos as we walked.

Here we have plants growing under glass.

A few lettuce coming along nicely.

We looked in on the old tool shed ...

... and the original Head Gardener's office. It's good to see so much preserved.

A glass house for plants needing warmth.

Next the Sundial Garden.

Probably not at it's best at the moment but a lovely spot in the summer.

Daffs alongside a path.

I think these two were trying to escape.

Now we are approaching the jungle!

Quite a gaggle of trees and plants.

A small jungle lake, with fish.

And more of the same.

Sheep on the open fields under the shade of a tree.

Something a little more formal.

An old building with the history of one of the original gardeners.

And then we reached the end of our chosen walk through The Lost Gardens of Heligan. There is much more to see, but on another day.

Here's a summer post on The Lost Gardens of Heligan:

Lost Gardens of Heligan - Voted UKs Top Visitor Garden

Thanks for visiting my Blog, hopefully there will be better days ahead once we have Covid-19 under control. Fingers crossed!

Looking Down on Mevagissey Harbour From On High

I wasn't intending to visit Mevagissey again as I had recently published a previous post: A Perfect Chilly Winter's Day in Mevagissey, Cornwall - 12 Photos.

I was actually heading for The Lost Gardens of Heligan but got their open days wrong. They are only open, at the moment, Wednesdays to Sundays for us locals with passes. So I made my way to Mevagissey instead, which is near by.

As I wanted some different photos to my previous post I took the high road to look down on the harbour. 

The first three photos show views from different positions - as does the next picture which is also of the coastline. It was another beautiful, but cold, winter's day.

The small lighthouse came into view. There were many steps to go down to reach it, quite a trek.

Looking across the sea to the other side of the outer harbour.

From here some of the the cliff top houses can be seen.

I climbed the steps again and below is the entrance to Mevagissey's inner harbour.

A few of the harbour side cottages.

A pile of pots and floats after descending the many steps again

And alongside the inner harbour with many fishing and other boats - all tucked up safely.

A final photo I took while up high.

Hopefully I'll get to the Lost Gardens of Heligan another day soon. 

All good wishes ~ Mike

Problems at Charlestown Harbour and Beach

I wasn't wandering lonely as a cloud but I did see a host of golden daffodils - a beautiful arc of yellow. I believe they were originally planted as a reminder of the Marie Curie cancer charity

Anyway, we were on the way to Charlestown harbour, one of my favourite places. The winter sun was shining, the sky was blue.

Unfortunately we discovered that there were problems at Charlestown, part of the harbour wall had been damaged.

All sorts of equipment and machinery were in view and the harbour was closed to the public and boats. 

As the harbour was built between 1791 and 1801 it's no doubt due some sort titillation. 

There was also a problem with cliffs falls at Charlestown, so the small beaches were closed as well.

The Pier House was okay but, of course, was closed because of the coronavirus lockdown.

A few ships were in port. I guess they won't be travelling very far until the harbour is back to normality.

The Rashleigh Arms old bumpy car park was empty...

... as was the pub and restaurant.

Birds are lucky, as they don't seem to be affected by the virus - they still have their freedom and something to eat.

I have many posts about Charlestown, here are a couple at random:

A Stroll Around Poldark's Charlestown Harbour, Cornwall - 12 Photos

Charlestown Harbour, Port and Sailing Ships - Plus Prostitutes in the 1700s and1800s

Thanks for visiting my blog ~ Mike

Walking From Tresillian Alongside the River to St. Clement, Cornwall

A meander along the Tresillian River, near Truro, to the small village of St. Clement. The tide was out so there was a great deal of mud to contemplate. But not to worry though, as there is a path alongside the river for walkers.

A rivulet did its best to try and fill the river but it was a lost cause.

We passed an attractive lake on the opposite side of the path. All was quiet and a dog walker told us she had just seen a kingfisher.

Looking back there was definitely more mud than water. But the sun was shining, the sky was blue, so pretty good for late February or early March.

A flow of water from the hills was making it's way towards the river, but wasn't making much of an impact.

The path ahead, however, looked green and pleasant.

Finally we reached St. Clement where a few cottages overlook the river.

Around the corner from the cottages is  the Old Vicarage, now an upmarket Bed & Breakfast establishment. Something about its appearance, though, jars with me a little. It's very smart and only a few yards from the river but to me it looks out of place. Mind you the property is valued at over £1.3 million.

The church is at the heart of the village with traditional cottages.

Below is the aptly named Church Cottage.

More cottages:

A Public Footpath sign points the way to Malpas see: Walking to Malpas, Cornwall Alongside the River.

A few cottages over looking the river ...

... and a small boat at the frontage. 

As we made our way homeward bound we followed a horse on exercise - though not too closely!

St. Clement is such a peaceful village, idyllic on a sunny day. We also visited the church, but will write about that on another day.

Another view, on our return walk, overlooking the reeds and a blue sky.

Where we parked the car:
We parked at the end of Tresillian village (3 miles east of Truro). On the left (travelling from the St. Austell area) there is a big car dealership. After this is a pull-in off the main A390. There is room for about five cars -  providing drivers park neatly. 

My Grandad, Vintage Coincidence & Reincarnation

I'm off subject for today's post. Instead of Cornwall it's about coincidence, life and my maternal grandfather. He was a man I never met as he died way before I was born. For some reason, though, I have always felt a closeness to him. I can't explain why.

I have several items which belonged to him, including his tiepins and spurs as in the photo above. The pin to the left of the photo is said to be the tooth of his favourite horse.

The British census for 1891 shows that, at that time,  he worked as a groom at Egglestone Hall, which dates back to the 19th century. That's him posing at the bottom of the photo below. 

Grandad, Frederick William English, was a widower when he married my grandmother, so there was quite an age difference. They had several children including Alfred, Wilfred and my mother Winifred. They must have run out of 'Fred' names as they also had Ella and Florence.

He died in 1940, below is the telegram informing my mother of his death - how communication has changed nowadays.

There's another photo of my grandad below - the man with the red ring. Of course, it's thanks to my grandad that I was born. If he hadn't have met my gran, then the world would be slightly different in a small way. 

Life at times seems to be one big coincidence. 

If, Frederick William English hadn't met my grandmother, I wouldn't be writing this now as I wouldn't exist - nor would my son, grandchildren etc. etc. And it would also have affected my wife's life as she would never have met me, so would have different children.

We therefore appear on first glance to be creatures of pure chance - unless, that is, life is all pre-planned, which doesn't really seem possible - or does it!

From a very early age I've always been interested in Buddha. No idea why, as this was far removed from my upbringing. But there is a connection with my grandfather as you will see later in the post.

When I moved into my very first home one of the first things I bought was a small Buddha as an ornament. I didn't know anything about Buddhism at the time. 

Later in life, when I was married, I saw a Buddha in a shop while visiting Spain. I just had to buy it. "Why?" asked my wife, but I couldn't really give an answer. It was simply something I felt I had to do. 

Below is the Buddha I bought. It has been on the mantelpiece of each of my homes.

Moving forward many years my mother had a severe stroke and had to move to a Nursing Home. It was such a sad and difficult time. Just before she died we managed to transport her to our house for a visit. It was very emotional as she thought she would never see our house again.

As she sat in our living room she looked at my Buddha on the mantelpiece, photo above, where it had sat for many years, including all the while my mother was fit and well.

Out of the blue, she said, "It's strange, my father always had a Buddha on the fireplace mantelpiece as well." My mother went on to tell me that her father was a Buddhist. 

I was amazed at this, as it was something I never knew and was something my mother had never mentioned previously.

As I said at the beginning of this post I have always felt a closeness to my grandad. A friend suggested to me that this is all down to reincarnation - but I guess that's another whole discussion, perhaps for a later date. 

Thanks for visiting my blog - back to Cornwall again for the next post. All good wishes ~ Mike.