A WALK ALONG CARLYON BAY'S THREE BEACHES, CORNWALL

It was a dull, dreary morning but we headed for the beach at Carlyon Bay. There are actually three beaches, Crinnis, Shorthorn and Polgaver which join to make one long stretch. 

The large car park was free, but there was a charge of £3 throughout the summer season  

We began by walking at the back of the beach next to the cliffs.

A small river wriggles through the sand.

The cliffs were fenced off years ago as a village style development was planned here, but this has never come to fruition. 

Tufts of grasses grow on this side of the beach.

Looking back to view where we had walked so far.

The sea can be seen across the beach, but it didn't look too inviting.

The cliffs, as shown below, are as far as you can walk along this side of the beach. Actually that isn't strictly true as  you can clamber up the cliffs and reach the coastal path. This is not recommended though. 

We crossed the sand and the small river, to reach the sea, to make this a circular walk. 

The sand is much smoother here.

Not a footprint to be seen. 

Some seaweed on the shore.

When the sun shines the sea and sand can look quite special.

A metal fence on the opposite side of the beach.

A mixture of seaweed on the shore.

We now reach the end of the beach. The road at the top of these cliffs has some dream houses and a hotel.

Below is the area where most visitors seem to gravitate as, during the summer months, there are beach bars and the like. 

We now make our way back to our car passing the cliffs.

A sign shows the way to the Coast Path.

All in all our walk was just over three miles.

Thanks for visiting my blog . 

Good wishes, have a great week ~Mike.

AN EASY RIVERSIDE WALK TO ST. CLEMENT, CORNWALL

We went for a short walk along the tidal Tresillian River, our intention being to visit the lovely village of St. Clement and its fine old church. This is about 3 miles from the city of Truro.

It's a pleasant walk - simply follow the river path. The tide was on the way out on our visit. 

On the right is we passed a small lake. All was silent other than a dog barking in the distance.

I'm always fascinated by the old Cornish dry walls. In the example below there are sections of vertical and horizontal stones.

The gate below indicated that we were approaching St.Clement, which is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The village backs onto the river.

Our first sight of the village. A few cottages have a prime view overlooking the river ...

… and they have their own access to the river.

Turning right into the village the tower of the church of St. Clement comes into view. The old name was the church of Moresk.

Strange to see the traditional red phone box. It seems out of place - though it's reasonably up to date and can be used for e-mails and texts.

There are more old cottages on the approach to the church ...

… plus Church Cottage with the church tower in the background.

 It is believed that the church was built in 1249 but was enlarged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

A quick look inside the church.

We now followed our footsteps back to our car passing the riverside cottages ...

 ... and The Old Vicarage, dating back to the 1500s, but not as it once was! It's now an upmarket Bed & Breakfast emporium.

The tide was on its way out and the river was turning quite muddy - so lots of free food for the birds. All in all a very pleasant walk, which can be extended by following the local footpaths - perhaps to Malpas.

Parking the car:

We parked at the end of Tresillian village (3 miles east of Truro). We were driving from the St. Austell area, on the left, there is a big car dealership, after this is a pull-in off the main A390 - just before the sign as shown in the photo below. There is room for about five cars - if everyone parks neatly. otherwise there is some parking on the opposite side of the road.

Hope you have a good week ahead. To close the post a few flowers my wife received from our son.

All good wishes ~ Mike.

PENTEWAN, CORNWALL IN THE 1900s and TODAY

Something a little different today. The photo above is of Pentewan, Cornwall showing part of the harbour, circa 1900. So, over one hundred years later, I tried to find the exact same scene. The photo below is what I managed to snap.

I climbed a small path (safely) up the side of the cliff and eventually found the very same cottage, as the photo above shows. The skyline also seems very much the same. I tried to go higher so as to exactly match the 1900 photo but there were too many bushes and trees to take a photo.

I did, however, snap a photo from ground level to show where the cottage is positioned.  Unfortunately another property has since been built partly in front of the cottage spoiling the view. I placed a red dot on the cottage above.

The house directly below the red dot is the old Harbour Master's residence.

In the late 1800s, and early 1900s the harbour would have been full of tall sailing ships exporting local china clay, metals and the like all over the world. That is all in the past now as the harbour is landlocked.

Pentewan  nowadays is a quiet village during the winter but gets a fair share of holiday makers and tourists during the summer, spring and autumn seasons.

The photos above and below show how Pentewan looks nowadays - on a sunshine day. Most of the holiday makers must have been on the beach!

... or, there again, maybe they weren't on the beach, as it looks so quiet on Pentewan Beach.

Of course, it's not always sunshine at Pentewan!

That's all for today. All good wishes ~ Mike.

A SHORT GREEN WALK

We walked from home and mentioned that the  dahlia, in our garden, aren't quite as good this year. We headed towards a nearby lane, passing by this gate, and the old concrete items on display - including a miller's wheel perhaps.

There was a dampness in the air. Perfect for the moss to thrive on the old walls. 

A few remaining wild flowers are far from their best but they still have a certain appeal.

I didn't expect to see one of the little people, so soon on our walk, they usually hide away. 

A small stream wriggles along the lane - with more greenery on display.

There were more shades of green on an old wall.

A path into the woods looked tempting.

A few raindrops in the wind, but they soon went away.

The small stream again.

You never know what you may find on a walk, if you have time to stand and stare. You might even see two decorated chairs in the undergrowth - most unexpected!

These two creatures sat happily on a wall.

A few wild flowers lingered on.

Back at home, after our walk, this fuchsia looked okay ...

... as did the dahlia hiding amongst the hydrangea leaves.

Another day, another (short) walk. Hope you have a happy week.

Good wishes ~ Mike.