Wordless Wednesday ~ "Fruit and Veg".

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Polperro and Looe in Cornwall.

Polperro from the coastal pathway.

As stated in my previous post we have just returned from a short stay in Cornwall to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. I had only been to Cornwall once before many years ago and then only explored the north of the county and mainly from the inside of a car as the weather was so lousy. This time we wanted to go to the south coast so we booked a small bed and breakfast hotel midway between the two fishing ports of Polperro and Looe.


The narrow lanes with high hedgerows.
We had to lie flat against them to let passing vehicles pass.

We chose well. The hotel was beautifully placed within a couple of miles of the south west coastal path so we had the opportunity of some walks direct from the hotel without driving anywhere. The South West Coast Path is a national trail with some 630 miles of superb coastal walking. From Minehead on the edge of the Exmoor National Park to the shores of Poole Harbour in Dorset it is the best way to enjoy the wonderful coastal scenery, wildlife and heritage of the south west of England.

We were determined to sample and walk a small part of this great trail, so on the first morning of our stay, fueled by a hearty cooked english breakfast we set off to walk the coastal route to Polperro and then continue along the coast to Looe and then back to our hotel. A distance of about 10 miles.

We started off walking along very narrow tracks with high hedgerows. If a vehicle appeared, which happened infrequently, we would have to press ourselves firmly into the hedges to enable it to pass. These hedgerows were amazing and would have been very pretty in the spring/summer as they were full of flowers and plants. Once we cleared these tracks we were by open fields with a view of the sea in the distance. Traversing the fields we followed the walkers signposts and suddenly found ourselves walking along a small lane lined by coloured fishermen cottages high on the cliff leading down into Polperro.

Walking down the steep hill into Polperro.

One of the most prettiest villages in Cornwall, Polperro is set in a cliff ravine with a an enchanting jumble of cottages, each one unmistakably the work of a Cornish fisherman. This peaceful fishing cove was once a thriving centre for the area's smuggling. The narrow streets are traffic free and there is a lovely sheltered harbour and quay. Although quite commercial with a thriving tourist trade, we were very taken with the beauty and history of this quaint fishing village. We were lucky enough to take a small fishing boat out of the harbour to see Polperro and the beautiful neighbouring bays from the vantage of the sea.

Waiting for the tide to come in by Polperro harbour.

On our return we explored the village, browsed the gift shops and had a relaxed and refreshing coffee before retracing our steps and walking up the incredibly steep hill to re-join the coastal path and head towards Looe via Talland Bay. I will relay details of the rest of our hike in my next post.

Fishermen's nets by the quay.

Interesting carvings above a shop in Polperro.
Note the Cornish black and white flag.

Wordless Wednesday ~ "Hill Horses"

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Cornwall

We have just spent a few days in the south of Cornwall celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary (blimey!). We wanted to do a lot of walking on the coastal pathway and to explore the coastal villages and fishing ports. The weather for late October was kind to us and we had a wonderful time. I will post more about our short holiday in more detail in later posts. Meanwhile here are a few photos which show the beauty of the scenery and coastline that is found in the the lovely county of Cornwall.

The coast near Looe.

Approaching Talland Bay.

The fishing port of Mevagissey.



Lantic Bay near Polruan.



Beautiful light near Polperro.



Fowey viewed from Polruan.

Wordless Wednesday ~ "Which Way Up?"

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Wordless Wednesday ~ "The boy and the dolphin".

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Wordless Wednesday ~ "Ye olde shoppes".

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Wordless Wednesday ~ "A river runs through it".

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Salisbury Cathedral - my first ever visit.



Last Sunday i went to visit my son and his girlfriend who have just moved into an apartment on the outskirts of Salisbury in Wiltshire. Salisbury is a well preserved medieval city with historic streets and alleyways. It also boasts the finest medieval cathedral and largest medieval close (80 acres) in Britain.

A view of the spire from the cathedral close.

When we approached the cathedral i was awestruck the shere size of the building. It is immense and very imposing. It was built in just 38 years (AD 1220 - 1258). The spire was added between AD 1310 - 1333 and is the tallest in Britain at 404 ft (123 metres). The cathedral has the oldest working clock in the world (AD 1386) and the best preserved of only four Magna Carta (AD 1215) on display in the Chapter House. Unfortunately (but quite rightly) we were not permitted to take photographs inside but hopefully the few photos that i was able to take outside demonstrates the pure magnificence of this amazing structure.

There are 67 statues on the west front.



Close up of the statues.

 

Part of the cathedral cloisters.

The cloister lawn.

The medieval close is also interesting in that it boasts a great array of English architecture dating from the 13th century right the way through to the 20th century. Some of the houses were designed by Sir. Christopher Wren. The original houses were given to the senior clergy, priests, canons and clerks who were recruited to serve in the newly constructed cathedral. Here are some photographs of just three of the magnificent houses that front the cathedral close.

Arundells. Home of former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath.

The Hungerford Chantry on Choristers Green.

Wren Hall - circa 1714.

Here are some interesting facts that i got from the cathedral's web site.

The spire weighs 6,500 tons yet it only has foundations of 4 feet. It is still standing thanks to the thick bed of gravel beneath the cathedral which supports the immense weight.

70,000 tons of stone were used to build the main cathedral.
28,000 tons of oak were used to construct the roof.
420 tons of lead covering 4 acres were used on the roof.
The spire leans 27.5 inches (69.85cm) to the south.
The clock has "ticked" more than 5 million times since it was first built.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Salisbury and the cathedral make a point of going. You will not be disappointed.

Battle of Britain Parade

I was privileged to attend the Battle of Britain parade at Brookwood Military Cemetery which regular readers of this blog will know is one of my favourite places to visit. The parade this year was more poignant because this is the 70th anniversary of the "Battle of Britain".

The cadets prepare to lay crosses at the graves of the fallen RAF airmen.

As always the parade was well attended with plenty of Air Training Corps cadets (one of which was my youngest son), Royal Air Force personnel, members of the public and proud parents. It was gratifying that a few veterans of the conflict (all in their late 80's and early 90's) were also able to attend. The Air Training Corps is made up of cadets aged between 14 and 18 and it was a wonderful to see so many of these young people devoting their spare time to honour the dead and living who participated in the Battle of Britain.


The cadets line up in front of the RAF memorial.



Here is a video of the march past. Sorry for the picture quality.