BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF CORNWALL,ENGLAND

                      Picturesque Countryside
     Cornwall is a world of its own with spectacular landscapes and stunning rugged coastline. Hedgerows climb the hills defining and dividing the rolling green pastures. No place is Cornwall is more than 20 miles from the coast and the ocean.                 

    We often passed under natural green arches over the roads where the trees and vines on each side had grown across the road and entangled with those on the opposite side. Most roads in Cornwall are narrow two-lane roads, with one lane going in each direction. Some roads are no more than a one car lane and it got real interesting sometimes when we met a vehicle going in the opposite direction. It is easy to understand that people living in this part of the country would want only a small vehicle.    

    Cornwall is the land of legendary shipwrecks, with over 3000 recorded along the rugged coastline. In Charlestown, on a rainy afternoon, we visited the Shipwreck Museum. The museum was quite well done, with video narration of several famous shipwrecks. The museum was full of shipwreck relics.

    Prince Charles has an estate in Cornwall. The eldest royal son has been the Duke of Cornwall for ages.  If produce or a product is labeled duchy, it means the tax goes to the Duke's trust. Prince Charles’ trust makes loans/grants to small business enterprises.

   Mevagissey, a quaint small fishing village, has a history of smuggling. In fact smuggling was a common enterprise years ago all along the Cornwall coast. One evening we had fish and chips in the Fountain Inn, a 15^th century pub where even today the bar, oak beams, and slate floor are the original. The meaning of history certainly comes alive!  George Bernard Shaw wrote The Doctor’s Dilemma  in 1906 while living in Mevagissey.

Hedgerow up a fell

  Driving over the narrow country lanes was a delight. The hedgerow-lined meadows became part of panoramic views as the bushes and flowers along the roads thinned. Wild flowers were in bloom everywhere. Taking one wrong turn our van driver said, “You can’t get lost in Cornwall, you just take the wrong route.” Every once in awhile we’d find a small village or a thatched roof house, but we saw no tourists, buses or fast food restaurant. Ah the pleasures of a small or private group and a van!

Penzance is a seaside community with an ocean promenade that offered a delightful view of Mount’s Bay and St. Michael’s Mount.  In the 16^th century Spanish raiders destroyed most of the town, so most buildings were 18^th century.

     St. Ives has been known as an artist colony since the 1880s. Whistler came  to paint. Daphne de Maurier and Virginia Wolfe wrote here. I visited the Barbara Hepworth sculptor garden. I had a heck of a time finding it, but eventually did after asking several people for directions. Her sculpture was very modern, and it didn’t take me long to get through the garden. The harbor exported tin, wooden barrels, and fish, and imported coal for the mining industry. I did wander the beach area, but generally walked up and down the cobbled alleyways looking in shops. It is a delightful picturesque village. The streets are only lanes and the area is very hilly. A shuttle runs from the carpark down into the village. Coaches, and there were many of them, had to park in an area high above town. We also parked the van in the carpark and took advantage of the shuttle.

Previous post include: Cornwall in a Nutshell 3/10/13, Tin Mine 1/11, Cornwall surprises 7/12, Buckfast Abbey 5/13, Minach Theater 6/10/13 and Eden project 3/21/13

LEARNING NEW THINGS ALL THE TIME

                               A Fascinating Day                             

     One of the fun things about traveling is learning new things all the time. This is especially true if you have a good guide and knowledgeable docents. One day hiking in England was full of new experiences---about old things.

    We stopped often for explanations of various and sundried things. A couple of bug eating plants, sundew and butterwort, were pointed out to us.  Years ago when there was no church in town  coffins were carried over a coffin road to the nearest cemetery. We walked over a coffin road which now was no more than a hiking path. We imagined what it would  be like carrying a coffin on our shoulders.

    We detoured onto a pit stead where it was explained that a pit stead (flat area) is needed for charcoal burning and it was often elevated like the one we were standing on. A large pole (motte peg) was placed upright in the center of a circle. Coppice wood cut in 4-5 foot lengths was placed spoke fashion around the motte peg and piled 8-10 feet high. Then the whole pile was covered with bracken (fern like plant), leaving a small vent at the bottom.  Dirt was placed on top of the bracken. The motte peg was removed and the hole left filled with hot coals. Then the coals were covered so the whole thing was airtight. If air got in, the result was ash instead of charcoal. It was left to burn 2-3 days. The charcoal was cooled with water, sacked, and placed on a packhorse to be carried out. By 1913 the charcoal industry gave way to coke.  (Neither the drink nor the drug, but a type of coal)

    Coppice wood is woodland that is cut every 15 years.

    Oak bark was soaked to produce tannin that was used  in the leather industry, and is the foundation of the expression I’ll tan your hide.

    We walked into one huge cave left from quarrying.

Afterward we walked over the 400 year old Slaters pack horse bridge. There are many of these old bridges around England. These stone bridges were very narrow and beautifully arched over becks (small

Slater's bridge w/ stone wall in background

streams). Many of the arched bridges and the old pack horse bridges are still standing in good condition 3-400 years later. Arched lumber was laid over the stream and anchored.  A key stone was placed on the center top, then rocks were laid to the edges. When the wood was removed the rocks locked themselves in place. The pack horse bridges we passed over were very narrow requiring single file so it is hard to imagine a horse dragging a cart (2 wheels vs. 4 on a wagon) passing over them. These bridges are so sturdy I wonder if they could even be torn down.  

    To get to this bridge we had to climb over an old stile built into the wall. The ancient stile used cantilevered  stones as steps, a one foot wide hole at the top of the wall provided a pivot point before stepping down the other side on more cantilevered stones. Maneuvering the first time was a bit of a challenge, but once we got the hang of it, it was easy.

     Later walking along a narrow lane (alley really) we spotted wild raspberries growing. We all stopped and I, for one, had a ball picking and eating. It had been a fun, interesting and educational day!