A walk around Priston.

We left St. Ives Saturday morning on a bus.  We had train tickets but the little train that goes back and forth between St Ives and St Erth had the brake stuck on in Carbis Bay (half way in between) and could not go forward or backward.  After an hour with everyone running around in circles wondering what was going on, we found out we could take the bus to St. Erth using the train ticket because the train was "broken".  A short train ride after St. Erth brought us into the old Roman city of Bath.  Our old friend Robin ( from our 2001 Camino walk) was at the Bath station to pick us up.  He drove us to his home, Brook Cottage in Priston, 3 miles outside of Bath.  

We last visited Robin and his wonderful wife Aylet (a Northumberland gal) when we were in England in 2006.  Their home was originally a cidery and we were given the loft over the lounge (living room) as our bedroom this time.  Because of its earlier use, the floor slants down to the middle so that provides an interesting sensation when trying to get out of bed on the outside.  But how neat to lie in bed looking up at the A frame roof and all the old beams.

Robin and Aylet have lived in the house for 31 years.  Visiting with them in Priston (pop 250) is like jumping back in time. 

   

We went for a nice stroll around the village during the afternoon.  

     

The local pub "Ring o' Bells" is a beehive of activity on a Sunday afternoon with families having a long lunch after church.  There is a skittles court which looks like a small 5 pin bowling alley in the back where the kids go to play after lunch while their parents relax.  Neighbours catch up with one another.  Robin and Aylet took us there for dinner last night. 

The little Anglican church is the centre of the village life.  Even Robin and Aylet who actually go to the RC church in the next village support and help organize many of the church's activities.  It has the most beautiful Norman inner door to the church.

Some things never change in England. 

Aylet has horses, her own and others who come to stay for awhile.  Wendy is saying hello to Monty while Meg says "no don't take my picture - this isn't my best side"!

Robin and Aylet with Bertie (a Dalmation cross)

Robin cooking dinner on their wonderful Aga stove.  I want one!

And off on the train to Ashcroft House in Gloucestershire to visit Ben and Georgina Harford whose family has owned the house that my great grandfather was born and raised in - since 1947. The Cornwalls owned the house from 1825 to 1895.  Another new adventure, I have only met Ben over the internet.

Marion and Wendy

   

  

Coastal Watch

Wendy:  On my last day of walking we had a wonderful walk along the cliffs of Cornwall, with fabulous weather and views as we went. The coastal path stretched out in front of us, with some old tin mine buildings way off in the distance, and spectacular beaches below us. 

We made a stop at a Coast Watch station at St Agnes Head, and the volunteer on duty explained what they do. 

Every ship over a certain size is required to carry a device which transmits information about it (size, ownership, flag, cargo, destination, etc. ) to the station. An iPad mounted on the console showed a map of the headland, and dots in the water represented each ship. Not many were visible to the naked eye, but one touch on the iPad immediately brings up all the info. At the same time two VHF channels were monitoring voice messages. The smaller ships usually carry a radio to keep in touch. The volunteer knew the men in the two visible fishing boats, and explained that the lobster fisherman in the small dingy was checking his pots, and carries only a mobile phone - not much good if he tumbles in, or if he gets too close to the rocks at bottom of cliffs where the phone doesn't work. She told us of a recent rescue when a man had walked down the cliffs to go fishing and didn't returned as scheduled. She closed up the station and went to investigate, only to find that he had fallen and broken his ankle. A helicopter was needed to evacuate him. So it's important to have "eyes" actually watching, and not depend only on radar or technology. 

Volunteer on duty - she does 1-2 shifts per month, but some of the retired coast guard people do 2-3/week. The station is operated 8am-8pm every day. 

We continued our walk across the heathlands - more great views - and on into St. Agnes for a 'cuppa' in a character tea room.

from St. Agnes Beacon (hill)

The Cornwall Cafe, commonly known as Billy's.

St. Michael's Mount

Ever since we had walked across the salt flats to Mont St. Michel in Britany/Normandy I have had an interest in its English counterpart off the coast of Cornwall. Today I cancelled out of walking as I was invited to join Ruth and Elizabeth, two walkers from Marion's group of last week, in a day trip to St. Michael's Mount. Ruth has a car here so it was an easy trip. 

After the Norman Conquest, the abbey was granted to the Benedictine monks of Mont St Michel in France. The church on the island’s summit was built by the French Abbot, Bernard le Bec, and through the Middle Ages the Mount became a major pilgrimage destination. It was later fortified andplayed various military roles. In 1588, it was here that the first beacon was lit to warn of the arrival of the Spanish Armada. The St Aubyn family purchased the island in 1659, and the family still live here today. 

The tide was out when we arrived at 9:45am, so we were able to walk across the cobblestone causeway to the island. 

We made our way past the little village of stones houses huddled at the base of the hill, and up the rough cobblestone path to the castle near the top of the island. We entered the castle under the stone carving of the family crest, and toured the rooms, many of which seemed surprisingly small - library, study, smoking room, map room - most renovated in Victorian times. The dining room was most impressive, and is still used by the family on special occasions. 

The views from the rooftop terraces encompassed the whole countryside - harbour, the causeway we'd entered on, and the mainland town of Marazion. 

The original chapel still exists and is in use. It's also the burial place of the St. Aubyn family. 

By the time we finished exploring and made our way back down to sea level the tide had come in and covered the walking causeway, so we took a little ferry back to Marazion. 

All in all it was an excellent outing, and an enjoyable break from coastal path walks..

Around St. Ives

    Looking towards downtown.

    From the main pier in town.

    Today' catch.

   Shops

   Dancing and music in the street for the September music festival.

    

    View of harbour.

   Today's lunch.  A traditional Cornish pastie.

Sights along the coastal path:

I am including in this blog some of the images I have seen as I have hiked along the coastal path over the last week and a half.  I have 2 hiking days left and just realized I have not done a blog since I started hiking.  The reason for this is simple - I am just too tired when I and the rest of my group arrive back to St Ives and our rooms.  We leave in the morning on a bus at 9am and return between 5 and 6.  So it's a long day and the terrain is rugged with many steep ascents and descents.  We have had some rock scrambling, some walking on soft sand (my least favorite hiking surface), lots of rocky paths with nice prickly bushes on either side and lots and lots of stinging nettle along the paths.  I can hear the chuckling now and the question why?  Once again it is simple: the scenery is incredible, the weather warm and sunny, the people friendly and fun, the food simple but good, nice wine available for the communal dinners, and of course a profound sense of accomplishment (assuming I get through the last 2 days of hiking).  What else could we ask for? 

Many beautiful beaches along the way.  You can see surfers (little black dots) waiting for a good wave.  The white vehicle is the lifeguards' vehicle.  Many of the beaches I have crossed have guards with vehicles, a shack up in the dunes, and orange zodiacs, ready for a rescue.

  

A wonderful hideaway beach.  Have seen kayakers come into these beaches to picnic or rest.  Too far from the roads for casual swimmers or families.

The morning mist below after we have climbed a hill.  Down one side of the valley and up the other happens a number of times each day.

Many of the cliffs have had significant damage from the serious storms last winter.  Some of the coastal path has been rerouted inland a bit to avoid the cliffs with undercuts.  

I have been very lucky having had a really great leader last week who lives in Cornwall and so can call herself a Cornish lass.  She stopped along the trail to tell us about the tin mines, the fisherman, the little villages.   The NW path goes from Treyarnon Bay to Cape Cornwall, 108 km.  This week we picked up where we left off at Cape Cornwall and will finish at Helford, a similar distance.  Our guide this week is Chris, a fellow from Dorset.  He has been a great leader.  They are all volunteers and very well trained with leading groups.  I was chatting with him about finding the hiking difficult in the 2nd week and he started to tell me about some great gals from Seattle and Kamloops who hiked with him on this trail a few years ago.  They had also done back to back hiking trips like I am doing.  I said that sounds like Arlene, my cousin.  Was he surprised!!  Arlene and her friend June from Kamloops were a couple of his favorites.  Another interesting coincidence.

Another favorite of mine:  mmmmmmgood!!!

They do make good cappuccinos here in England!

"Room with a Thief"

Room with a Thief!

The group had a talk the first night by the house manager of the hotel.  She asked us not to leave our windows open when we go out for the day because the week before a "thief" had got in through the window and stolen a guest's pink nightie and left it up in a tree.  We all thought that sounded hilarious until breakfast when someone noticed a seagull going into a window and pulling out a map and flying off with it.  It turned out it was our room!   Wendy and one of the servers went running upstairs to lock the windows.  The gull was sitting right on the ledge staring in and looking most annoyed that he was being denied access.  We found the map he had dropped in some bushes just below our window, narrowly missing the little pond in the garden.  It was embarrassing to be the ones caught out by the gull, especially after we'd been warned. Now keeping a close eye on our windows!!

The "Culprit"!!!

Wendy's walk on Monday started off with a visit to an old tin mine at Botallack on the Cornish coast. It had once been a major producer of tin but closed in the late 1800's. There are still some interesting ruins remaining.  

 

We then bused further along the coast to the village of St. Just where we saw the earthworks remaining from a Roman amphitheater and visited a church with a medieval frescoe of St. George fighting the dragon. Then we set off on a path across pastures and fields, with large granite styles separating them. Finally reached the coastal path with great views to both north and south. Followed it to old fishing village of Sennen Cove.  

Our last stretch along the coastal path brought us to Land's End. We took in the views, and squinted into the distance in an attempt to see the Scilly Isles. Although not too busy on a Monday in Sept, the whole area is very commercial - ice cream and King Arthur - but we pretty well ignored that. 

The End of England. (Marion won't get here till next week. )

Marion's 2nd day's hike was a continuation along the coastal path south from yesterday where we ended in Porth on the northern outskirts of Newquay.  Today we picked up on the southern outskirts of Newquay and hiked along the path 17 km to the town of Perranporth.  It was a pretty good day but still I feel like there are some of the group who think they are on a forced march.  I hang out at the back so I can take pictures, check out little flowers and birds that fly by, and feel like I don't have someone chomping at my heels to keep going.  I have a couple of great English gals, Elizabeth and Ruth, at the back with me.  Lots of fun and we can grumble together as we climb up the hills, some with steep steps designed for giants we have decided.  I will have some of my pictures to share with you on tomorrow's blog.  

Our weather has been very good for the first 3 days hiking.  Sunny warm days, some breezy spots depending how exposed you are on the cliffs.  Each day brings different scenery, different colored rock formations, and the most beautiful colored sea.  A turquoise green where sand has washed out and then a deep blue a little further out.  Not many big breakers but apparently the wind hasn't been right for that in the last few days.  More tomorrow.

Cheerio

Marion and Wendy

The M and W food blog!

Food at our HF house, Chy Morvah, has been very good so far.  A menu is passed around each morning at breakfast to fill out our dinner choices.  We have 3 choices for each course.  But the best part are the lunches. Right after supper we select our sandwich or salad from a long list of options. Then the next day after breakfast we pick up our sandwich and a brown paper bag and go down the long table picking out other things to fill out the lunch from a selection of: little tomatoes, pkgs of cheese, various crackers, cookies, granola bars, chocolate bars, oranges and bananas.  Way more choices than at home! Such a treat.  I have been trying all the different sandwiches choices.  So far the combo of ham, mayonnaise, salad and mature Cornish cheddar is my favourite.  It's even possible to get a peanut butter and banana sandwich, another favorite of mine.

Cornwall is well known for Cornish pasties.  They are available all around town so Wendy took a picture on her free day yesterday.  We will go and try them on Saturday for lunch when we are both off for the day and able to do some things together.  They come with a number of fillings.  You could expect to find beef, onions, potatoes, pork, but never carrots, inside the pastry.  The idea behind them is that the miners would take them for their lunch when they were working down in the mine.  They would hold them with their dirty hands covered in all sorts of toxic dust.  They could eat everything but the part their hands were touching, that part would then be thrown out.  Not sure why carrots are such a no-no.  Will let you know if we find out.

A cream tea is the other food high on the menu choices in Cornwall.  The difference between a Devon cream tea and a Cornwall cream tea concerns which you put on the scone first: the cream or the jam.  In Cornwall the jam goes first then the cream, in Devon the cream goes on first then the jam.   As far as I am concerned it all tastes the same.  Nummy!!!

Marion enjoying a cream tea yesterday after her group's walk finished in St. Ives.  And then there is the view.  Can you beat our lunch spot today?  No coffee, tea or running water.  No toilets but the view outstanding!!

Cheers!

Marion and Wendy