Polzeath to Pentire Glaze

We were planning to follow the walk in the Ramblers book, "Short Cornwall Walks" and park at the National Trust car park at Pentire Glaze.  However, we missed the turning to this car park and ended up at New Polzeath.  As this was on the walk we parked there and walked from this point but in the opposite direction to the description.

To begin with we followed the South West Coast Path.  There were beautiful views  all along this walk and it was not too strenuous, although up and down at times, particularly where the path had to be diverted inland due to cliff falls.  In total we walked about 6 miles.

 From New Polzeath we had a good view across to Polzeath beach where many people were surfing.

 The first bay we came to after a short walk was Pentire Glaze Haven and we were surprised what a lovely beach this was that as deserted,

There was gorse growing on the cliff edges making the walk even prettier.

When we approached the Rumps we thought it looked like a dinosour.

Along the way we had seen the occasional bluebell, just coming out, but they were more prolific after we had walked past the Rumps, and the bluebells were out further.

There were clear signs from the coast path to the National Trust car parks and when we reached the sign to Pentire Glaze we followed this path back to the car park, then walked down the road until we came to a footpath that took us down to Pentire Glaze Haven.

When we got back to the car we carried on walking down to Polzeath beach.  Having crossed the beach we had a cup of tea a the TubeStation overlooking the beach before heading home.

Calstock and Cothele

Last week we drove to Cothele Quay and walked to Calstock.  There were lots of spring flowers in the woods, with the bluebells just coming out.

The views to the viaduct and over the river are always beautiful and today we were fortunate to see a train going over the bridge.

Usually when we walk to Calstock we then turn around and walk back, but today we decided to walk along the river following the Tamar Valley Discovery Trail.  When we had to come away from the river we took a wrong turn and walked along the road, quickly coming back to the village.  We should have gone up the hill further before turning down to the village.  It nevertheless was a pretty walk and we were rewarded with a lovely icecream after our lunch sat overlooking the river and viaduct.

We then climbed up the hill to Cothele itself.  The gardens were looking spectacular with lots of daffodils still out as well as other spring flowers.

St Austell to Wheal Martyn

We did this walk on 22 March, but I have not recorded it on this blog until now.

We caught the train to St Austell then followed the signs to the Clay Trails, which took us down a steep hill and up the other side on pavements.  But soon we were on the cycle path that is the Clay Trail.  Being a cycle path there was a firm surface to walk on and it only climbed up slowly, however it was not a particularly pretty path.  However the last half a mile we were walking beside the White river and then a lake, which made it more interesting.  The water really was white from the china clay that is mined in this area.

 There were still some snowdrops out as well as primroses and daffodils.

The walk was 2 miles to Wheal Martyn where we stopped to eat our picnic then a warm up and cup of tea and cake in the museum cafe.  We thought the museum admission charge not worth pay so just returned back to St Austell.

West Pentire Headland

I had heard that there was a beautiful wild flower meadow on West Pentire headland so as it was a lovely day and we had all day to walk we drove there and walked around the headland and continued on the south west coast path to the other end of Holywell before returning on an  inland path.

We hoped to find the National Trust car park, but could not see where to go for that so ended up in a car park at West Pentire.  Although we had to pay it was very reasonable (£2 for 4 hours) and the view over Crantock beach towards Newquay was stunning.

As we started to walk around the West Pentire headland we saw the field of wild flowers to our left.  It was a bit disappointing.  Photos we had seen from last year showed many more poppies.  I am not sure if we were too early in the year or it was not such a good display this year.

The walk on the South West Coast path was beautiful.  The sea was a lovely blue and beaches we passed very sandy and enticing.  On the headland there was masses of sea thrift that added to the colour.

We stopped for our lunch overlooking Holywell beach - a magnificent view!

Generally it was an easy section of the coast path with gentle hills and no steep climbs.  However once we had reached Holywell we had to walk through the sand dunes to reach the other side of the beach.  This is never easy, but it was not too bad.  We had some problem finding the inland path to take us back to the car park, but a helpful attendant at the NT car park gave us directions.  We were following the walk we had downloaded from the NT website,http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356405233898/ but it needed more detail at this point.  Further on in the walk we were unsure which path to take, but decided in the end to make our way down to Polly Joke and then take the path across the headland.  This was not the route on the walk and involved a steep climb up from Polly Joke, but by taking it we saw more wild flowers and walked through the wild flower meadow at West Pentire to get another view of it.

After a rest  in the car admiring the view across Crantock Beach, we headed home.  At one point we missed our road and ended up going down a lane, that got narrower and narrower, with grss in the middle of the road.  This is never good, but it was made worse by being met by a lorry coming in the opposite direction!  I had to reverse a long way - not easy with a lorry bearing down on you!

To give me a break after this experience we stopped at the National Trust property, Treice. Although the gardens are only small there was some lovely plants, particularly different roses.

Lanhydrock - Cycle track and Bluebells

It is bluebell season so a lovely time for a walk in the woods around Lanhydrock House in Cornwall.  But before we set off to explore the woodlands we wanted to see the cycle trails that have just been put in near the car park. We obtained a map from the cycle hire centre and followed the signs to the cycle trails.  The first part of the path is for cycles and walkers, but as the paths separated  we decided to follow the green trail, the easiest, which promised 1.5 miles of wide, firm track.  It was an easy walk, mainly through conifer woods, but not much of interest to see.  Many trees had been cut down to make space for the path, and some had obviously been blown down in the storms in the winder.

This is a wonderful facility for families with bikes, but not the most interesting walking routes.  However, we might try some more of the paths another time, in case there is more to see on them.

After lunch we headed down to Lanhydrock House.  As we approached the reception centre we could see bluebells on either side of the path.  The wood on the right was particularly spectacular.

When we entered the gardens at Lanhydrock House  the tulips in the formal beds quickly caught our attention.

The rhoodendrons and azelias brightened the gardens, although some of the rhododendrons were not fully in flower.

From the gardens we walked down through the woods to the River Fowey.  There were bluebells throughout the woods, but some of them were not out as far as those by the Reception Centre.  This meant the looked more like a blue mist in the woods, that was not so spectacular close up but looked lovely in the distance.

Cremyll to Cawsand

It was a bright sunny day so we thought we would do a walk along the South West Coast Path. We have often  done the part of the walk that goes through Mount Edgecumbe Park but not all the way to Cawsand.  Looking back on this blog I see that it was 28 February 2013 when we last did the whole stretch, just a couple of weeks after moving to Plymouth.

We parked the car at Devils Point and took the South West Coast Path through the Royal William Yard to Admirals Hard where we caught the ferry to Cremyll.  Although there has been rain lately the path was not too muddy.  It was not too hard a walk until we got to the steps.  Usually we go up one flight of steps then turn back to Cremyll, but this time we had to continue to the top and it was a hard slog.  However, once we had conquered them it was easy walking all the way.

Twice on the way we saw deer but they ran away before I could photograph them.  There were still some leaves on the trees, but not many and not much autumn colour.  The views out to the Sound, however, were beautiful.

View to the Breakwater and Mew Stone

The walk is about 4 miles and we were surprised how quickly we saw the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand.  At this point we stopped for lunch on a bench looking out to sea with the sun shining on us.  It was really warm for the last day of November.

Kingsand and Cawsand

Walking through the narrow streets of Kingsand we were charmed by the quaint old cottages. We noted that the car park in this village was £1 for 6 hours.  I am sure this is a winter rate, but worth remembering if we want to come in this direction by car.

View through a garden gate, Cawsand

Cawsand was in shadow and a little chilly so we decided not to linger but catch the next bus back to Cremyll.  Fortunately we only had a couple of minutes to wait,  The bus ride itself was very pretty with views over woods and fields to Millbrook and across to Plymouth.  The tamar bridges stood out in the sun. The bus links with the ferry so we were soon back home.

Lanhydrock in early autumn

It was a sunny October day so we thought we would have a walk around the Lanhydrock Estate. We often go to Lanhydrock but usually park in the main car park then walk down to the House and Gardens and from there walk through the woods to the river Fowey.  It is a lovely walk, but it is all uphill on the way back.  So today we decided to park the car at Respryn Bridge and do the walk in the opposite direction.

The river Fowey was flowing fast and it looked very muddy as it had been raining hard over night.  I had hoped that the trees would be colourful as their leaves turned to reds, oranges and yellows, but they were mainly green so not very interesting.

When we got to the Gardens around the House the herbaceous borders were still very colourful.

It was very nice walking down the Avenue back to the car.  It was so much quicker and easier than walking up!

The Cheesewring and Hurlers

We always enjoy exploring somewhere new, so we were looking forward to walking on Bodmin Moor to see the Cheesewring and Hurlers.  We had only just entered Bodmin Moor when we came to a sign saying 'Road Ahead Closed'.  There was a Farm Shop with a cafe by the sign so decided to stop there and enquire about the road closure and plan an alternative route.  The Trevallick Farm Shop was a excellent find!  Not only did we have a delicious cup of tea and cake but it stocked some lovely produce and craft work.  The views from it over the Moors were spectacular.  If we had had to turn around at that point and go home I would not have felt the trip had been wasted.

However, the staff in the shop told us the road appeared to be open as cars were coming through so we continued on our journey and although there were still road closure signs up  there was  nobody  working on the road and cars could go through.

As we approached Minions we could see evidence of mining in the past.

We parked at the car park by the Heritage Centre which was housed in an old mining building.  After looking at the various displays we walked across the moors towards the Cheesewring.  From our walk book it looked like it was a proper path, but although we could see where others had been it was not a very clear way.  However, we soon saw the Cheesewring so knew which direction to walk in!

There was a short climb to the top of the tor to see the Cheesewring and the other slabs of granite that were there.  The views from the top were magnificent.  It was not a very clear day when we went, but nevertheless it was wonderful to see in all directions.

From the top of the tor was could see a better defined path that people were using so we followed this one on the way back and eventually came to the Hurlers, which were two large stone circles.  There were a number of ponies and cows in this area and some of them  were using the stones as scratching blocks.

Lerryn to St Winnow

We parked the car at the car park in Lerryn that overlooks the creek.  The stepping stones across the water were submerged so we walked past the houses and across the road bridge.  We walked up the hill then turned down a road on the left that led us back to the riverside.  From here we walked along the creek until it met the river Fowey.  With the tide going out there was a lot of mud but it was still a pleasant walk through woodland.  It was mainly flat with some undulation as we walked up away from the water and them down again.  At a couple  of points we had to go across stepping stones as there was an inlet of water but it was mainly a good path.

When we reached the River Fowey there was good views down the Fowey.  It was a pity it was a cloudy day and not high tide.

View down River Fowey to Golant

Fungi in the wood along the path

When we reached the River Fowey we continued walking along its bank until we came to St Winnow. At we approached this village there were a couple of steep stiles and then we had to walk around a corner on the beach at edge of the water until we came to the centre of the village.

Looking up the River Fowey from St Winnow

St Winnow

We decided that instead of retracing our steps we would walk across the fields on a more direct path back to Lerryn.  To begin with the path was clearly marked but we had to walk through fields full of cows and although the view back was good it was not spectacular.  There were a number of stiles that had to be climbed over.  Eventually we came to stile and some steps that led us down to a forestry road.  Our instinct told us to turn left, but as we walked along we realised this path was leading away from the river and Lerryn.  We read our guide book and realised we should have turned right then left, but rather than head back we continued on hoping that we would be able to get back on track.  After walking for half an hour we were on a road which we thought should lead us to Lerryn, but we could not see it and it did not look familiar, so we decided to turn back.   After we got back to the stile and steps it did not take us long to get back to the creekside and within half an hour we were back in Lerryn.  This time we crossed the creek by the stepping stones.

The walk along the creek and riverside was very pleasant, but I would not bother to try to walk back across the fields.  Even if we had not got lost there was not anything worthwhile to see.

Once home we studied a detailed map and realised if we had continued to walk along the road we would have come to Lerryn, but it was quite a busy and narrow road, so I am glad we turned back when we did.

Antony

As Antony has the National Collection of Day Lilies we thought we would go to see what they were looking like.  We were welcomed by the sight of some of these flowers just inside the entrance.

First we went into the summer garden, that was looking very colourful, although the colours of the plants seemed to be more muted than I remember from previous years.

The collection of day lilies were slightly past their best, no doubt because of the hot sunshine we have had lately, but they still gave a good display.

From the formal gardens of Antony House we walked through the grounds to Antony Woodland Garden.  It was pleasant to walk along the paths through shrubs, but there was not much woodland to give shade.  There was not any flowers out, except one flowering tree that was very beautiful.