Cornwall 2022 – 7. St Ives, Pt 2

Tags

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Black-headed gull, Canada goose, cormorant, Cornish Heavy Cake, curlew, Herring gull, Mute swan, Porth Kidney Sands, Porthmeor Beach, Salubrious Place, shelduck, St IVes, St Ives Museum, Tate St Ives, Teetotal Street, The Old Quay House

Back on Terra Firma, I wandered around, casually making for the St Ives Museum.

This was the only photo I took, the entrance, as photography inside was not allowed. This made me rather grumpy, but I couldn’t help enjoying the really old-fashioned, crammed displays, of all lost life and livings in St Ives and indeed Cornwall. But sorry, no photos.

On my reluctant way back to the seafront, where the hordes were gathered, and this wasn’t even the height of the holiday season,

I couldn’t help noticing these street names.

I picked up two little pots of seafood, and a huge Cornish Heavy cake, which I consumed before leaving the crowds, and then made for the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. Before you get into the garden itself, there is a small indoors display.

From the garden, you can see Hepworth’s workshop.

I hadn’t really registered too much the ‘Garden’ bit beforehand, but on remarking this to an attendant, I was told that the planting was exactly as Hepworth had planned, as was – mostly – the positioning of the sculptures. Nor had I been too sure that I would like the latter, but I really, really did.

I enjoyed looking at them from different angles: such as this,

and this:

There remained Tate St Ives, but not my stamina. Two exhibitions were enough for one day. But I did want to see the front of the building, so walked round to Porthmeor Beach, which I had seen from the sea in the morning. I also had the idea that it could be a relatively quiet place to have a cup of tea.

From the fourth floor café, which was not as quiet as I had hoped as the floors were polished stone and the staff were clattering dishes, I could admire the view. I realised later that there were quieter areas with seaward views. Never mind, the lemon grass and ginger tea was excellent, from fresh ingredients, not from a tea bag.

The curvy architectural theme is maintained.

Down at street level, I could see that the beach, and even more the sea, was well occupied. There seemed to be a surfing lesson going on.

Time to trudge (uphill mainly) to the railway station for my shuttle back. This time the carriages were crowded. It wasn’t that everyone was staying in St Erth or Hayle, it was that St Erth station car park is officially a park and ride facility for all those coming from near and far for those visiting not only St Ives, but also Penzance.

My scenic ride back picked up not only Porth Kidney Sands at the mouth of the Hayle estuary, but also, as I zoomed the camera, The Old Quay House, and particularly my room, with its private patio.

The Canada goose family and Herring gulls.

Time for a little more bird-watching, or rather -gazing. Most of these were some way away.

Curlew

Cormorant, crow and Herring gulls

Very distant Canada geese, the family not among them

I recognise that look, on my roof! He didn’t hang around this time though.

Curlew taxiing for take-off

The swan with its apparently favoured company, shelduck

And a couple, much nearer, of Black-headed gulls

Minack Theatre tomorrow. What else?

Cornwall 2022 – 3. A day to stay home – mostly

Tags

Black-headed gull, Canada goose, Carnsew Pool, curlew, European Regional Development Fund, Great black-backed gull, Hayle, Hayle North Quay Development, Hayle Station, Herring gull, Little egret, oystercatcher, Rafa Nadal, Rock and Roll Politics, Serena Williams, shelduck, South West Coast Path, Steve Richards, The Old Quay House

Tuesday, 28th June. The first full day of my holiday, and the weather forecast for Cornwall, especially for the afternoon, was awful. But I’d known this for days, so was well-prepared not to do much.

It was high tide at 5.45 a.m.

I zoomed in to the cranes – of the mechanical kind – way across the water, to the north.

And went back to bed. By the time I was ready to have the breakfast awaiting me in the fridge, the tide was well on its way out.

Feeling I shouldn’t stay in all day, and with the weather forecast only for possible showers in the morning, I decided to do a little exploration locally, and just to take a walk into Hayle town, along a tiny part of the South West Coast Path (SWCP). As I set off, the play area of The Old Quay House was to my left. (My room is furthest away, behind the smaller tree.) The weather was definitely not such as would encourage other residents to sit out.

The SWCP route took me along The Causeway, beside the estuary. This was very busy, and I remain puzzled as to why so many would take it, as it leads through Hayle town, when the A30 bypass was so near. They can’t all have been wanting to end their journeys in Hayle can they? Fortunately there was a footpath all the way along, even if it did mean crossing the road a couple of times. Plenty of wildflowers along the way, including these orchids.

I was amused at the footprints left by the Shelduck.

‘Heyl’ means ‘estuary’ in Cornish.

I learned later in the week that Hayle has a very interesting history, and I must find out more, perhaps by visiting its Heritage Centre, if – hopefully when – I return to the area. This Wikipedia entry confirms!

The SWCP leaves the main road leftwards, briefly to take a path by Carnsew Pool, said to be of ornithological interest. (This map shows much of my walk.)

However, the path was very tricky at some points, due to erosion, especially for someone whose balance is less sure than it used to be, and who had not bothered to take her walking pole with her.

I resolved to stick to the road on on the way back – the sighting of one solitary Little egret not being sufficient enticement to risk the path again.

The SWCP returned to The Causeway, which itself went right then immediately left under the mainline railway viaduct.

South Quay

Along the quayside, there followed a sequence of indications of Hayle’s past innovative and industrial importance.

I now had the choice of following the SWCP, along North Quay, or turning right along the main road. I decided on the former, but now know I made the wrong choice. Following the road would have taken me to some more mudflats and the possibility of seeing some more waders and other birds.

Between South Quay and North Quay was East Quay.

Cornwall voted Leave in 2016.

In deciding to follow the SWCP, I had basically decided sadly to walk alongside what turned out to be a huge building site, the controversial North Quay Development. (Incidentally, looking at various estate agents’ windows during the week, I was horrified at property prices in the area. No wonder local people have such a housing problem.) I walked along it for about 15 minutes, but it was clear that there was to be nothing of interest for a while more,

so I turned round, given also that time was passing.

View as I turned round

When I got back to East Quay, I noticed a footpath to Hayle Station. Reckoning that this would be much quieter than the main road, that the station would not be far from the viaduct, and that there must be somewhere to get coffee near the station, I took it.

Other than this panel, I saw no evidence of this project wittingly.

There was coffee. In a place which also sold second-hand clothing and tourist trinkets. A bit noisy as behind me there were two pairs of women, each putting the world to rights (in ways which I would have disputed) rather loudly. But there was coffee.

I retraced my steps back to The Old Quay House, entirely along The Causeway this time. Not too many photographs – the rain promised for the afternoon (it was indeed by now just midday) was starting.

The Old Quay House left, the white gable my room

Back in my room, I looked out across the estuary. The building works are scarcely visible in this zoomed photo through the teeming rain.

I ventured out again in the rain, first to a nearby wine shop – I had forgotten to buy a bottle at M and S the day before – and then to The Old Quay House’s dining room for a seafood kebab and a lemon cheesecake.

The afternoon was spent tucked up in my room, watching Rafa and Serena (her last Wimbledon appearance?), while simultaneously knitting, or listening to Steve Richards’s latest ‘Rock&Roll Politics’ podcast. (I found that triple-tasking was beyond me.)

I did just peek out of the doors around 3 p.m., to see Great black-back Gulls and Herring Gulls looking pretty miserable.

By the next high tide, around 6 p.m., the weather was beginning to clear up.

Black-headed gull

Herring gull, as the tide starts to go out again (it seemed relentless!)

The gang of Canada geese

Oystercatcher

Curlew

Little egret

And to my delight a family of Canada geese. The babies must be pretty young. They soon start to resemble their parents…

At 8 p.m. all was calm, presaging a much better day tomorrow – and that was very important to me. I had grand plans for it …

Cornwall 2022 – 2. The Old Quay House

Tags

Black-headed gull, Canada goose, curlew, Herring gull, Lelant Saltings, Little egret, Mute swan, oystercatcher, shelduck, The Old Quay House

It was about an hour from The Lost Gardens of Heligan to the out-of-town shopping centre near where I was to stay, and I called in at the Marks and Spencer food hall there for a few provisions. Five minutes later I was settling into my room in The Old Quay House. In 2021, I had chosen a very low budget B and B place in Penzance, which was fine if I just wanted to sleep there and have breakfast. But in less good weather (and sadly Cornwall does have quite a bit of that), or when I just didn’t want to go out, it had been far from satisfactory, having no comfortable chair to sit in, very little space, a small window looking on to back yards, and no garden to sit in. So this time, I had looked for a places equally, if not more, convenient for getting around, and with amenities that had been lacking in the Penzance accommodation.

It meant paying, a lot more, but my goodness it was worth it. I had looked in the Hayle area for convenience. There did not seem to be an enormous number of hotels there, but I could not have found a better setting. Not just a vista, but an RSPB reserve, at the head of an estuary, with the tide coming and going twice a day. A private patio. A decent size room. Windows on three sides. Continental breakfast provided in the room the day before, and a fridge to keep a few provisions. A mainline railway station, St Erth, 15 minutes’ walk away, and as I discovered, some handy bus stops and routes very nearby.

I remembered to take some photos before I started spreading my belongings around.

Of course the first thing I did was to open the patio doors. The tide had just turned, and was beginning to rush out over the flat estuary.

The first bird I noticed was a solitary juvenile Herring gull.

Returning indoors, I was immediately pulled outside again by the haunting sound of …. a Curlew!

Further out, there was a Mute swan. Sadly, it became clear through the week that there was only the one.

In the distance, with a little-used branch line station, Lelant Saltings, in the background, the ‘gang’ as I came to call them, of Canada geese emerged from one of the creeks.

Through the evening I kept going out on to the patio. (It was quite chilly.)

The Curlew again.

It took me a while to identify these, but they are young Shelduck.

Black-headed gull

Zooming in on Lelant Saltings station.

The tide has a lot further to to go out yet. Apart from a couple of wide feeder creeks, the water will disappear entirely.

Oystercatcher

The gang in the distance

I was pleased to see a Little egret by one of the creeks, lit by the setting sun. I learned that this was a favourite spot.

For some days, the next day (Tuesday’s) weather forecast had been appalling, especially in the afternoon, so I had my plan B ready…

Yeo Valley and Chew Valley

Tags

Black-headed gull, Bristol Water, Chelsea Flower Show, Chew Valley, Chew Valley Lake, mallard, moorhen, Salt and Malt, shoveler, Yeo Valley, Yeo Valley Organic Garden

Anyone following the Chelsea Flower Show this autumn (it’s normally held in spring) will be familiar with the name, Yeo Valley, makers of organic dairy products. Their organic garden won the People’s Choice Award for large show garden this year, not bad for first-time participants.

I had visited their garden, with my friend, Zoe, previously – it is situated roughly halfway between the homes of each of us – but the weather had been miserable on that occasion, and we didn’t get as much from the outing as we might have done. Our birthdays fall close to each other, and, for our October birthday ‘first Friday’ monthly walk, we decided to visit the garden, and make a day of it, visiting other places in the area afterwards. We went on the second Saturday, as in October the garden only opens to the public on Saturdays, and this was forecast to have better weather than the first.

In fact the weather was gorgeous. The autumn mist above us allowed the hazy sun to bless us early in the morning, and had disappeared entirely by lunchtime. My camera clicked away – I couldn’t restrain it. In the order I took them:

At the entrance – some of the plants returned from the Chelsea Flower Show, awaiting the reconstruction of the Show Garden

Sarah Mead, head gardener, resident for 25 years and original developer of the garden

On 23rd November, I shall be ‘going to’ this talk by Sarah Mead and designer Tom Massey, on how the Show Garden came about.

One of several metal sculptures in the garden

We are approaching the café where we will stop for coffee

View from the café’s terrace

The egg is that featured in the show garden, though I imagine this may only be a temporary placement

Blagdon Lake in the distance

A small woodland area

Closer inspection of the egg when occasion offered

Zoe told me that this building has some connection with the planning in BBC2’s ‘Your Garden Made Perfect’.

A small boy and a big girl play with the mirrors

Given that it was getting on for mid-October, there was an amazing amount of colour.

At midday our allotted time was up, and we had seen just about everything there was to be seen. Zoe knew of a great fish and chips place, Salt and Malt, by the side of Chew Valley Lake, just a short distance away. Alas, I took photos of neither the view nor the fish and chips, but both were very good.

We drove round the Lake to the next car park, intending to do the short ‘Grebe Walk’, which would take us firstly through some woodland, and then along the lake to see, theoretically, grebes among other birds.

But on the return leg we saw nothing but reeds in the lake at that end. Whether this was deliberate cultivation for wildlife reasons, or because of Covid-related (or other) neglect we could not tell.

We walked on beyond the car park to see what we could see. We couldn’t get closer to the lake than this.

Zooming my camera showed me that the boats were colourful.

And, looking back, gave me the chance to see some unidentifiable birds.

We had no desire to find ourselves back at the fish and chip place, so turned back to where our car was parked, with a view to winding down from our day’s outing. The drive back to Zoe’s, where my car was, took us along a quite busy road, which serves as a dam of the lake, and which is actually a reservoir owned by Bristol Water, the fifth-largest artificial lake in England. The lake is also a nature reserve and an SSSI.

There were many people leaning on the rail, but the birds were unfazed.

Mr and Mrs Mallard

Black-headed gull in winter plumage keeping watch while his friends take a nap

Shoveller duck – eclipse plumage – and ?young moorhens

Moorhen

Zoe and I had not quite finished putting the world to rights, so before I got into my car, we had a cup of tea in her garden, and I admired the mini-woodland she and her husband are creating there.