CORNWALL 2017: Spit Cliffs Walk to Charlestown

After a sunny morning in Mevagissey's fishing port (next post), Pauline, Astrid and I took a 4-mile walk along the Spit Cliffs to Charlestown that afternoon...midst on-n-off rain.

Not exactly sure where we started the walk, but somewhere near the right red dot, walking west.

See the seagull and trees north of the path?  Yup.  That's what you'll see coming up.
[Google image]

Once Chris dropped us off, we started walking along a fenced path that eventually took us 

to the landmark Par China Clay Works factory out in the open, overlooking the English Channel.

The first thing we saw was a war bunker...and off to the left, kite surfers.

It was a perfect, windy, blustery day...great for a walk.

And there we saw Spit Beach, after which the Spit Cliffs are named.

With the clay works factory fading in the distance, we started our walk along the rugged coastline.

We saw it all from above, of course, but you can see it here from below, looking up.

Deposits in the cliffs were formed 120,000 years ago when the sea levels were 5-8 meters higher.

Adding unexpected interest to our walk, the Carlyon Bay Golf Course followed us on our right.

The 18-hole course is considered one of the most spectacular courses anywhere.  

Thanks to Google, here's a bird's-eye view of our walk between the cliffs and the golf course.
You can even see the path.

It wasn't raining yet.  Lots of time to stop and smell the roses.

But then it came...on and off for the next several minutes.

Astrid and I had brought our ponchos, and I quickly loaned my rain jacket to Pauline. who hadn't.

What a motley crew.

As you know by now, nothing rains on our parade!

After every wildflower, Pauline told me it's name.

That center one is wild garlic, which I first saw another year, while with Chad and Norma.

By now we had left the golf course behind...

...and were getting close to Charlestown, our destination.

Pauline knew the coast-watch station was coming up, so she went down to see if someone was there.

Yes, there was.  A volunteer lady was [wo]manning the booth.

In her past life she had been a psychiatric nurse!

Not that much of a stretch from saving lives to saving ships?

From there, we could almost taste it coming up....

Charlestown!  The village of Poldark fame, yes!

We had visited it last September and had fun seeing it again, coming in from the east.

I'm showing this collage because I often think I never stop to SEE.

Astrid reminded me that I really do...but I need to do it more often, without taking photos.

Don't you love the honor box!

When we got back home, we looked at our images and watched the rain.

In spite of saying this a lot, it really doesn't get much better than this!

Jack Frost and Some Macro Fun

Here's another break (from the Vasse trip in December) to keep us present with the here-n-now...which happens to finally have below-freezing temps here in Gorinchem.  Other places in the Netherlands have had snow, but not here...yet.

At least Jack Frost has visited!  So on Monday, walking home after grocery shopping, I took pics.  I'm still trying to make my Canon Powershot max its limit, hoping not to get out my big-girl camera and macro lens.  I'll keep trying....

This is pretty much in order of what I saw from beginning to end.

It intrigued my how some had frost and others didn't.

And how some had LOTS of ice crystals.

Brrrrrrrrr.

It really was cold but we all were in heaven.

Some more than others.

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Still in the macro mode, a couple days earlier, I had to capture Astrid's amaryllis.

How is it possible they can grow so tall?  And this is the second bloom!

As you see, I had to stand on a chair (still in my pyjamas on a Saturday morning).

Later that afternoon we drove to our sister city, Woudrichem, across the river,

to buy more ingredients from the windmill for Astrid's bread machine.

Afterwards, for lunch, we dined at the nearby De Stroming restaurant...always a photo op.

[We plan to take sister Ruth and hubby there in July!]
The doggie vane was an added "gift" on the drive home.

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One last fun thing from Monday night, because I had free passes to the show skating in nearby Dordrecht,
we went to see what it was like:

I ended up having so much fun watching and filming Astrid.
And though neither one of us needs to do it again, Astrid said it was totally worth it.
Even worth her taking Tuesday off work, she said (since we got home at midnight).

England 2015: Day 7--Chedworth Roman Villa and Malmesbury Abbey

Here we are, Folks, at the end of the week in England, one of my 70th-birthday gifts to me, myself and I.  Hello.  Mission accomplished!

It was our last full day with Lisl and Michael and so happened to be on Sunday, Father's Day, 21 June.  So off we went, first to the Chedworth Roman Villa 50 miles away over back, windy roads.

  It's one of the largest Roman villas in England and from the early 2nd to 4th centuries.

But true to English form, we immediately went for coffee break when we arrived.

Since I don't like just plain coffe, I usually find something else...like Ginger Beer!

And because the shop was nearby, yes, we bought a Beerus Britannicus to take home.

Then we were off to see the mosaics, still under excavation.

It's painstaking work to get it all back together as it once was.

Does it blow your mind that we're talking about close to 2000 years ago???

You know those Romans, of course, and their baths.

Almost everything we know today about water we learned from them.

This villa was discovered in 1864 and is believed to have been a farm

of a very wealthy Roman, founded in 120 AD.

It's still being excavated, as funds are available.

I think of Mom and how she would be beyond herself at such a place.

Among all the other things, she was an archeological nut!

Did you know that escargot snails were brought to England by the Romans?

They run wild and free at this Villa and are protected.

Look how big they are (and surely very tasty)!

As happens at such tourist attractions, there were shows and exhibitions.

What did the Romans do, of course, but fight the rest of the world.  HA!

And because it was Father's Day, the kids got to fight their dads.

How fun is that!

It worked up an appetite for a splendid picnic lunch, thanks to Lisl and Michael.

Talk about living the good life.

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 On our way to the Malmesbury Abbey, we drove 8 miles from Chedworth

to the Cirencester/Corinium Ampitheatre from the early 2nd century.

It's approximately 150 x 135 feet and probably held up to 8,000 people.

Don't you wonder what history those grassy mounds could tell!

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Malmesbury Abbey, from the 7th century, was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.

When we arrived, we saw hints of it from its back side along the weir.

 We then climbed steps over these inlaid history markers to the abbey....

 ...passing the world-famous Abby House Gardens along the way.

We stopped only long enough to get a good look at the naked wrestlers.

Apparently the present owners tend the 5-acre garden naked!

We continued to wind our way around the ancient ruins.

And just before getting to the entrance, we walked to the nearby Market Cross for tea break.

The English (and the Dutch, I might add) really do take these breaks seriously.

What a spectacular view on all sides of the abbey but especially at the front.

Surely every detail tells a story before you even enter.

Don't you love that it's dog-friendly!

When we entered, the late-afternoon service was already in session.

But the lady at the back told us to make ourselves at home, take photos..."no one will care."

Much of the abbey still survives, with this existing third of the nave still in active service.

This video doesn't do the sound justice but...
let's just say my deepest soul welled up with tears.

 As we left and rounded back to where we had first started,
I couldn't think of a better place to end the England 2015 trip.

It was the crowning touch to one of my best birthday gifts ever.

THANK YOU, Lisl and Michael, for knowing.  You know me...
sometimes better than I know myself?!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And now, with grandson Nicholas arriving tomorrow from Atlanta for two whole weeks,
I'm ready to concentrate on yet another 70th-birthday gift to me, myself and I.
Life really doesn't get better than this.

England 2015: Day 3--Old Parish Churches in North Cornwall

When I first planned this trip to England for my 70th birthday, a gift to myself, I told Lisl I wanted to see some of the ancient churches of England.  I like the huge cathedrals, of course (one of which is coming), but it's the smaller parish churches that are most soulful to me. 

This is that day.  If you're not careful, it'll all run together for you, especially when you see the outside architecture.  But the insides are as different from each other as can possibly be.  Just watch.

1.  St. Winwaloe Church, Poundstock, North Cornwall, 13th century.

Lisl and Pauline have been friends forever.  This is old-hat for them.

But they led the way for my own amazement...because they're still amazed, too. 

They had no clue why the chairs were decorated like this.  

This was Wednesday, 17 June.  Left over from a weekend wedding, perhaps?

The old wood.  The chairs.  The hymnals.  The cushions.

And a churchyard full of old gravestones.

It so happens that the Poundstock Gildhouse is also on the churchyard.

It's "the best perserved example in Cornwall of a late medieval church house which has been in continuous use since it was built.  Church houses were built with the aim of using them as extensions of the church and the one in Poundstock is contemporary with the late phases of the medieval church building."

 I can imagine a church council meeting in there, similar to a Native American council house.

A very nice gentleman volunteer showed us around the place.
He's wearing the Cornwall national tartan around his wrist.

They all had fun downstairs dressing me up.
HA!  If we can't take a joke!

2.  St. Mary's Church, Week, North Cornwall, built in 1643. 

 See what I mean about similar outside architecture?

But the inside is definitely different from the first church.

But still, the old wood.  The chairs.  The hymnals.  The cushions.

3.  St. Anne's Church, Whitstone, North Cornwall, 15th century.

It so happens this was the only church not open that day,

and the keeper of the key from the nearby house was not there.

But because of the overgrown churchyard, it was very soulful to me.

I didn't need to go inside this church that day.

4.  St. Marwenne's Church, Marhamchurch, North Cornwall, 16th century.

You notice, of course, that I have a soft spot for the Celtic crosses.

All crosses, for that matter.

Again, different on the inside.

But still, the old wood.  The chairs.  The hymnals.  The cushions.

 That floor (top-left) is made of slate that's stood on end (just the edges that you see).

And yes, we always examined the doors...and windows!

5.  St. Swithin's Church, Launcells, North Cornwall, 15th century.

This was the ultimate goal of our church-hopping day and appropriately the last.

This is the oldest Cornwall church that escaped Victorian restoration.

I was most impressed by how full of light it was.

And still with the old wood.  The chairs.  The hymnals.  The cushions.

 We almost didn't make it to this church because it was late in the day.

But it ended up being a healing place for us all.

And once again...with the overgrown churchyard, it seemed extra soulful.

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All 5 of the above churches are in the NW area of Cornwall near the city of Bude.

We started out from the St. Austell area, to give perspective, 40 miles away.

But because of one-lane roads most of the way, it took time and guts to get from church to church.

Bless Pauline for daring the drive!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
 

We saw more than the churches, of course, as we drove from here to there.

This is my first ever CAMEL weathervane, from...where else...Camelford, England.

(After 10-15 minutes, I gave up on the bird flying away.)

We even had a picnic after the first church, thanks to Pauline and Lisl!

 And some flowers, though surely I saw hundreds more.

We even stopped in Bude for the obligatory English afternoon tea.

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

Kernow = Cornwall in Cornish.
Now you know.