As you can see the weather was a little more than disappointing – will it get better?
Arrived at Daphne’s before 1400 hours.
Thursday 21st June
Pulled off the drive at 0517 hours, 17 minutes later than planned, Michael driving. Surprised at how much traffic there was.
First stop Frankley Services. No hold-ups until approaching Junction 10. Slow from there to M5 turn off, Junction 8.
Next stop Sedgemere Services where Suzie took over driving.
Changed back to Michael as we approached the roundabout where we turn off the A30 on to the A39 road to Truro.
As you can see the weather was a little more than disappointing – will it get better?
Arrived at Daphne’s before 1400 hours.
Friday 22nd June
Mid afternoon went to the Trelissick Estate and, with an ice cream,
the view to our left as we set off to walk round the northern part of the Woodland Walk and as we descended to Lamouth Creek
a distant view of Roundwood Quay
The same view from sea level, well almost. Large redundant ships have been moored up in the Fal for many years.
Saturday 23rd June
In the a afternoon we went down to Falmouth.
How many times have I taken these photos from the Gasworks car park? The Docks, Town Marina, Port Pendennis Marina and the Museum - and looking across to Flushing.
(There is a Falmouth Marina but it's up river, to the left of the second photo.)
Sunday 24th June – Suzie’s birthday
Suzie and Daphne went to church for communion. I chose to walk down to Penryn.
Today's photos are from my old mobile so not very clear. Walked down to Penryn Quay. Along bottom road and up through convent, now Tremough Campas, to Treliever Road.
Finished pulling the little flowering Cherry tree up, while I waited for Daphne and Suzie to come home from church.
Back to camera - Daphne's back garden is plagued with magpies and rabbits.
At church the congregation sang Happy Birthday Suzie.
In the afternoon we went to The Waymarker, “A Rural Retreat for a Sweet or Savoury Treat” – their slogan. Daphne arranged a candle on Suzie’s cake and the clientele sang Happy Birthday for her, she wasn't’t the only birthday girl present!
Went down to Grebe Beach, the first beach Frank took us to.
The shell seekers?
As we arrived back at the car park we noticed a poster advertising J Class boat racing next week?
In the evening we watched the football - England
Monday 25th June
Cleared more pampas grass and took two loads to the tip – Household Waste Recycling Centre.
Not a very nice day, rained most of the time from mid-morning.
Watched some tennis – Wimbledon.
Tuesday 26th June
Went down into Falmouth to watch the J Class boats ‘race’. Daphne parked on the marine drive and we walked up to Little Dennis Point to watch the boats.
Flora on the way up to the Point.
Sadly it was very misty and they were in the distance. Here they are manoeuvring for the start and later on the second leg. Ranger, the white one, won this first race.
We had been stood around for a couple of hours so we had a cup of soup from one of the vendors.
A school of future hard men?
Later had baked potato and cheese in Sainsbury’s.
Suzie and Daphne did some weeding on the rear terrace. Daphne's front garden, a typical Cornish hedge with a spray of a flower that is common throughout the area - meant to bring some home but forgot.
Later we went down into Falmouth to look at the J Boats in the Marina and the winner of the first race in close-up
Wednesday 27th June
Glendurgan - A beautiful National Trust garden. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
We walked across the top and then down the right-hand side.
The garden seems to be at its best this year. The maze from the top and side.
Daphne and Suzie always finding something of interest among the many varied plants.
We reached the bottom and went through the gates on to the beach. The man in the dinghy spent some time before he eventually got into it and rowed out to a boat. This woman looked quite dangerous, a harpoon of sorts in her hand.
We were watching the boats on the moorings when, suddenly, out of the mist loomed this spinnaker - a racing dinghy. Suzie's talking to a robin, she actually almost got to touching distance before he flew away.
On the way back now. I was allowed to go off on the high path. The maze from the top path
This photo shows the water still on the leaves. It rained in the morning and we were lucky to get out in the afternoon.
Two more interesting women. Daphne and Suzie ordering my first Cornish Cream Tea of the holiday.
Thursday 28th June
Second anniversary of Frank’s death. We planned to have lunch out to celebrate the old ladies’ birthdays and in memory of Frank.
A miserable morning but it brightened up so we set off for the Lizard. After only a few miles the mist came down. As we arrived at the point you couldn't see very far, not the sea nor the lighthouse but we could hear the foghorn - for the first time in all those years.
We settled down in the Polpeor café and ordered. Crab salad for me. The most southerly cafe in Britain. Slowly the mist lifted as we ate our lunch, the lighthouse came into view and the sun broke through.
After lunch Suzie wanted to walk down to the shore, to go as far south as possible. This is the road down to the old lifeboat station, now moved to Kilcobben Cove. It is now used by the local fishermen for launching their boats.
The old slipway for the lifeboat. These steps lead to nowhere, they are alongside the old boathouse, but they must have had a purpose at one time. Looking out to the coastal path going west and north.
Walking back up the slip road.
Daphne checking why her new membership of the NT hadn't come through? We set off on our walk east along the coastal path. Lloyds Signal Station came into view with the Coast Watch Hut as well. Bumble Rock and the Housel Bay Hotel where Frank and Daphne took us once to celebrate Suzie's birthday - that was a sunny week!
The Lighthouse from the eastern side. I first went round the lighthouse in 1959 when it was manned. It is automated now but is open as a museum. The inveterate texter.
Scrambling down a very steep set of steps with a drop on the outside. The view at the bottom, where we had come from - you can just make out the steps - and resting to get over the exertions.
An interesting traditional rigged boat - top-sail cutter rig. Lichen
The National Coast Watch Station at Bass Point this was as far as we walked along the coast path. We were a little tired so abandoned our plan to walk round to the lifeboat station at Kilcobben Cove
We set off back from the station across the fields back into Lizard Village where we had a cup of tea and a cake/scone – the café had gluten free scones, before the fifteen minute walk down to the Point to the car.
Friday 29th June
Judith's birthday
Carwinion Garden and down to beach.
The first tree that caught our attention as Daphne drove into the estate, it's on The Island
Last photo Suzie and Daphne are sitting in Jane's own Secret Garden - Daphne didn't wish to be photographed?
The sculpture is 'Carmen in the Wood' by Peter Boex, inspired by Isadora Duncan.
We're on the public footpath leading down to the beach, again on the Helford River. I think this is the ghost boat we saw at Durgan, why is the Jolly Roger flying on the raft/floating thing?
This garden is noted for the many species of bamboo.
We made it back to the house, my second cream tea. Suzie had a jam split and Daphne had a treacle split. These are the cultivated flowers near the house
Saturday 30th June
More ‘gardening’. Daphne wanted more ‘scrub’ clearance where we had started last year. I set about the task, not sure where to start but once I got going it became clearer, in more sense than one. Suzie and Daphne cut up and bagged the debris I was creating. We began to see into next door’s garden and eventually they came to talk to us. I made two trips to the tip, while Daphne and Sue made dinner or is it lunch?
In the afternoon Daphne took us down to Little Dennis to see the last race of the J Boats and we were extremely lucky as we got there, amid the jumble of cars, just in time to see the boats finishing off the point, the first finishing gun really startling us.
Ranger finishing second, Lionheart bearing away having won.
Velsheda finishing third.
Rainbow had had a gear failure and retired.
Lionheart
Ranger - second today but overall winner.
Velsheda - the only original J Boat remaining, all the others are replicas
We strolled down Cliff Road to Castle Drive where Daphne had managed to park the car some way away. We watched a kite surfer who the next day we learned had to be rescued.
We went to the back of the museum to see the boats packing up. All the sails appeared to be being taken away by the manufacturers’ vehicles. There we several containers on the quayside which appeared to be workshops and storage for the boats’ equipment. The four boats are all one hundred and forty foot long and reputed to cost over twenty million pounds each.
Rainbow, Lionheart and Ranger, the masts are Rainbow and Ranger.
Falmouth, Town Marina in the distance, Pendennis Marina on the right.
We asked around for details of next week’s ‘Pendennis Cup’, more yacht racing but no one seemed to know anything until we got to the Town marina where the man looked on the internet for us.
Yachts for the Pendennis Cup, some are hidden in the third photo.
As the sun was shining we decided to go round to the Pandora Inn for tea, last time we came down the Pandora had been burnt down, as we thought but it seems only the roof and upstairs had been burnt and destroyed.
View from our table inside.
Sunday 1st July
Suzie and Daphne went to church for communion. I chose to walk again. I set off in the car towards Durgan but realised there was very little petrol in it so, as I’d no money or cards on me and couldn’t get into the house, I returned and left the car at Penvean.
It was now 0920 hours. I didn’t want to walk into Penryn again so I set off along the bypass and decided to walk to Maenporth. College reservoir.
My first view of the sea
This must be Maenporth at last, taken longer than expected.
Maenporth Beach. This picture is a merged' photo of three separate photos, hence the dark/light areas which don't look right.
I had intended to walk along the coast path towards Rosemullion Head and then head back to Penvean but as time was running out I set off back home along the road.
My last view of the sea today, or so I thought. I left the road along a path, which took me through Mawnan Smith. I met a young woman who asked me how far it was to Falmouth and I worked out it was around four to five miles then a car stopped asking for Glendurgan, which the young woman directed them to but I said it was closed and told them to drive a little further on to Trebah.
Argal Reservoir and over the reservoir through a gap in the hedge, Mabe Church where Daphne and Suzie had been - hope they have the lunch ready.
Model yacht racing on Argal Reservoir.
Eventually I arrived back, worn out three and a quarter hours later, 1235 hours, to find that dinner was almost ready.
In the afternoon we went to Trebah Garden, next to Glendurgan and very much alike.
Nearly down to the beach
where I had my ‘paddle’. It was very cold so didn’t spend much time on the edge of the receding tide.
This time we all agreed to walk back up on the top path, eastern side. The bridge from above, a lovely view part way along. White Red Hot Pokers, of which we saw several examples over the days.
In the evening, whilst it was raining again, we watched the football on TV. Spain won the European Championship.
Monday 2nd July
Daphne’s birthday. (Used to be Auntie Nora’s too) It had rained all night and it was still raining! Daphne went off to art class. We were supposed to carry on gardening but it was too wet.
We never strayed from the house today!
Tuesday 3rd July
Used to be my mother’s birthday. Still raining so unable to do any gardening. Never mind after breakfast we decided to go out anyway. Marazion – Penzance – St. Ives.
We set off reasonably optimistic but it seemed to get worse, visibility down to a couple of hundred yards and very low cloud.
Parked at Marazion, our first stop. Never seen or perhaps not seen St. Michael's Mount like this before. Find the toilets first.
Posing before St. Michael’s Mount before lunch but after the toilets.
We had a ‘posh’ lunch in Ben’s Cornish Kitchen. Last time we ate here it was run by two dear old ladies who must have retired or given up the ghost. The café has moved upmarket and so have the prices £66 for the three of us – never mind we’re on holiday and it is Daphne's birthday.
Still raining. The rain was persistent, varying between drizzle and heavy showers. The few moments when it may have eased the wind gave the impression that it hadn’t by blowing rainwater off the trees and buildings.
We moved on to Penzance where we visited Penlee House, an art gallery and museum. There was an exhibition of Laura Knight’s Paintings,which we enjoyed and found almost inspirational. I liked some of the paintings so bought the book but lo! They were all in except the ones I particularly liked: the paintings that reminded me of my Grandad and the farming scenes associated with my summer holidays with him.
We had a cup of tea in the little café afterwards, arguing who should pay again, and then drove home - St. Ives was abandoned as Daphne wasn't feeling well and it was still raining.
Watched tennis in the evening from a rain-swept Wimbledon.
Wednesday 4th July
American Independence Day. Still raining!
Sunshine at last! We went down to ASDA to fill up for the journey home and get some water then drove down to Pendennis Point.
The Pendennis Cup Boats were some way offshore. As with the J Boats they seemed to be starting way out in the Bay. Another onlooker said it would be 1600 hours before they finished off Pendennis Point. I didn't think it was worth waiting around just for me.
Some time later, they appear to be on the second leg
Images lifted from web site above
These ships anchored in the bay have had a grandstand view of all the racing.
We had a cup of tea and cake at Gyllingvase,
the gardens behind Gyllingvase (this is a photomerge that looks OK), before returning to Penvean.
Suzie and Daphne had been told in church that the Pendennis Cup was starting from Helford tonight but we turned up but there weren't any Pendennis Cup yachts around, just a few dinghies and small cruisers.
Looking the other way towards Helford Passage, another attempt at photomerge - the three photos went knitted together Ok but should I be on manual setting using the same exposure.
Thursday 5th July
Day of departure for home. We packed in the morning and after Daphne had made us lunch we left at 1400 hours. We had a good run home stopping once for relief and once to change drivers. We arrived home at 2100hours to find that Steven had fitted two new doors, well they used to be in his house, to our kitchen - Great.
