Purdah Blog Part 4: Walking around Kelly Bray

The lock-down rubric says that you can drive to a walk as long as the walk is much longer than the drive to get there. Driving a mile to Kelly Bray to start a walk clearly falls within this and it was to Kelly Bray we went. An added advantage of starting there was that we could walk with a friend and, afterwards there was an opportunity to feast on Mrs G's famous cheese scones.

This was the route of one of our walks from Kelly Bray . It was around 3.5 miles and took us through woodland and along quiet country lanes.

A traditional Cornish hedge. A double faced wall with soil in the middle, into which trees are planted. In this case, the trees are beech. Makes for an interesting pattern.

An apple tree near the quarry on Kit Hill. I like to think that it came from an apple stump discarded by an old-time miner or quarry worker. Or perhaps not. Perhaps it came from an anti-social dog walker as he/she waited for their beast to finish defiling the path. Sorry, showing my prejudice here.

The stack at South Kit Hill mine, a tin mine dating from around 1850/1860. It wasn't particularly successful and closed because of a combination of poor yields and a messy legal action over allegations of fraud.

Red Valerian. Not a native plant as it was introduced from Mediterranean climes in the 1600s. It's a good source of nectar from May to October for bees, butterflies and moths.

We've got a pair of Coal Tits nesting in one of our walls. This is one of them on a fuchsia bush (thanks to Mick and Sandy for this).

Another shot of a Coal Tit. They move so quickly that it's quite difficult getting a decent photograph of them. They've obviously got a brood to feed and they are in and out of the nest every 5 or so minutes.

We've no chance of getting to a 'bluebell wood' so this stretch will have to do. Not bad, is it?

Red Campion. Very common but nonetheless attractive for that. A good source of nectar for insects with long tongues.

Looking across the fields at Whiteford towards Stoke Climsland church.

Wild Garlic or Ransomes. Bit of a Marmite plant. You either find the smell overpowering or you don't. I fall into the latter camp and quite like it.

A milestone giving the distance to Callington as 2 miles. I'm not sure what the '+' means. Perhaps St Mary's in Callington is the reference point? This milestone dates from the time when this was the old road from Callington to Launceston via Beales Mill bridge. When the Callington Turnpike Trust was established in 1785 this road was bypassed in favour of the route taken by present day A388 to Launceston via Wooda bridge and Treburley.

A mix of bluebells and Greater Stitchwort.