Infra-red at Cotehele

Our 'usual' walk around Cotehele but this time with my Infra-red camera. For those who might be vaguely interested, I've set the white balance of the camera on green so greens appear as white on the images. Without this, the images come out as the more typical reds of IR. I find these rather difficult to interpret so rarely set the camera this way. Sometimes IR adds something, quite often it doesn't. It's always a voyage of discovery.

Calstock Viaduct

The front of Cotehele House

In my humble opinion, one of the most impressive trees in Cotehele's gardens

The giant metal bees in the beehive garden statue

Another view of the same

The pond in the Top Garden

The flag on the Tower is flying at half-mast for HRH Prince Philip

The flower border in front of the house

These were bright red tulips and the lens flare catches the sun quite nicely

The flower border and house

Looking down through the woods onto the Morden stream

The Morden Stream

Crane at Cotehele Quay

I think this was a winch when it was in use

One weekend: two walks

One weekend; two walks over the border in Devon. The first walk was a partial repeat of one we did last week and the other was a new one for us on the edge of the Devon Great Consols mining area.

The first walk was linear, utilising both cars as a shuttle. We started in the car park of the Methodist Chapel in Sydenham Damerel and walked back to the Scrubtor car park. It was just under three miles and was necessary to try and find a thermal top we thought we'd dropped the week before. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

From the car park, looking across to Bodmin Moor. If you know what you are looking at, you can pick out Caradon Hill and Sharpitor. The tower of the church in Sydenham Damerel is just visible on the left.

A male Orange Tip butterfly, quite common at this time of year. I don't think the Celandine it's perched on is one of its food plants.

Almost at the end of the walk, with Kit Hill in the distance. At this point, we were probably 5 or so miles from home.

Just a granite post with its drill markings. When we had got this far, we had not retrieved the thermal top and we had written it off. 

Our second walk of the weekend was a circular one based on the Scrubtor car park we've used a few times recently. This time we took the Wheal Maria Trail that took us onto part of the Devon Great Consols site and around Blanchdown Wood. As the profile shows, it was a fairly strenuous 4 miles. And, guess what? The thermal top turned up in a rucksack that we'd forgotten we'd used the previous week. Smiles all around.

What used to be coppiced deciduous woodland. It needs a little TLC if it's ever to function that way again.

Buzzards are a common sight and I like the way the edges of the feathers are fringed with halo of light.

And another shot of the same bird. I wonder what it's like to be able to fly...as free as a bird.

The spoil heaps at Wheal Maria. Originally a copper mine, for many years it was the largest producer of arsenic in the world. The heaps were the result of much processing further up the slope.

My walking companions for this one.

Looking across to the spoil heaps of Wheal Josiah. I won't go into these sites in any detail as we really need to go back and have a good potter around. We haven't been up here for years. Perhaps we'll go up one evening to see if we can hear the nightjars that are rumoured to reside in the woods.

There is more detail in the photograph than there might appear at first glance, At the bottom can be seen the River Tamar and, in the middle, some buildings associated with the Gunnislake Clitters mine. Another site we really should revisit.

A Peacock butterfly. Beautiful to look at and, if I was a potential predator, I think those threatening eye-patterns would put me off attempting a meal. Its Latin name, Aglais io, is as delightful as its appearance.

No Covid passports required to visit Devon

 It was over the border into Devon for this walk. Our last couple of longer walks have taken in the moorland scenery of Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor; this one is predominantly through farmland. Starting in a car park on the perimeter of what was the Devon Great Consols Mine, our circular route took us out into the fields and byways of a rather secluded area at the top of the Tamar Valley. In part it was a reconnoitre for a walk we'll be doing with a couple of friends in a few days. As it turned out, it was worth doing in advance as a few map-reading errors were made, which we will not make when we repeat the walk. A very sunny day with a really pleasant temperature. Lots of butterflies around, mainly Orange Tips, but not one rested long enough for me to get a decent shot.

A rather convoluted route starting in the small car park at Scrubtor, It turned out to be just under 7 miles, although it would have been shorter if it weren't for a couple of unplanned wrong turnings. A very pleasant mix of quiet lanes, footpaths, fields, woodlands and tracks. As the elevation profile shows, it certainly had enough ups and downs to make us feel that we'd had some decent exercise. And we didn't pass anyone else on our way round.

We don't usually see Kit Hill from this direction. A keen eye can make out the route of the River Tamar and Greenscombe Woods, on the outskirts of Luckett.

The ground is warming up and farmers are planting their maize under plastic. From a distance the plastic looks like shimmering water. It's not a natural look but the growing crop soon masks the plastic.

One of the first trees to blossom - the Blackthorn or Sloe (Prunus spinosa).

A bank of Lesser Celandine on the roadside in the hamlet of Townlake. Apparently, the plant was a traditional remedy for piles; its common name of figwort alludes to ‘fig’ as an old name for piles. It comes as no surprise to learn that it was also known as pilewort but I don't think the makers of Anusol need fear any competition. An ointment of the roots was also said to cure corns and warts.

An impressive set of granite steps leading up to a decorative fieldgate. The size of these steps probably indicate the significance of this particular path - perhaps it was the main route between Townlake and the nearest church in Sydenham Damerel?

There is lots of Wild Garlic around but these are the only flowers we came across. Give it a week or so and they'll be out in profusion. If you don't like to smell of garlic, keep away from the woods when it's out. It's about this time of year when recipes for using Wild Garlic (aka Ramsons) appear in the press. Wild Garlic pesto seems the ubiquitous favourite at the moment.

St Mary's church in Sydenham Damerel, a hamlet just over the border in Devon. The eponymous parish is mainly agricultural, although there was a brief spasm of something else in the late 1700s when a couple of mines were in operation locally.

The church, dating from the 15th century, is now a single aisle (the nave) and is largely undecorated. No monuments, no stained glass...

....because the church was almost completely destroyed by fire in the mid-1950s. The tower and porch were saved. At the time, the decision was taken to rebuild the church with a single aisle and incorporate elements that could be salvaged into the new structure. The photograph shows the church ruins before the restoration.

Where the North Aisle used to be. There is a rumour that much of the stone from the church ruins can now be found in local walls and buildings.

There was a single War Grave in the graveyard and that was for Sergeant John Francis Richards (Service Number 1338721) of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was 21 years old when he died on 27th January 1944 Mr Google tells us that he was the sole occupant of a Master II training 'plane that was flying out of RAF Hodnet in Shropshire. At the time, Pilot Richards was serving in the 5th Pilots' Advanced Flying Unit, on a training session. He was just one of many pilots killed whilst doing just this. 

We all know that Victorian children were at risk of dying from a lot of diseases that we’ve eradicated or can control in the 21^st century, like smallpox, cholera, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, and dysentery (to name just a few). Death was a common visitor to Victorian households; and the younger one was, the more vulnerable he or she would be. So, it's not uncommon to come across headstones that list the names of deceased children. What is unusual about Sydenham Damerel is the number of such headstones. I can't remember a place with so many. Take the above headstone, listing the children of Thomas and Mary Ann Freeman:
Mary Ann Davey - died April 9th 1864, age 6 years
Richard - died May 1st 1864, age 8 years
Mary Ann - died July 9th 1859, age 4 months
William Henry - died April 13th 1865, age 9 months

And this one, with the children of Richard and Harriett Caddy:
Ann Harriett - died March 12th 1857, age 6 months and 13 days
Charles Arthur - died February 9th 1859, age 5 years and 8 months

And almost next door is the grave of Daniel Bunt Coppin and his children. Rather odd that there seemed to be space for an inscription of his wife but there was no mention of her. His children were:
Samuel Daniel - died March 27th 1853, age 4 weeks
Hugh - died November 30th 1856, age 5 weeks
Elizabeth Abigail - died April 6th 1858, age 5 weeks

And lastly, and only because this is where I gave up looking, the headstone of James and Elizabeth Giddy Jasper. Their children were:
Robert - died April 12th 1856, age 3 months
Richard - died January 11th 1859, age 2 years and 9 months

An unexpected and rather elaborate field gate. Modelled on an old penny-farthing bicycle? And is that a handle-bar moustache in the middle?

Looking over the fields towards Kit Hill, with the tower of Sydenham Damerel church in the midground.

Lunch stop in Portontown Woods. The canopy was just beginning to 'leaf up'. Mental note to self: this will be a great place to come and see the bluebells when they are out.

The track down to Catsbridge. Just a very pleasant place to walk.

Black Bulgar (Bulgaria inquinans) on a fallen trunk (possibly Ash). There were many dozens of these small black buttons scattered across the bark. When they are younger and 'fresher', they look and feel like a typical jelly fungus, but they’re actually not jelly fungi at all – scientifically speaking, as they are in the  division of Ascomycetes, instead of the real ‘Jelly fungi’ (Heterobasidiomycetes) which are in the division Basidiomycetes. So there you go – mycology lesson over! This isn’t a fungus that you'll find on any forager's list. However, in North-eastern China it is considered a delicacy. After careful preparation it seems that it’s fine to eat – but quite poisonous otherwise. Phytochromes (photoreceptors in fruiting body pigment) can cause serious food-sensitised solar dermatitis – which sounds rather uncomfortable. I think I’ll give it a miss!

Lockdown 3 Walks: #4:Lanes, hills, puddles and three parishes

 I started this one a while back so I'll finish...............
This walk was unusual for us as it was all on lanes with almost no footpaths or bridleways (there was just a little stretch at the end when we took the 'back' footpath from Venterdon into Stoke Climsland). We did it as a change at the height of the 'walk local' period and reckoned that the 2 mile drive to our starting point in Stoke Climsland village was within the spirit of the restrictions.

We started and ended at the car park at the Old School in Stoke Climsland. The walk was around 6.5 miles and took us through Bealsmill, Treburley, Penpill and Venterdon. Almost all on lanes, with a couple of 'interesting' hills and touching three parishes - Stoke Climsland, Lezant and South Hill. |And the puddles in the title? Read on.....

There's always something new to see on the lanes and this milestone is one of them. It is classed as an ancient monument by English Heritage and its listing tells us 'Milestone. Probably late C18. Granite. Rectangular section, rounded top. Inscribed "IV/+/C (for Callington)", I think the + means that the distance is taken from Callington church, but it might not be.

Looking over the fields towards Bealsmill Farm and Rezare. Just a nice pastoral scene.

Walking up the hill from Bealsmill, with typical Cornish hedges either side. Drivers beware: the hedges are more than likely to be rather unforgiving granite. Too early from primroses or daffodils.

The banks of the lanes are very effective screens for the surrounding countryside and, quite often, it's like walking in a tree-lined tunnel. But every now and again, a gateway offers a glimpse of what's beyond. If I was being poetical, I'd wax lyrical about the gateways offering a window into the world. 

A letterbox dating from the reign of Queen Victoria - hence the 'VR'. It would have been put up sometime between 1853-1901. Sadly, the number of these is in decline as building are being demolished and/or collections stopped, making them redundant. A shame as I think they are an important part of our social history and make a significant contribution to the character and appearance of the areas in which they are located. Without this one, the wall in Treburley would be just that, a wall. With it, the wall becomes a destination and a focal point for linking Treburley with the rest of the world.

We were actually going down this lane abut I took the photograph looking up. We were heading towards Trekenner Mill at the bottom of this hill. Trekenner Mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book and this lane would probably have been in existence then as the only route out to Trekenner and Treburley. I could imagine the carts being hauled up this incline by oxen and horses.

Two old milk churns acting as guardians to this farm entrance. Objects of mystery to recent generations but I can remember taking them full of milk up to the milk stand by Mr Lewis's farm ready for collection by the Cambrian Dairies lorry. There is a knack to manoeuvring a heavy churn into the right position on the stand. I had it once: I wonder if it's still there? Thinking about it, it is - it comes in handy when I'm shifting our large LPG bottles when they need refilling. A skill for life!

Heading uphill - again - towards Tresallack Farm. The lane to the right heads back to Bray Shop. Hard to believe that the National Speed Limit of 60mph applies to these lanes.

It was about this point that we realised that paddling along the lane in ice-cold water was not a good idea, particularly as we couldn’t make out where the dry bit restarted. So we retraced our route by scrambling along the hedge and then taking a shortcut across a field.

These are becoming quite rare - a block for mounting horses. 

A view of Stoke Climsland church that we don't often see. In the background is Kit Hill and, if you know where to look, you can just make out our house.