Cornwall

Thick clotted cream, green and grey, narrow roads, rugged coastline, ruins from tin mills, old stone churches, rain with sudden dramatic light streaming through; all this describes Cornwall.   As we planned the trip, I told Chris I wanted some time in rural areas, quiet, out of the way places and he picked a farm b&b (see the blog on food and lodgings) which fit the bill completely.  It was like settings for English drama.  In fact, several British TV series have been set in Cornwall including Poldark and Dr. Martin.

I often felt I was in the midst of a British novel.  Narrow roads between hedgerows, stone buildings right to the road edge, rain and gloomy skies.  We were there just a week or so before Storm Brian hit.  It was rainy but not stormy.   From our B&B we caught the tiny passenger shuttle boat across to Falmouth and enjoyed exploring.  We also drove along the coast, including the area known as the "tin coast" where ruins of old tin mines and mills remain.  Our favorite spot was probably Priest Cove, a tiny little fishing spot.  As luck would have it, the sun occasionally broke thru the slate skies and created the kind of lighting photographers love.

First, Falmouth:

From Falmouth looking across the harbor.  Our B&B would be at top of hill
on the right, just out of  view

Taken the evening before from the farm where we were staying.  Views from here reminded me a bit of
Sausalito and Tiburon, Marin County, CA....steep hillsides with houses and
businesses right down to the harbor and lots of sail boats.  There were also some working boats.

I took a hike from our farm house  through the estate to the waterfront.  This
gate leads to the estate house.  

Although Cornwall is southern England,  the British Isles are far enough north for
dramatic tidal fluctuations.  Both photos are taken from pier where our small passenger
ferry docked.  The top was when we arrived in the morning and the bottom when we left in the
afternoon.  

Side "street" in Falmouth

I usually don't photograph restrooms but made an exception for this one
on the dock in Falmouth

Please take a look at the earlier log posting labelled "food and lodgings" to see the old farmhouse where we stayed.  It was a peaceful and delightful spot.

Second, along the north coast of Cornwall:

Surfers and a hiker along the Cornwall coast

Roads are narrow but drivers were unfailingly polite.  The person closest to a wide spot, or to an actual lay-by which is the term for a small pull out, would pull over.  Having said they were unfailingly polite, I would add that that was in rural areas and small towns.  Heard lots of horns in London but we only used public transit there.  

You can see that in the following photos we had a bit of rain and fog.   These are along the west coast of Cornwall.  We headed to St. Ives which seemed too big, and too touristy.  I'm sure that it had its great spots, but we decided to continue driving towards the point towards Lands End, through little communities like Morvah, St. Just, and Zennor.  

We ate lunch at the pub across the street

Old chapel, now a tea house and  B&B in Zennor.  Thick, yellow, clotted cream. This place
caters to the hikers.  The UK has wonderful hiking trails and places like this provide overnight accomodations.

We had a morning tea break in Zennor and lunch at a pub in  Morvah when the rain, maybe I should say it was a heavy drizzle was at its most.  This is an area which once was a major tin mining and processing area.  The next two photos are of old mine ruins. 

Below: 
One of my favorite spots in our travels was tiny Priest Cove, not far from St. Just and Cape Cornwell.  It had both the remnants of the old mining industry and is still a small fishing cove.  Here are the shots.  I am sure the fact the sun kept breaking thru the dark clouds, casting incredible golden light probably had a lot to do with it being a favorite spot.

Old church at Priest Cove which served the mining community.  This fence post, runis of the church,
a gravestone and a wall are all that are left.  But what a view, especially as the clouds disappeared
looking north from the point.

Looking the other way is a solitary house.  If you click on the photo and enlarge it, you can
see remnants of the old tin mill to the left, almost at the midpoint.  Another closer shot is shown below.