April 5-11, 2008

Cornwall
It was Spring Break and we loaded up all of our stuff (along with the Smith and Takacs families) and headed on down to Cornwall (the south-western most part of England). Carla was here visiting, too (poor Carla - it's her last visit here whilst we are living here). Instead of doing the whole hotel thing, we rented a "holiday cottage" (aka trailer) for the week. It's cheaper, in the end, and we brought or bought our food so we could cook-a-roni in the "cottage". Lucky Jane - she stayed in a "chalet" (she's getting mighty hoity-toity).

We stayed near a town called Perranporth - the first night there we took a walk along the beach ... low tide, you see. It was windy and a bit on the chilly side. Melissa had Gabby in her coat because she was shaking so much! Instead of doing the play-by-play, day-by-day thing, I'll just highlight the places we went ...

Land's End - We had beautiful weather! Sunny with blue skies (except for the snow/hail storm that came a little later in the day). I'm desperate to go to John O'Groats (Scotland's end of the line).

Diptford - We stopped and looked at a really quaint church here! We must have looked like locals because we were asked directions! (ha!)

Halwell - Another cute church made from an interesting stone - the blossoms were blooming!

Dartmouth Castle - The first castle built for artillery, this castle was the inspiration for Chaucer's A Shipman's Tale. We went to the castle in shifts (due to doggy issues) and walked down to a cove and found some interesting marine life. The church next to the castle, St. Petrox Church, dates to the 13th century.

Berry Pomeroy Castle - Stinking English Heritage place ... we got there 5 min. before the close and they wouldn't let us in. :( stinkpots

St. Michael's Mount - St Michael’s Mount is truly unique; a tiny, rocky island filled with astonishing history and natural beauty, yet still a living, working community of people. This is no dusty old museum – St Michael’s Mount is full of life, a place where ancient and modern sit side by side, and where nothing is quite as it seems … An island which you can walk to when the tide is low. A medieval castle that is still home to a modern family. A tranquil, beautiful location that has played its part in many furious battles.

Chysauster Ancient Village - Gabby especially loved running around this ancient village! This Iron Age settlement was originally occupied almost 2,000 years ago. The village consisted of stone-walled homesteads known as 'courtyard houses', found only on the Land's End peninsula and the Isles of Scilly. The houses line a 'village street', and each had an open central courtyard surrounded by a number of thatched rooms. There are also the remains of an enigmatic 'fogou' underground passage.

Perranporth - This is the name of the village where we stayed in our holiday trailer. The view from our little trailer area down to the village and the ocean were quite stupendous! BUT - don't be fooled ... they told us it was a 10 min. walk down to the beach. HAHA I'm still laughing.

Tintagel Castle - Of course, home to the King Arthur legends, this is our second time visiting this wonderful ruined castle. According to one legend, the infant Arthur was thrown by the waves on the beach by Merlin's cave. King Arthur's time in history was in the 5th century. He is identified with the known history of a Celtic chieftain of the period who led his countrymen in the West in their resistance against Saxon invaders. It is always difficult to prove if Arthur did exist but certainly there was a great warrior in the West of England who had some kind of fortress where Tintagel stands today.

Melissa decided that it would be awesome if she went for a little dippity doo in the cove ... bbrrrr! Unfortunately, no one joined her :)

Arthurian Centre - A nice building and history center which houses the "round table" for King Arthur and his Knights. The Hall is very tasteful and you watch a little presentation which is interesting. The stones used for the building came from many quarries all over Cornwall and the 73 stained glass windows are absolutely breathtaking! Just hang on to your camera! :)

St. Materiana (on Glebe Cliff) - From Tintagel Castle, you can see a little church on the cliff-side ... so we (Jane, Megan and I) decided to walk there! St Materiana's is an ancient church it has Norman origins, with some Saxon additions. It was built between 1080 and 1150.

Trevellas Coombe - On the way to the Blue Hills Tin Mine, we happened upon a pretty little area called Trevellas Coombe and a cove called Trevellas Porth - the beach was peebley and I understand it is very popular with both fishermen and snorkelers.

Blue Hills Tin Mine - Tin has been produced in this valley for centuries. There are many abandoned mines you see all along the countryside so we decided to go to one that was a working tin mine. It was interesting - we didn't go down any shafts or anything like that, but it was a good time.

St. Agnes & Museum - The charming village of St. Agnes lies inland north of Truro. It's an old mining village and is famous for the row of "Stippy Stappy" sea captain's cottages. The museum looked to be an old church and when we arrived, the employee working called in for extra help - we must have caused quite a stir with 16 people in our group! ;)

St. Mawes Castle - The best preserved and most elaborately decorated of Henry VIII's coastal fortresses, St Mawes was built to counter invasion threats from France and Spain. Its counterpart is Pendennis, on the other side of the Fal estuary. The clover-leaf shaped fort fell easily to landward attack by Parliamentarian forces in 1646, and was not properly refortified until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I enjoyed this castle better than Pendennis because their audio tour was really very interesting!

Pendennis Castle - There are wartime secrets in one of Cornwall’s greatest fortresses! Pendennis Castle was built by King Henry VIII to defend against possible attack by Spain and France. Throughout its 450-year history, Pendennis Castle has faced new enemies, right up to the Second World War. We saw a Tudor gun deck in action, and experienced the sights and sounds of battle in the interactive exhibition at the Royal Artillery Barracks. We explored the cells of the WWI guard house, and relived the drama of an enemy attack on the WWII observation post. We then descended through secret tunnels to the big guns of Half Moon Battery.

Perran Round - This was originally an Iron Age farmstead settlement, but was adopted in the Medieval period as a play area or Plen-an-gwary. It's been a most popular site for religious ceremonies since Medieval times and still brings in the various ceremonies! The site is often described and Britain's oldest theatre. Many denominations and groups have performed on this site, including Celtic, Druid, Methodist and Catholic ceremonies. It's been a popular haunt for political meetings too!

Restormel Castle - The great 13th-century circular shell-keep of Restormel still encloses the principal rooms of the castle in remarkably good condition. It stands on an earlier Norman mound surrounded by a deep dry ditch, atop a high spur beside the River Fowey. Twice visited by the Black Prince, it finally saw action during the Civil War in 1644. The man working there said that more than 23,000 people visit here every year! This was interesting, seeing as it wasn't the easiest to find!

Jamaica Inn - Built in 1750, this Inn was a coaching inn (similar to our modern day service station with accommodation). Some of the travelers were a little on the disreputable side and used the Inn to hide away from the law. Daphne du Maurier wrote a book called "Jamaica Inn".

Launceston Castle - Set on a large natural mound, Launceston Castle dominates the surrounding landscape. Begun soon after the Norman Conquest, its focus is an unusual keep consisting of a 13th-century round tower built by Richard Earl of Cornwall, inside an earlier circular shell-keep. The tower top is now reached via a dark internal staircase. The castle long remained a prison and George Fox, founder of the Quakers, suffered harsh confinement here in 1656. A display traces 1,000 years of history, with finds from site excavations.

Truro Cathedral - It was nice to see the cathedral in Truro - there is a pic of the cathedral with an old market cross in front of it. There really weren't a whole lot of tombstones at this one ... :( it's something I look forward to seeing!

Okehampton Castle - The remains of the largest castle in Devon, in an outstandingly picturesque setting on a wooded spur above the rushing River Okement. Begun soon after the Norman Conquest as a motte and bailey castle with a stone keep, it was converted into a sumptuous residence in the 14th century by Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon,much of whose work survives. After the last Courtenay owner fell foul of Henry VIII in 1538, it declined into an allegedly haunted ruin. Riverside picnic area and woodland walks are nearby. This was highly interesting to me and Jane - the audio guide was AMAZING!