Mevagissey and The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Another very wet week ended in a Saturday where the rain graciously held off for most of the day to allow families to get out and about!

This week we headed south and west to Mevagissey. It was not so picturesque as Polperro or Looe, not having the same steep slopes of houses wending their crooked way down to the river. It still had nice little winding streets and pretty boats. However, it was very much a working fishing village with two harbours. Behind our photographer here is a large wall with a lot of unattractive plastic boating containers. It still had a go at the tourist thingo - here is Jack in front of a 'pirate' shop...

We got here very late, and thus had a pub lunch without walking first. It felt like cheating, really. I had the most wonderful fresh mackerel, just off the boat I think. I had two huge fish, plus spuds and greens. I did not eat for the rest of the day, I can tell you. Wayne had a Ploughman's Lunch which included smoked mackerel, also very tasty he assured me.

After lunch we went off to the 'Lost Gardens of Heligan'. Luckily they were quite easy to find! They are magnificent Victorian working gardens in an old manor grounds. They were 'lost' because they fell into disrepair and disuse after World War One, when most of the staff went off and were killed, and 'The Family' drifted out of the place... it got all overgrown until the last 15 years or so. Anyway, it is now all fixed up and of great historical interest, as well as rather beautiful to walk around.

We were given a map and little plastic compasses to get our bearings, which were great fun. We saw an absolutely huge old magnolia in full bloom, maybe thirty feet tall and really thick, and the ground a pink carpet underneath it. There were lots of rhododendrons, but only one or two flowers out at the moment.

There were walled gardens with espaliered fruit trees, and large vegetable patches. There were home-made green houses and melon patches - even a place to grow pineapples, heated up with manure in surrounding boxes. There was a 'jungle' walk. There was a bird hide, where we saw all sorts of finches and other small birds, with a handy bird book provided. There were the ubiquitous daffodils, of course... (see Annie nobly posing on the wet ground). There were some strange wicker models of our children, exactly their height - how did the gardeners know?!

There were walks in 'wilder' countryside, near ponds, with all the primroses coming out.

Wayne tried taking some close-ups of plants. The primroses look good, and these odd fungi, but I will spare you some of the others!

And here is a picture of another, smaller, magnolia behind Eleanor and me. I may have to come back here, when the weather warms up and more things are in bloom. I wouldn't mind living here, if I had about 25 gardeners...

Lost In Austen At Lerryn

After a week of cloud and drizzle, Sunday dawned bright and clear again. Time for another Pub Walk! We aimed for an early start today, because Wayne had some marking to do this afternoon. (Alas! The year is not all holiday for the troops.)

This week's destination was Lerryn, a village on the other side of the Fowey river to that which we had explored a couple of weeks ago, when our ramble took us along some spectacular coast. This one promised river and fields. Mindful of the week's wet weather, we chose wellies rather than hiking boots as the footwear of choice - very wisely, as it turned out.

The drive was along tiny back lanes. We are never going to see all the delightful nooks and crannies of Cornwall, but we are trying our best! Lerryn was like a toy village. You could imagine rearranging all the block-like buildings to suit yourself, up and down the tidal river. It was very neat and little, bridges and lanes and stepping stones, daffodils and primroses making a brave display. We were very charmed. And, astonishingly, we did not have to pay to park!

Guidebook in hand, we walked through the village, then 'into a field.' Field! It looked like a carefully tended lawn. A spreading chestnut tree adorned one corner. At the top of the rise was a Georgian manor. It must not have changed in 200 years or so. In fact we are...(woo spooky music)...Lost in Austen *2.

"I am most grateful for these nylon jackets," mused Miss Elizabeth Bennet (much older than in "Pride and Prejudice", but still a handsome woman). "The weather is so changeable."

"Why did you not provide one for me!" demanded Lady Catherine, a.k.a. Annie, pulling off her winter coat with disgust. "I have always been in possession of a fine constitution, and have no need of furs when taking the air." She tucked it behind the satchel being carried by Mr. D... (er, no, sorry, can't picture it); carried by the second gardener, 'Hay-Wain' Foster.

"Hay, Wain," said Miss Bennet, "is that not a pheasant perched on that hedge?"

"That it be," said Foster, "same as one that flew roight out of bush and startled Master Jack and moiself, just now."

"Hay Wain, you nearly let me slip and spoil my new nankeens," said Jack; then, "I'll race you to that stile," he said to the girls.

Off the party went, seeing no animals at all in the supposed farm-land. The sprouting fields looked like a green coverlet quilted in double rows of brown thread. Wooden paling fences were around the base of the trees, perhaps to protect them from squirrels.

At the stile, the ground was very sloppy. "Miss Eleanor! Your petticoats will be three inches deep in mud!"

"But we've all got gumboots and trousers on, Mum..." (Oh, all right, end of fantasy, we're into the woods now, anyway.)

We followed a path through the wood, noting how it seemed lighter down the hill, where the light reflected from holly leaves. Soon we came upon an old mill (see picture). It was very pretty, except for a sick rabbit that huddled next to a sunny wall. We hurried a distressed Eleanor past it. A nearby bank still had snowdrops in bloom, as well as the daffodils to be seen everywhere at the moment. Here I am pictured near them.



We came out onto a high field, with the sky arching blue overhead. Underfoot it was very muddy. In the next field we saw cows. Eventually we saw the River Fowey, and the spires of St Winnow below us. Church bells started ringing on cue. We walked past the medieval church and graveyard. Here are Jack and Annie near the grave of one Loveday Lane Foster (no relation, we think, but a beautiful name.)

We walked along the beach for a while, then up into Ethy woods. Sometimes we were on a narrow path, sometimes a broad track. Here is a picture of the children at the junction of the River Fohey and the River Lerryn.

Although it was a wood, it has been built in by people for years. There were little drinking troughs and walls and seats that were very old. We went down to the river for the children to have a swing at one stage.

Eventually we came out into Lerryn again. Off to the pub, thinking about a Ploughman's Lunch. However, pubs are a bit classier than that on a Sunday, it seems. So, when Wayne had supped an ale, and I a 'still cider' from a local farm - very nice- we sat down to a pheasant casserole. (That's what happens to all those pheasants stalking over hedges...) The children had lasagne.

Then back again home, where Wayne happily settled in to mark some tests... It was hard to choose which was the more interesting activity, he thought, (I think).

I did the ironing. The children went on the trampoline. The cat killed another rabbit. A busy weekend!

Northern Ireland, day 3

On Saturday, the whole group assembled at the University for a bus tour along the north coast, finishing at the Giant's Causeway. We had the same lovely tour guide, who seems to be a walking encyclopedia of the country. We drove out of Belfast, past a mountain that is supposed to be remniscent of a giant reclining, and the inspiration of "Gulliver's Travels."

It doesn't take long to drive out of Belfast, which, like all British cities it seems, has houses very close together so a largish population is in a relatively small space. We passed Larne, and then got onto the very picturesque coast road. This is literally one or two metres away from the sea. The hills slope sharply towards it. The countryside is very craggy and rough, and the road had to be blasted out 150 years ago or so. Until then, the north of the country was completely isolated, and people tended to take the boat over 12 miles to Scotland, rather than try a trip to more southerly parts of Ireland. The beaches have black and white stones intermixed, basalt and limestone and a bit of chalk. It was lovely. Past the worst of the crags were so-called 'ladder' farms, with fields divided like the steps of a ladder down to the sea. Farmers could have the sheep in the top fields in the summer, and get bits of seaweed from their bits of beach to fertilise their crop.

We stopped at one little coastal village for a cup of coffee and stretch of leg. Here is a picture of Jack near the little harbour. We drove on to another spot which had a perilous rope bridge to a little island. Here is a picture of the family with the Scottish Mull of Kintire in the background.

Eventually we reached the Giant's Causeway. It is a series of pillars of rocks in angular shapes, stretching out into the sea towards the north. Scientists say it is volcanic, but students of Irish folk stories know it was the work of the giant Finn McCool who was building a path towards Scotland but got put off by a larger Scottish giant. I was very proud that Eleanor knew this story well from one of her picture books, and could instruct her inferiorly trained science teacher father in the legend.

Although the day had started out a bit cloudy and drizzly, it was beautiful sunshine at our destination. We actually enjoyed an ice cream at the tourist shop. (A nice honeycomb one was the local specialty.) We took the overland route back to Belfast, which was quicker, if not so spectacular.

Well, our day had not finished yet. A Ceili was arranged for our last night; dinner and dancing. It was to be at Malone House, a grand old manorial building. Several of us suffered some embarrassment, as a couple of Aussies had procured some leprechaun hats and beards, and we were afraid of being beaten up at the University bus stop on a busy Saturday night. Thankfully, we were unmolested.





Malone House was beautiful, and silver service was laid on. The children were now all friendly, so we quickly stuck them all on one table, the better to enjoy adult company. (Some childless Americans quickly snaffled the bottles of wine laid out on this same table before we parents were aware of it. We will never forgive them.)
It was a lovely meal. Then there was the Irish dancing, which was done with enthusiasm, if not expertise. Luckily it was guided set-dancing, rather than the 'River Dance' sort; so the locals were spared some leaping about of the 'Kath and Kim' variety which I think we were all gearing up for, lubricated by wine and Guiness. I embarrassed Annie by making her dance with a teenage boy... then she astonished me by doing a whole polka with one of the leprechauns.





We were all up until after midnight! It was a bit of a struggle getting the girls up to catch the plane the next morning. BUT, we made it back. Cornwall looked positively tropical after our trip north, and Spring is well on the way.

Belfast - Day 2

On Thursday, we all walked towards the University bus stop together, but were essentially divided for the day. Wayne and the teachers were driven off to spend the day at various schools around the district. Wayne went to Carrickfergus (how Irish does that sound?!) Grammar School, which was a posh one. I think most of his day was actually on the bus, as it drove all around Belfast dropping off and picking up other teachers, so it was not too interesting.

The spouses and children set off on another bus. We went to a big science museum - a bit like Questacon in Canberra, all interactive things to play on and help your learning. The children had a great time. There were three families of big kids, and one Indian family with a toddler. Most of the spouses there did not have children, actually. They are with teachers either just starting their careers, or who have been teaching for ages and their kiddies are all grown up. These ones hovered around for half an hour or so, then snuck off to the coffee shop for most of the morning. I admit I joined them for a brew, but then went to play with my kids. The poor American woman had four children, two under 9, and felt obliged to chase after them for the whole time. The Indian woman was likewise fully occupied. I won out, I guess, getting to play with the kiddies but not feel stuck with them.
So here are the children at various points in the museum. Annie, at the 'flight' bit, near a machine that blew balls up in the air, the river Lagan in the background. Jack is hamming it up near some electric gizmo, playing at being a mad scientist.

Here are Eleanor and Annie with the two American kiddies, Aria and Devin. They are working a crane loaded with cushions. Eleanor and Aria got on great guns, although the American girl is a couple of years younger.

The morning passed very quickly for us, and we did not see nearly as much as there was on offer.

Back in the bus we got. Most of the people asked to get off in town for more exploring, including the family with older teenagers. The American mother, Mary, and I could not organise the troops at such short notice, so we went back up to the University stop. Everyone was hungry, so we wandered along the road together until we found a Chinese food shop, "Foo Kin", as in 'all you can foo kin eat', ho ho. We paid, and ate a buffet style lunch, which was very good with pernickity little children and ravenous 13 year old boys (Jack and Julian) with hollow legs. Annie became close friends with American Annie, of a similar age. And once the children were stuffing their faces, Mary actually got to have a chat to me in a few unoccupied moments! (These pictures are actually from the pizza night the night before, just substitute spring rolls and crab and corn soup in your mind's eye.)

When we had eaten, we walked back up to the Botanic Gardens near the University. We had a little look in a greenhouse. Then the Americans went off to the museum we had looked at yesterday, while we headed towards 'home'. I couldn't resist a university bookshop nearby, and came out with "A Poet's Guide to Britain," which I intended to quote extensively in this blog, so of course could not find anything suitable just at the moment!

We rested for the rest of the day. Wayne joined us at about 4. He had also eaten well, so we just had a bit of fruit and toast for dinner. We needed an early night this day.

Belfast - Getting There, and Day One.

The Fosters have been to Ireland, the Land of Smiles... slightly uneasy ones in the North, to be sure. We had to drive to Bristol to get the flight there on Wednesday evening, and since we had no idea how long the drive would be, we left very early so as to be quite sure of catching the plane.

It was very enjoyable driving along and noting all the vaguely familiar or plain quaint place names on the signs... Menheniot, Hatt, Wookey Hole, Cheddar and many more. We were still driving along country lanes very close to the airport - it didn't seem possible that one could be so close to hilly sheep farms. But it certainly was, and we caught the plane without incident. We had hired an apartment quite close to Belfast University, and got a very good deal on it - cheaper than several single peoples' hotel rooms. There was a slight hitch when the taxi dropped us off at 10 p.m. the first night though - the key, which was supposed to be hidden in a pre-arranged spot, was not there. Not good hanging around a dark front yard on a cold night with three children who should have been in bed long since! But all was sorted eventually, and luckily we did not have to be up early.

The next day, refreshed and breakfasted, we had a spot of shopping to do before our lunch rendezvous with the exchange crew. I needed some shoes to wear to Saturday's party, Jack needed to replace his ripped jeans, and a few other bits and pieces were needed too. Our part of Belfast was quite well-to-do, but you couldn't call it pretty. Lots of students about as we bussed into town. The shops were excellent. We could hardly understand a word of the locals, nor they of us. We went into a hairdresser to get Jack a trim, and deaf me quickly had to call Wayne in for translation purposes, although he thought haircut talk was girl business. Jack did not end up with the cut we thought we asked for (although still very handsome, of course)... Wayne reckons the bloke just made all his customers look like himself. Anyway, luckily I got some shoes very quickly (the shop lady honestly said 'wee' in every sentence), and we managed our other purchases well, too.

We met the other exchange families at the Museum on the University grounds. We had a very nice lunch. Then the poor old teachers had to go to a couple of hours of lectures on teaching in Northern Ireland. The kids and I sloped off to explore the museum. A kindly guide gave Eleanor a children's map with stickers to put on when you found 10 special things. There was some interactive stuff as well, so it was fun. We enjoyed the art bit upstairs, drawing self-portraits and glueing bits and pieces. Then we joined the others for a bus tour of Belfast.

Our guide was terrific, and made a very ordinary city drive interesting and amusing with historical references and humourous anecdotes. There was a leaning clock, and a shipyard that produced the Titanic, and several public artworks to which the locals have given colourful colloquial names. "The Troubles" could not of course be ignored, and our guide wisely did not try to ignore them, but told us what she could without any prejudice. The picture up the top is of the parliament building, now in grounds open to the public. We ended the tour going up a couple of streets that saw most of the action in the war-torn days, and they were quite confronting. The murals are very fresh and well-kept...

In the evening we got together for an informal pizza dinner. First of all we checked out the famous old "Crown" pub our guide had mentioned. ( I thought she was saying 'crine'). See picture! It was too crowded for our family, so we went to a pub closer to the pizza place for a drink first. Here is Wayne with a Guiness.

Then some traditional Irish pizza (?) with the group. An American family had children about our kids' age, and so did one other Australian family. This was good, and they started to make friends here. Another fairly late night for the kiddies!

Signs Of Spring?

It has been a tough week healthwise for me (Wayne). It appears that a reasonably mild social asthmatic in warm, dry Moruya becomes a gasping, coughing, chest infected mess in cold, damp Cornwall. So it was that I took three days off school, saw the doctor, got a large number of different pills, puffers and sprays and was well on the way to being mended by Saturday. Not perfect by any means but able to get out and enjoy a bit of a stroll in the sunshine. Got to take these opportunities while they are there.

We took out our book Pocket Pub Walks Of Cornwall and decided to do the walk from Fowey (pronounced 'Foy' almost by the locals). The associated pub was The Galleon which we did end up in and they do indeed provide a delicious lunch as the book suggested. The walk didn't start off very prettily as we walked through the main carpark, through the council estate houses and along the main road. We then turned off onto a public footway and we were in the coutryside. We followed the path down to Readymoney Cove which is a lovely, secluded little spot with a small beach surrounded by some quaint, stone cottages and some castle-y looking mansions. We did take a photo here but unfortunately it didn't turn out. We followed The Saints' Way path through forest and up onto the open farmland on the top of the cliffs. We took the time to get lost a couple of times as we found the book directions a little hard to follow but what a terrific view of the ocean we got when we emerged onto the farmland. The sun was shining brightly, the sea was blue, gulls were on the wing and the smell of freshly cut grass was in the air. Could this be the beginning of spring at last? We sat on a seat for a while, ate our apples and enjoyed the vitamin D from the sunlight, the smells of the English countryside and the sea breeze.

Continuing on our way, we wound our way down through fields to another beachside B&B spot called Coombe Farm with its stone constructed pond. Ducks dabbled on the water. The walk was getting busier here. "Pitt St!" was one particularly Australian comment. We doubled back toward the east following The Coast Path this time up and down the tops of the cliffs. We found yellow Gorse flowering and took it as more signs that the seasons are turning.

Eventually we were back at Readmoney Cove and this time we walked straight on along the narrow road into the old harbour part of Fowey. Like many of the coastal villages it was all narrow lanes and old, tiny stone houses. We took the side route to see the ruins of St Catherine's Castle which was an artillery fort built by Henry VIII to defend the harbour of Fowey.

We were quite hungry and thirsty when we got to The Galleon pub so we ate and drank well, needing only some toast and tea in the evening. The book didn't say much about finding your car again once the walk was over and that took some doing with another mile and a half walk up

steep hills to get back to the carpark. Selflessly, I undertook the journey alone and then had to creep the car through the narrow lanes and between the tourists in Fowey to try to find my family again which, I did. Then it was away home for a bit of rest because we were a bit tired after our hike.

Some blogs to look forward to: Annie will be blogging her three day school camp to Delaware (near Gunnislake, Tamar Valley, Cornwall...not east coast United States) and we will be blogging our four day Teacher Exchange conference to Northern Ireland which starts on Wednesday.

Annie's Delaware School Camp

On the 3rd of March, my class (6SJ) and I went to Delaware Outdoor Education Centre. When we arrived we looked at our dormitories and unpacked our things. I shared a dorm with Imogen, Charlotte, Freja, Kira and Chloe. Then we went into the common room and ate our lunch.

Soon after that we went outside to do some activities. Our class split into two groups, A and B. I was in group B so we went up to the field next to the accommodation to do some mountain biking. It was a moderately flat field with a slight descent. We had to do a range of challenges from jumps and ramps to slaloms. At the end we had to build a course that we would be timed on. We had to do some bits for Daniel, who is disabled only in his legs and rides a trike, as he can't manoeuvre a bicycle. In the timed race I came third, Lewis came second and Imogen came first!

At night time we had dinner, consisting of pastries, chips and lots of salad. For dessert we had cake and ice cream. Then we went out onto the spooky darkness of the field and played hide and seek in the dark, which was great fun! After that we had hot chocolate, biscuits and we played a game of bingo, because Mr Bungee used to run bingo nights before he became a teacher's assistant. Finally, we went to bed.

The next morning we had a yummy breakfast (this is what you could have) of cereal then sausages, eggs, toast, chips and baked beans. One of the instructors came in as we were assembling in the common room and told us we were going to Kit Hill which was about 10-20 minutes away. We drove there then Dave took my group rock climbing while Steve took group A canoeing on the freezing cold lake. Rock climbing was really fun but scary and I hated the abseiling as I couldn't lift my legs up high enough. We ate our lunch then swapped activities. Canoeing was really fun and we did a lot of games. I was sharing a boat with Chloe and Mrs Lambden, another TA (teacher's assistant.) My canoeing team was called 'Annie's Angels' - a name Mrs Lambden thought up.

We went back to Delaware after canoeing and had a delicious dinner of pizza, noodles, salad and, for dessert chocolate tiffins and strawberry mousse. We had a talent show which I came second in, doing a questions and answers on Australia show. We also had a game of bingo and a mini disco.

We woke up the next morning, had breakfast and my group went out to do archery. Archery was really fun and I learnt a few new things as well. I had already done archery and canoeing at Kianniny, a school camp in Australia, last year.

We ate our lunch in the picnic area then packed up and went back to school. We spent the rest of the afternoon at school, playing around in the playground. Eventually it was home time and we all went back home, feeling very exhausted.