Heyjude

Down the Cot Valley

Another drive (or walk if you are so inclined) from St Just is down the Cot Valley following the Cot stream to the shore at Porth Nanven. Once this area was crowded with tin-dressing floors, stamps, settling tanks, reservoirs and wheel-pits. Now long abandoned and overgrown, it can make walking off track somewhat dangerous. The road is very narrow so take it slowly and there is a small car-park at the end.

Porth Nanven is unusual in that the cliffs are formed from rounded boulders of an ancient raised beach, formed in the last ice-age. It is illegal to remove any stone from this location, though many might crave a few for their rockery. Continue reading Down the Cot Valley

Painting St Ives

All these images were taken through the windows of the café located on the roof of the Tate, St Ives. A slight glass distortion effect has been applied. The reflections are original 🙂

St Ives Harbour and Bay — St Ives Bay and Smeaton’s Pier

Gilly of Lucid Gypsy posted similar images from her recent visit to St Ives. I’m beginning to get the glimmer of an idea for a challenge here.

Bench series #28

For the month of July I’m looking for a bench with ‘Unusual Details’

(This month I want to see photos of a bench which is different to the norm. It may be the shape, style, length, height, colour, material or even location that attracts your attention)

This unusual bench is found in Abbotsbury Sub-tropical Garden in Dorset. Carved from a fallen oak tree the seating part is probably the least interesting. Just look at those hounds chasing the fox! (click on an image to enlarge and scroll through the gallery)

If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂

Create your own post and title it Bench Series: July
Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new bench theme comes out on the first Sunday in August.

My Picks of the Week:

Pauline got in early with her wonderful surfboard seats. Join her for a winter stroll along the Gold Coast. You’ll be filled with envy!
Another stroll with a lovely bench at the end from VioletSky so if you get tired you can have a rest. And Jo throws in a very industrial looking bench that she found on her walk. Debbie is back with a delicately engraved bench on the Fens and another engraved bench is provided by Anabel, this time with a lovely inscription. Julia has a techno bench and Isobel was drawn into the challenge when she found a poignant bench in Winchester.

There is a toss-up for the most unusual though, between another one from Pauline and one from Tgeriatrix. What do you think?

The Wars of the Roses

As a child growing up in West Yorkshire I knew that a friendly rivalry existed between Yorkshire and Lancashire, our neighbours on the other side of the Pennines. Later on at grammar school I learnt a little about the Wars of the Roses and was astonished to discover that it wasn’t a war between the two counties as I had believed, but a series of battles fought in medieval England from 1455 to 1485 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

The name of the battles derives from the symbols used by the two sides:

comtesse d'Oxford — Red Rose – House of Lancaster

On moving to Ludlow a few years ago I found out that one of the major battles of these wars took place only a few hundred yards from where I now live. The Battle of Ludford Bridge 12 October 1459. The Yorkist factions gathered here to make a push into Worcestershire, but fell back when they encountered a large group of Lancastrians led by Henry VI. The two sides took up positions on the opposite banks of the River Teme, but many of the Yorkists deserted during the night and the rest retreated the next day. So a victory for the Lancastrians. It is such a picturesque spot now that it is hard to imagine a battle taking place here.

Art ‘en plein air’

Although recently posted on my flower and garden blog Earth Laughs in Flowers this post is mostly about sculpture and not the planting of a garden. I thought maybe readers of my Travel blog might also enjoy seeing this.