Ince Castle Visit

A pleasant afternoon stroll around the gardens of Ince Castle. It is situated on the north bank of the River Lynher and is, or so the guide book says, the oldest brick-built dwelling in Cornwall. The fact that it is not made of local granite must say something about the wealth and/or ostentation of the original owner.

The castle dates from the early 1600s and is  square with a tower at
each corner. An unlikely local legend has it that one previous owner had
four wives, one in each tower, and managed to keep them secret from each
other. The green blob in the centre is a balloon that a child had just let go of.

An interesting water feature in a courtyard.

You never know what's lurking in the long grass and bushes,
in this case winged statues.

I'm sure that these two ornaments originally adorned the
corners of a church tower somewhere, upon which they
are a quite common sight to those who lift their eyes.

A shell-encrusted door leading to a shell room within a tower.
Apparently the shells were collected during the travels of a recent
owner who was a minister in the Foreign Office.

Looks like a bee or a wasp, but it is neither: it is a hoverfly. Excellent
nectarers and pollinators and there are lots of them around at
this time of year. My 'A' Level Biology tells me that Hoverflies are excellent
examples of Batesian mimicry in that they mimic something nastier,
in this case bees and wasps, for their own protection. 

Crimson bottle brush, without the hoverfly I was trying to get in the shot.