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| In the graveyard at St Carantoc's church in Crantock. Just one example of a lichen-encrusted headstone. St Carantoc was a student of St Patrick and came to Cornwall around the sixth century. Carantoc - Crantock = obvious really. |
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| St Carantoc's church. When I first saw it, I thought 'bloody Victorians, they've desecrated a church by sticking an odd bit on the end'. Not so, the strange shape is due to the fact that the east end (right side) was originally a college for priests, dating from Edward the Confessor. The smaller church to the left (sad that the tower has been rendered in featureless cement) was used by the lay worshippers, whilst the college folk had the posher, more spacious end. During the Reformation, the college was closed down and the interior stripped. That, and the rest of the church, fell into disrepair over the centuries due to lack of funds. (the church history is really interesting and worth reading) and what money there was had to support a lot of clergy. |
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| Cometh the hour, cometh Uncle George. Not really but in 1894, George Melford Parsons (come on, he could be a relation. Unlikely I'll admit, but not impossible) was appointed vicar and he set about restoring the interior of the church and the college end. Wonderful carved pews in the choir, an incredible carved rood screen (all the work of Violet Pinwill and her carvers from Plymouth - we've seen her work in many churches in Devon and Cornwall and it's uniformly amazing) and some very good stained glass windows. Not so much 'bloody Victorians' as 'hooray for the Victorians'. An unexpected gem of a church - if you get a chance, do go visit. |
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| Not that many birds nesting on the cliffs but there were a few fulmars. The female on the left is, I think, sitting on an egg (they lay only one) and the male is feeding her with some regurgitated fish. Not something that Mrs P and I would do. |
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| How can you tell they are fulmars? I'm glad you asked. Stockier necked than a gull and they fly with very stiff wings. But the give away is the black tube on the top of their beaks (take another look at the pair above). This tubenose arrangement is very useful when it comes to diving etc - look it up on Google and be amazed. |
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| The beach at Crantock, the first of the three we came across. If only Cornish weather were better for longer; if it was the beaches would be world-beating destinations. As it is, they are pretty good anyway. |
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| Just a cliff top stone wall but what a stone wall. Bedecked with dangly lichens, a joy to behold. |
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| Beach No 2: Holywell Beach. Another goodie. |
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| What are these? Not too sure but, as they were over a tall fence and on the edge of a military base, I assume they are some sort of surveillance/listening device. Call me silly but I did make a few subversive comments to see if anyone came out and beat me over the head with a big stick. But no such luck. |
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| Beach No 3: Perran Sands. About 2 miles long, with our destination right at the end. Note that the tide is starting to come in. The relevance of this will become apparent soon. |
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| Our footprints in the sand. We wuz there. |
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| About half a mile from the beach and a tough slog to get there (walking up steep hills of sand is not fun at the best of times but after 7 miles it's painful) lies St Piran's Oratory. Dating from the sixth century, the myth says that this is where the patron saint of Cornwall first preached. It was buried in the sand for centuries and was uncovered in the late 1800s. It became a shrine and was damaged by the many tourists who visited. To protect it, the Edwardians encased it in concrete and this is now being gradually removed. We've done it but, to be honest, I don't think it was worth the hassle of getting there. |
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| I mentioned that the tide as coming in and it did. It was a close run thing to get around the rocks to the safety of Perranporth Beach. But we get wet feet in the process................ |
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| ...........and wet trousers! |
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