Some wildlife pictures from our recent trip to the West Country
Brimstone 
Meerkat 
Kestrel 
Barn Owl
Painted Lady 
Otter 
Painted Lady 
Fallow Deer 
Wallaby
Little Egret 
Grey Heron 
Black-tailed Godwit 
Flamingos 
Greylag Goose 
Coot 
Robin
Archive for the ‘cornwall’ Category
West Country Wildlife
Posted: November 11, 2019 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Natural History, UKTags: West Country Wildlife
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West Country 2019 (20): River Camel
Posted: October 29, 2019 in cornwall, Landscape, Natural History, UKTags: River Camel
The River Camel is the predominant River in this area and we encountered it many times during our visit from its beginnings as a small river to the estuary at Padstow.
West Country (17): Launceston Parish Church
Posted: October 24, 2019 in cornwall, History, UKTags: Launceston Parish Church
The current church dates from 1511-1524, although the tower is older and dates from the 12th century. Originally it was part of Launceston Priory, but after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 it became the parish church of St Mary Magdalene. It was extensively restored in 1894 when a new side chapel was also added.
The two striking features about this church for me were the amazing carvings which cover the outside of the church and the stained glass windows.
West Country 2019 (16): Launceston
Posted: October 23, 2019 in cornwall, History, UKTags: Launceston
Another wet day and so we made our way to Launceston.
Launceston was regarded as the Gateway to Cornwall, being not far from the border with Devon. This came to be regarded as being due to the major roads into the county that passed close by. However it may have had an earlier meaning as in the middle ages it was recorded as being the farthest into the county that justices and other royal officials would go, fearing that the lands beyond were unsafe. It may also have been a reflection of the poor road network that existed in the county. Thus Launceston became the de facto County town of Cornwall, although it was never officially declared as such.
The presence of the castle, dating from 1070 and was built by Robert, Count of Mortain, who had been granted control of most of Cornwall. Robert was the half-brother of William the Conqueror and had been one of the King’s companions during the battle of Hastings in 1066. He returned to Normandy around 1088 and died there in 1095.
Launceston ceased to be regarded as the county town in 1835 when the County Courts moved to Bodmin.
On Sue’s birthday, we visited the town of Padstow on the estuary of the River Camel. It was made famous by the chef Rick Stein, but today we are having lunch at No6, run by chef Paul Ainsworth. Amazing food, probably one of the best meals I have ever eaten. Shame he doesn’t have a restaurant outside Cornwall.
Before and after the meal we went for a walk around the Harbour. We were very lucky with the weather as it was bright and sunny during the day and wet and windy either side.
West Country 2019 (14): King Arthur
Posted: October 21, 2019 in cornwall, Dark ages, History, UKTags: King Arthur, Slaughterbridge
Another day of heavy rain forced us to look for somewhere indoor to visit and so we decided to visit the Arthurian centre at Slaughterbridge on the banks of the River Camel. Slaughterbridge stood at an important ford across the river and therefore was an important strategic site. The name of the village gives a good indication that this is the site of a battle, in fact, its two battles. The first was the battle between Arthur, King of Cornwall and Mordred his nephew, who was in rebellion and took place according to records in 537. The second was in 823 when the Anglo-Saxons under Egbert of Wessex defeated the army of Cornwall and Wessex took control of Cornwall. Numerous artefacts of dark-age weapons have been found on the site, showing this certainly was a battlefield.
On the site, there has also been the discovery of a 13th-century village and an 18th-century garden, but perhaps the most controversial finding is a dark-age stone (c540) found by the river which has both Latin and Ogham (ancient Irish language) inscriptions. The latter is almost unreadable due to erosion, but the Latin inscription has been interpreted by some as reading ‘Here lies Latin(us) the son of Arthur the Great’. An alternative translation and interpretation have read as ‘ Here lies Latinus, the son of Macarius’. Neither the less it is an interesting artefact as it is one of the few gravestones found in Britain that have both Latin and Ogham inscriptions together.
The exhibition and information are very good as they do not seek to verify the legends of King Arthur, merely to present what is known from historical and other sources and to let the visitor make up their own minds about what they believe is true and what is fantasy. My personal conclusion, Arthur was a Celtic War-leader, in the period when the Anglo-Saxons began to enter Britain. He fought to protect the western lands of the British Celts and was to a large degree successful as the Anglo-Saxons didn’t finally gain control of Cornwall till many years after his death.
Wet Country (13): Roadford Reservoir
Posted: October 17, 2019 in cornwall, Landscape, Natural History, UKTags: Roadford Reservoir
After watching England beat Tonga 35-3 at the Rugby World Cup, we wondered about going out as it had been raining heavily all morning, but the sun came out early afternoon and so we drove to Roadford reservoir on the edge of Dartmoor. Roadford Reservoir is a man-made lake, fed by the River Wolf, completed in 1989 as water storage for Plymouth and North Devon.
After a cup of tea at the cafe near the dam we went up to the nature reserve but there was not much to see.
It is quite odd to see roads going down to the water and the remains of trees, which are all that can be seen of the valley that existed here before the dam was built.
It’s over 25 years since I last birdwatched on the Hayle Estuary in West Cornwall. It has changed a lot in that time with development, but it remains one of the best spots in Cornwall. We started off at Carnshaw Pool, where Rock Pipit, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit and a passing Kingfisher were seen.
We then moved onto Lelant Saltings, where the Railway platform of the old St Ives Park and Ride station (now moved to St Erth) provides an excellent spot for observing this part of the estuary. Here we saw Ruff and Curlew plus a group of Teal and some Little Egrets.
Our final stop was at the RSPB hide at Ryans Field, where there was a large flock of Canada Geese, a small group of Ruff and a single Whimbrel. A small flock of Dunlin flew over the marsh nut did not settle.
West Country 2019 (10): Bude Marshes and Tamar Otter Centre
Posted: October 14, 2019 in Birds, cornwall, Devon, Mammals, Natural History, UKTags: Bude Marshes, Otters
One morning Sue and I went to Bude Marshes, an area of marsh and reed-beds on the edge of the town of Bude in North Cornwall. This nature reserve is Bordered on one side by Bude canal and on the other by a river.
A Cetti’s Warbler was calling stridently from the reed-bed and we had a brief view of a Kingfisher as it flashed past. 2 Chiffchaffs were also seen, this once summer visitor is now increasingly overwintering, especially in the Southaven’s and south-west. Apart from these sightings, the most striking sighting was the flock of over 300 Canada geese present on the canal.
Grey Heron 
Grey Heron 
Canada Geese
In the afternoon we went to Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre, a rather eclectic collection of animals in a beautiful valley setting. Its free-roaming Fallow Deer (a native species) and Wallabies (not a native species although there was once a feral population in Derbyshire) are semi-tame and some will approach you for food.
There are a number of European Otters at the centre. The centre was a breeding colony during the 20 year reintroduction programme (which ended around 2000) and now houses captive bred and rescued Otters. The centre also has Asian short-clawed otters, which unlike European otters live in family groups – the largest family in the centre has 17 members.
Asian Short-toed Otter 
Asian Short-toed Otter 
Eurasian Otter 
Eurasian Otter
St Petroc is reputed to have founded a monastery on the site of Bodmin in the 6th century naming the place Petrocstow. Certainly, by the time of the Doomsday Book, the monastery held land across this part of Cornwall and the associated settlement was the largest in Cornwall at the time. The name Bodmin is probably derived from the Cornish for ‘dwelling of the monks’ and was recorded as early as 1100, although there are plenty of variants in documents including Bodman, and Bodmyn.
Bodmin was the centre for three Cornish rebellions. the first in 1497 when a Cornish army marched all the way to Blackheath in London in protest against increased taxes. here it was met by the Royal army, which defeated the rebels in battle. This unrest probably led to Bodmin being the place where the usurper Perkin Warbeck, masquerading as one of the ‘princes in the tower’ was proclaimed King Richard IV before moving east. However, once the army came up against forces loyal to Henry VII, it soon surrendered. The third rebellion was in 1549 when people in the west country objected to the imposition of the new prayer book by Edward VI. They advanced into Devon and besieged Exeter, but after fighting a number of battles, they were forced to retreat.
The Old Cinema 
Bodmin Museum 
Shire Hall and Court
Bodmin briefly served as the County town of Cornwall from 1835 until 1876, when the administration moved to the newly created city of Truro. Bodmin’s former jail, courthouse and Barracks are now open as museums
