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 2019 (20): River Camel
Posted: October 29, 2019 in cornwall, Landscape, Natural History, UKTags: River Camel
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West Country 2019 (19): Back to Bowling Green Marsh
Posted: October 28, 2019 in Birds, Devon, Natural History, UKTags: Black-Tailed Godwits, Common Sandpiper, RSPB Bowling Green Marsh
Our final day before we head back towards London. So we head off towards Exeter and Bowling Green Marsh RSPB reserve in search of a Long-billed Dowitcher, a wader that is at home in the USA.
Our first stop is the hide but apart from some ducks there is little else to see and we are told that the Dowitcher is on the estuary, so we head down the lane and, together with a number of other birders, began to scan the waders on the mud. Unfortunately, most of the birds are on the far side of the estuary makes identification more difficult.
Eventually, Sue and I decided to go and check the other wader roost on the River Clyst, which joins the Exe here. There are lots of Redshank and we get some very good views of a Kingfisher fishing in the channel and later perched on a post. I also saw a Greenshank fly out from a creek.
Redshank 
Grey Heron
But still no sign of the Dowitcher, so we make our way back to Bowling Green Marsh where we did find a Common Sandpiper and some Black-tailed Godwits.
Common Sandpiper 
Black-tailed Godwit
West Country 2019 (18): Bodmin and Wenford Railway
Posted: October 25, 2019 in History, TrainsTags: Bodmin and Wenford Railway
Another wet day and a visit to the Steam Railway at Bodmin.
Due to geographical nature of Devon and Cornwall, the two main lines passed to the North (London and South Western Railway) and to the South of Bodmin (Great Western Railway). So it was connected by a number of branch lines, the first of which connected it to Wadebridge via Wenford in 1834, giving it access to the sea. The second joined it to the line from Plymouth to Falmouth (now the mainline) at Bodmin Road (now Bodmin Parkway) in 1859 and a third which linked the town to Boscarne Junction in1888.
Passenger services to Bodmin Town were halted in 1967, although freight services continued until 1983. There was an immediate movement to restore the line as a heritage railway and the first open day was held in June 1986. the line to Bodmin Parkway was opened in 1990 and extended to Boscarne Junction in 1996.
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.
A fascinating video about building a Kingfisher nesting box and the Kingfishers that came to stay.
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.
