Thursday Special

Heligan by Night

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, which I last visited a couple of years ago, is one of the fabulous “Great Gardens of Cornwall” and during December the gardens were open in the evening for a “Heligan by Night” to experience the art of illumination as internationally renowned light artist Ulf Pedersen revealed the night time…

Thursday Special: Survivors

Technically not a great or even a good photo. Captured on the move. But one of two ‘boys’ who almost didn’t make it. Big A who had a 40% chance of surviving an operation this summer and his nephew, Little L who was born 5 weeks early in 2014 and weighed a mere 1.2 kg…

Houseman’s Engine House

Just north of the village of Minions stands Houseman’s Engine House, which houses a permanent exhibition on the history and nature of the surrounding area. Many miners left this area to find a better life in colonies around the world so it is a popular place to visit by their descendants. Thursday Special | crumbling

St Uny Chapel

The mortuary chapel was built in the cemetery for the Nonconformist Christians – the dying wish of a local Methodist, who put up the money for it but this turned out to be insufficient and had to be topped up by another benefactor. It was completed in 1879 and was enlarged in 1909. Thursday Special…

Nubilous

Thursday Special: Vernal

Cornwall is famous for its spring gardens, where magnolias and camellias bloom in February followed swiftly by snowdrops, primroses, azaleas, rhododendrons, bluebells and many other delights. Although I have visited Trelissick garden on the Fal river many times, it is always a joy to see what is flowering. This time I decided to play around…

Thursday Special: Carn Galver Mine

Carn Galver Mine lies alongside the B3306 coast road in north Penwith, situated roughly midway between Zennor and St. Just. The pair of engine houses mark the start of arguably the most concentrated area of mines in the county. The westernmost engine house retains its chimney and used to house a 40-inch pumping engine and…

Thursday Special: Pick a Word

amiable robin adjective having or showing pleasant, good-natured personal qualities; affable: an amiable disposition. friendly; sociable: an amiable greeting; an amiable gathering. agreeable; willing to accept the wishes, decisions, or suggestions of another or others. Obsolete. lovable or lovely. I think robins are all of the above and love the fact that they have returned…

Thursday Special: Twilight

For days the sky has been a solid shade of steely grey, with only a glimmer of light bringing relief, soon to be replaced by charcoal clouds scudding across the sky and spits of rain splattering onto the skylight. So tonight it was a relief to sit and watch the sky turn pink as the…

Thursday Special: Ascending

During the last month there has been a return of small birds to the countryside around me. Daily I am drawn to the windows as flocks of birds swoop and dive over the field at the back of my garden. I think they are redwings and /or fieldfares, but they are so quick in the air…