June 30: Cornwall

What an interesting place we are staying in here!  A dryer on the premises broke down; various dogs had to go to the vet for treatment, people are constantly running in and out of the house, various meals are being served, and Karen’s daughter and various girls come flitting in with tattoos, piercings, and combat boots.  It has been an eye-opening cavalcade of humanity passing to and fro!

Since our landlady had a lot on her plate, she sent us down to Perranporth  to survey the stunning beach and then enter a few shops before returning to The Residence at Bolenna.  Absolutely gorgeous day today, with some clouds, and there were young ones who attended surf school, children in prams, adults holding hands and surfers riding the waves.  They made for an amazing panoply.  We took the Nampara path home, passed the Victorian Tennis Club at which Winston Graham, author of the Poldark books, was judge.  By the way, today we celebrated his birthday (he was born on June 30, 1908).  

We relaxed for about an hour before accompanying Karen.  She picked up three new travelers at the Truro train station (two out of our original group had left the scene, and we were sad to see them go!).  On the way to the train station she dropped us off at the Truro Cathedral, which I wanted to see.  The full title of the church is the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Truro is a Church of England cathedral in Truro.  It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design  designed by John Loughborough Pierson on the site of the parish church of St. Mary.  It is one of only three cathedrals in the UK with three spires.  

When Karen returned to us, the three visitors had been picked up, and we made our way to Trerice.  It is an historic manor near Newquay, Cornwall.  The surviving Tudor manor house known as Trerice House and its surrounding garden has been owned by the National Trust since 1953 and is open to the public.  Roses, poppies and lavender were in bloom, and the garden also featured an orchard with old varieties of fruit trees.  1573 is the year it was constructed.  It was at one time the Cornish seat of the Arundell family, and it remains little changed.  With golden stone, ornate gables and a magnificent hall window, Trerice is a grand Elizabethan house on a small scale.  It was considered to stand in for Trenwith in the Winston Graham Poldark novels, but Chavanage House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire was used instead, as it had a more dramatic circular drive leading to the front doors of the house.  Enjoyed the house and gardens very much, and Casey and I found much that appealed to the photographic eye.

Returned home, and hunger pangs hit, as we had had no. Lunch.  Casey, Janet and I shared a charcuterie platter with salad, figs, prosciutto, salami, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and three different types of local cheese.  The shank of the afternoon / evening set in, always a mesmerizing time of day.  Looking forward to reading outdoors and in general vegging this evening.  Left foot feels a bit better, and I hope to have it back on track by the time I leave here.