Sunset

The pale sky turned into a very pretty sunset

A lovely calm & gentle evening

Very muted colours at first this evening

Looking East to Cudden Point the little Shetland ponies were even further along the ridge than I've seen them before. At least they seem to be sure footed, I haven't heard of any falling off !

The haves & have nots

A cloudy day until the afternoon when a blue streak appeared out to sea in the East - this gradually got bigger and bigger, but moved so slowly that it only reached us by around 5pm. I think The Lizard had several more hours of lovely sunshine being further South.

Charlie & Tilley checking out their escape route only to find it's been filled in !

The hiil above Men Dhu point is now a lovely mix of green, yellow & white

Nice beach this evening

Went down to Penzance in time to watch Scillonian III leave on her first trip of the year to the Isles of Scilly. Although it was cloudy but dry in Perranuthnoe, by the time I got to Penzance it was drizzling & quite breezy. I went & stood on the ledge along the quay & watched them loading the containers, although all the passengers were on board by the time I got there. Nice to see her looking very smart, although it would have been nice to have some sun so that her gleaming white paint looked good !

Turnstone

Really love these little chaps & they don't seem to be afraid of humans or noise at all !

Turnstones

Several Turnstones wandering about on one of the very old boats permanently docked in Penzance

Loading Scillonian III this morning

Loading a big Pickfords container this morning before the first sailing of the year !

A few hardy souls outside on the rear deck - don't know how long they'll stay out there once she's out at sea as it's quite a cold, damp, breezy morning.

Scillonian III leaving the quay

Off she goes a few minutes late - but who cares !

Going backwards !

She reverses out a long way

Spin her round & off she goes

St Piran

The Fisheries Patrol Vessel St Piran in Penzance wet dock this morning

Gry Maritha

Gry Maritha in the wet dock this morning

Nice day for a sail on a shimmering sea !

Nice to see these two heading off round Cudden Point. Snowdrop on the right showing off her new rigging on the bowsprit.

A great day for a trip on the marine discovery rib - really looked great fun ! I really fancy a trip on this when it's a bit warmer.

Sheltered walkies in Godolphin Woods

As the huge black clouds were still threatening & the wind still bitterly cold, we decided to head for the shelter of Godolphin Woods. The walk through the woods is very pleasant & at the far end the footpath carried on round a huge field which had been recently ploughed - the correct way - that is leaving plenty of room for the walkers and wildlife between the field area and the hedge.
The field was surprisingly sheltered & the views of Godolphin & Tresowes Hills was lovely. Charley & Tilly really like a change and they enjoy all the scents of the woodland animals.

Godolphin Hill

Godolphin Hill which rises up from the woodland behind Godolphin House - which is now owned by the National Trust. The Godolphin family made their money from tin mining - hence the many shafts, engine houses etc that are around this area. The view from the top stretches right from Penzance to the West and The Lizard to the East.

Tresoweshill

Tresoweshill is a long area of high ground which is seen from the Helston Road from Praa to Ashton. Again the view from the top is superb on a clear day.

One of several engine houses in this area, this one is between Godolphin Hill & Tresoweshill

Life at the end of the Rainbow

Dramatic light this morning, with the rainbow right over the little holiday chalet across the village.

Marazion

Needed to pop into Marazion this morning, so took a couple of photos sheltering from the bitterly cold Northerly wind & rain.
When I had my usual look at the marsh the wind was so bad that my eyes were watering & could hardly see through the binoculars - let alone hold a camera steady.
There were several Sand Martins zooming around over the marsh & amongst them was my first Swallow of the year - there's been several of the around in the last week - bet they wish they'd stayed somewhere warm !

St Michaels Mount

Took this photo sheltering alongside a wall from the brutal wind. Even though the weather was so nasty with constant spots of rain as well there were quite a number of people walking around the village and setting off across the causeway.

The Castle on the Mount

Lovely clear view of beautiful stonework of the castle this morning still adorned in masses of scaffolding. You can clearly see what I assume is the builders hut - but where's the portaloo ?

A fine new coat !

As I drove back ito the village I noticed that both the mare & her foal had their coats on - they certainly needed them. The foal has got his mucky already - youngsters eh !! they're all the same !

Still decorating

I'm still busy decorating the downstairs hall ready to get the carpet fitted, so once again Jim took the dogs out. The clouds were very threatening and after many heavy showers during the day he did a rather strange figure of eight walk, never going too far from home & came home with Charlie & Tilly looking rather confused.

Living as we do in an old Tin Mining area, Jim is standing on top of an old spoil heap from the Wheal Trebarvah mine - now mostly covered in Gorse. Illawarra is the first house on the right.

On the way down the hill to Home

The Big Dig - with "elf & safety" of course !

Both the stone & block walls now completely removed as well as the inadequate footings. We now have to hope that we don't get too much heavy rain over the weekend or else we'll have part of the garden down on The Churchway !

The new escape route !

Charlie & Tilly checking out their new escape route out of the garden !

Drama in Perranuthnoe

The school bus shown in the article below being taken away this morning - I gather that this is the "good" side judging by the bashed up door lying in front of it !
Just found loads more photos on http://perranuthnoe.blogspot.com/

School bus stranded on Perranuthnoe Beach

We wondered what was going on yesterday evening when first of all we saw a police car as it was leaving the village then later we saw lots of lights down on the Car Park. Well now we know - the School Bus belonging to Nancealverne school had got stranded on the beach & the tide had pushed it onto the granite boulders.
I do wonder just who was in charge and did not notice the sign saying "No Vehicles beyond this point " right up by the car park. They had no business going onto the beach at all - the sand is far too soft - I gather it is a Special Needs School, but that just means that those in charge should be far more vigilant !
Click http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/galleries/Bus-stranded-Perranuthnoe-gallery-848615-detail/gallery.html To see the atticle & photos by Paul Ward
Sorry for the rant but I'd hate people to think this is a dangerous beach it's actually just the opposite !

Another busy day, unfortunately I spotted Scillonian just as she was heading back into Penzance, but Keith got some good shots - see http://keithhargreaves.blogspot.com/
Jim took the dogs out armed with his cameras and took some lovely photos of the walk out towards Cudden Point.

Perranuthnoe & beyond

Turning round on the way out of the village with the lines of hills right back to the Penwith Moors

Flowering Hawthorn everywhere !

Quite amazing as there was no sign of these Hawthorn bushes flowering a week ago and Jim got quite carried away - must have been quite a sight crouching down behind them to get the right shot !

Perranuthnoe through the flowers

Looking back at Perranuthnoe through the Gorse and Hawthorn which almost looks like cotton wool.

Gorse, Hawthorn & a blue sea

The Gorse & Hawthorn in full flower all along this stretch of path

A sheltered little path which joins the Churchway to the Coastal Footpath. The Gorse in full flower and hopefully in May the Orchids will be out on the meadow just above here.

Looking back towards Perranuthnoe

Windy Cudden Point

The waves being pushed against the rocks by the strong wind

This vessel has been moored out in the bay for a couple of days - it must be a bit bumpy out there this evening in the strong wind.

Marazion Marsh this morning

A quick visit to Marazion Marsh this morning to check on the nesting Grey Herons - no sign of the male & she was very low on the nest as the wind was very strong & cold. A number of Swans were contentedly gliding around until one of the males got nasty ! Apart from the usual Moorhens there was not a lot to be seen until I spotted the Gadwall trying to keep out of the way of the aggressive swan.

Gadwall

Had to look this one up - I hadn't seen one before, it appears to be a Gadwall - otherwise known as a Grey Duck or Grey Mallard !

Nesting Grey Heron on Marazion Marsh

The female Grey Heron still sitting on the nest - most of the time I was there she was hardly visible as she was so low in the nest. The very strong wind must have been pretty nasty. No sign of the male at all this morning - bet he was sheltering in a warmer spot !

A nice big stretch

A very territorial male

Several Swans on the Marsh this morning.

This male was continually setting off after other males - couldn't see if there was a female amongst the gathering.

It was hard to identify if the aggressive male was picking on the same one all the time, but this one had to make a dash for it !

Making a run for it !

Great big feet splatting along on the water - such a lovely noise !

A much finer day than expected. Our "leaning wall of Perranuthnoe" has been demolished block by block, so we now have a large pile of rubble. We also have an easy way in for the local wildlife, so hope they don't come in and eat all the plants overnight. Sorry haven't been able to take too many photos as it's been a bit of a busy day.

Looking accross the Bay

A lovely shimmering afternoon.