Cornwall in the Sunshine

I went back down to Cornwall for a couple of weeks in August to catch up with more friends down there.  And the weather was more user-friendly this time, with quite a few days of sunshine, even over the August Bank Holiday weekend (unheard of).  It was very busy in Cornwall, being the last week of the school summer holidays, but still a joy to be there.   Of course, being England, the beautiful days were interspersed with miserable misty, wet days.  The price that must be paid for all the greenery.

Dinner overlooking a sandy beach on Cornwall's north coast












It was a delight to see a Red Admiral butterfly.  I remember these from my childhood.

Cliff top walks in the sunshine

yet another quaint Cornish village

Carn Euny. The remains of round stone houses. This site has been inhabited since the iron age.

Also at Carn Euny.  This is part of the fogou.  An underground tunnel with a circular round room off the corridor.  It is not known what this was used for, but it is incredibly sturdy and well built.  Perhaps it was protection against invaders.  The whole settlement was built high on a hill, with views to the coast

Iridescent lichen in a nearby sacred well

The church where Sir John Betjeman is buried, overlooking
the sea

This is one of the four round houses in Veryan, a small Cornish village.  There are a pair of these round houses at each end of the village - one on either side of the road.  They have round rooms so there are no corners for the devil to hide in.

The Merry Maidens near Penzance. They were turned to stone, as punishment for dancing on the Sabbath.  It looks like they must have been circle dancing.

As I was going to St Ives (on the train), this was the view

In St Ives for a day out with old friends

Very steep narrow streets in St Ives