Flat Two

Penwith Landscape Partnership

Buckets of wildflower seeds at Higher Botallack

Bosigran Romano-British courtyard house settlement

Whenever I have found a way to give some of my time and energy, it has always broken the laws of physics and given me back more. The Penwith Landscape Partnership is a collaboration of multiple groups and agencies in West Penwith focused on the incredible environment and history of this land. I had the chance this visit to help sow seeds for a couple of wildflower fields on a farm near the moor at Higher Botallack and clear brambles and bracken from the Bosiliack Bronze age roundhouse settlement. It felt good to be helping to care for this land. My last weekend was also the annual PLP guided Walks Weekend, which gave me the chance to revisit Bosiliack and also visit the Romano-British courtyard houses at Bosigran on the high farmland above the sea.

Eight and a Half

I set off walking on a glorious Saturday morning through the village of Tregeseal in the Kenidjack valley and then up to Hailglower Farm and the moorland beyond.

Views of St. Just – the Medieval parish church tower stands on the left, and the Wesleyan Methodist chapel on the right. The ocean beyond.

I love visiting the Bronze age Tregeseal Stone Circle on any day. Like many ancient sites in the area, it’s been a living monument over time, with fallen stones stood back up and well-meant repairs done.

The bracken is browning and there’s gorse in flower. This time of year it’s the Western Gorse (Ulex gallii) gleaming gold July into November. The Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) blooms from January into June. The “Prickly Bush” provides valuable cover for birds and invertebrates.

A short detour from the main track takes me to the row of prehistoric holed stones, whose use and meaning is unknown but not unique. The famous Men-an-Tol is not that far away, and the number of cairns and barrows and hut circles nearby show the importance of this high land to the people who made it their own over three thousand years ago.

From here I walk up to Carn Kenidjack, the hooting cairn. Its granite outcropping stands 650 feet above sea level.

From Carn Kenidjack I walk along the ridge to Carn Bean, where a communications tower sits on top of a couple of Bronze age barrows. From there it’s downhill to Pendeen, spotting a Neolithic standing stone on the way.

The 19th C Pendeen parish church was built by the miners living there.

Lunch at Maria Chica‘s in Pendeen, lucky me! Then on through the village to walk along the coast, scrambling up and down the valleys and taking in the Pendeen Watch lighthouse and cottages. Got some glorious views back south-west along the Tin Coast with the mining chimneys visible above the cliffs.

And then a well-deserved bus rise home, and a tapas dinner at the Cook Book Cafe in St. Just.

August

There’s a drought across Europe under blue skies and relentless sun. We gaze on golden fields and hay bales, stunted brassicas in dusty rows, Cornish hedges browning. The streams and reservoirs are retreating.

It’s also summer hols, kids kicking a ball on the Plein, ice cream cones, heading for the beaches, Scarlet Pimpernel at the Minack, top of the bus ride to St. Ives, pool at Boswedden House, pub gardens. M’s first visit and loving it.

Early Summer

I overlapped with S on this trip, and we finished so many projects! But also took some fantastic walks along the coast and up on the hills. Mostly great weather and just enough rainy days to get things done in the flat. Love this time of year!

Day Trip to Looe

OK, so it’s a bit of a long way for a day trip on the train, and the scenic train ride down the Looe Valley was packed thanks to spring break. As a result I enjoyed our walk in the ancient forest of Kilminorth Woods more than our ambles around Looe. But it was a very pleasant day and a good thing to get out and see other bits of Cornwall.

Walking to Sennen

The coast path to Sennen makes its way along the edge of the ocean, rising to a clamber over rocks at Aire Point before dipping to the white sands of Gwynver Beach and Sennen Cove. From St. Just you can start this walk by heading to Cape Cornwall, or Carn Gloose and the Ballowall Barrow, or from the Cot Valley, but we headed through farms and fields to pick up the path near the Hendra farm. We might have missed some of the earlier ups and downs, but still had the glorious cliffs of Boscregan and Nanjulian to enjoy. This stretch of the South-West Coast Path is apparently known for adders in May and September, when they find sunny spots to warm themselves.

March

Blue skies and wonderful walks. The ESE wind lessened as the week went on after blowing hard and cold on us at St. Michael’s Mount. From the top of the bus we looked out over fields of lambs and daffodils (did you know Cornwall produces 80% of the world’s cut narcissi?). We lit a fire most evenings and watched the telly. Lots of Covid around (BA2 Omicron subvariant) so we did takeaway and enjoyed pub gardens and beach bars. It was L’s first visit to the flat, and it was minT!

March Flowers

Spring begins in Penwith hedges, roadsides, and valley copses.

Primrose (*Primula vulgaris*) one of the earliest Spring flowers in Cornwall

Alexanders (*Smyrnium olusatrum*) were everywhere, and covered in pollinators.

Lesser celandine (*Ficaria verna*) doesn’t take over everything the way it has in the north-east USA.

Greater stitchwort (*Stellaria holostea*)

Sea campion (*Silene uniflora*) at Cape Cornwall

Three-Cornered Leek (*Allium triquetrum*)

First of the Thrift (*Armeria maritima*) in flower at Cape Cornwall

Field forget-me-not (*Myositis arvensis*) in the Cot Valley

Sennen Cove

Almost a mile of fine sand and a great spot for surfing. L described it as the most beautiful beach she’d seen outside of Hawaii – it’s the combination of the sweep of the sand, the colours of the water, the cliffs and rocks and sky. And you can get to Sennen Cove with a walk along the South-West Coast Path, or riding on the open upper deck of the Land’s End Coaster bus. The Surf Beach Bar gave us an excellent lunch after walking up an appetite on this glorious March afternoon.

January

Three weeks went by so quickly. The first few days brought wind and rain, even thunder and hail. And then we had clear blue skies and could see the Scilly Isles on the horizon, 28 miles off the coast. We did so much to make the flat comfortable – it’s truly a home now. In spite of the variant that shall not be named we had a wonderful time with lots of great take-out food and walks and bus rides. Sunday morning we took a last walk down the Cot Valley and back, and then ended up scrambling when I realized the bus times were different to weekday and we had 30 fewer minutes than expected. Ah, what I could have done with those missing minutes! But I’ll be back.