Walk pictures

Introduction

R and I went to Cornwall for the second time in June 2019. We stayed in a small seaside town called Looe, which we chose from a list of nice places to stay for two reasons: first, it has a railway station, and second, the name sounds like a toilet. This is what being an adult is all about.

We stayed in a small but nice flat in what would once have been a fisherman’s house, very near the beach and the pier, arriving on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday

We went to the (tiny but entertaining) town museum and had a look around the town.

Archway across the Looe River.

1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′3″N 4°27′5″W

Looe beach.

1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′10″N 4°27′2″W

East past the end of the sea wall on the nice new steps.

1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′11″N 4°26′57″W

Monday

We did an official town walk from a leaflet.

Font lid in St Nicholas’s Church.

1/60 at f4, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′9″N 4°27′20″W

Houses, West Looe.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′12″N 4°27′24″W

The bridge was repaired in 1689, but that didn’t last; it’s been demolished. (There’s a new one.)

1/1000 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′19″N 4°27′23″W

Fish market.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′15″N 4°27′16″W

Looe pier is called the Banjo Pier, because it has a circular end after a long straight bit. The shape is approximately nothing like a banjo (it would be slightly more accurate to call it the lollipop pier).

Beacon on the pier.

1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′3″N 4°27′3″W

R kitted up in her North Face for the British summer.

1/30 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′3″N 4°27′3″W

Tuesday

On Tuesday we took a short boat ride to Looe Island, which is also called St George’s Island - at least, that was the plan. R decided at the last minute that she might get sick on the boat, so she stayed in the flat abusing somebody else’s Netflix account while I went on my own.

It was a beautiful day and the sea was impressively flat.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′39″N 4°26′59″W

The island is now owned by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust as a reserve. A few rangers live out there, and one of them greeted us and gave us an introduction to the island. She handed out a laminated set of detailed directions for a short circuit of the island, which we could take at our own pace.

This is what a generator room looks like when you’re a wildlife trust.

1/125 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′16″N 4°26′59″W

Trees with the sea and coast behind.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′15″N 4°26′58″W

Outdoor plumbing.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′13″N 4°26′53″W

Jetty (not used for our boat, we landed on the beach) and clear water.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′13″N 4°26′53″W

Hut.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′13″N 4°26′53″W

Rocks and seagulls.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′11″N 4°26′52″W

More rocks and more seagulls.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′11″N 4°26′52″W

Rocks, small plants, and the sea.

1/250 at f16, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′10″N 4°27′4″W

Quite a lot of sea.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′13″N 4°27′4″W

Sea with grass, and some interesting cloud.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′14″N 4°27′9″W

If you are in the area when they’re running trips, I definitely recommend visiting the island, especially if it’s a nice day and even if like me you aren’t particularly interested in wildlife.

After I got back, we went to see the exhibition at the Sardine Factory, which probably used to be a sardine factory but has now been redeveloped. It was only somewhat interesting but there is a point where you can take photos standing in a giant sardine tin, which has to be a plus.

Landing stage by the river.

1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′7″N 4°27′16″W

Nelson the one-eyed seal lived near Looe for 25 years; after he died they put up a statue.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′5″N 4°27′14″W

Looking across Looe River.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′7″N 4°27′16″W

An arrow by the river.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′8″N 4°27′18″W

Window on Higher Chapel Street.

1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′11″N 4°27′14″W

Wednesday

We spent Wednesday visiting the Eden Project, travelling by train and then an astonishingly expensive bus. The attraction itself is a bit like a modern version of the greenhouses at Kew Gardens, except with giant domes. It’s fairly interesting and there’s a lot to see.

Outdoors, they were doing sound checks for some band due to play that evening, which was a bit incongruous. Not sure of the band. Oasis? Definitely maybe.

View up at dome roof with flowers.

1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′40″N 4°44′33″W

View up at dome roof with grasses.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′39″N 4°44′33″W

Pretty flower.

1/500 at f4, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′39″N 4°44′33″W

In the rainforest dome, you can wait for a tour up to the very top, which involves climbing a lot of stairs on some very high metal platforms. R opted out, which is good because pregnant women (and people with heart conditions, etc etc) aren’t allowed up anyway! I went up there and you do get impressive views. It was exceedingly hot and they closed it, because some temperature limit had been reached, right after my group came down.

Looking down at trees from the top.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′45″N 4°44′43″W

We ended up rushing to catch a bus home and had to skip through their exhibition centre, but we did get to see two huge and entertaining sculptures.

I think this one is supposed to be a seed.

1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′37″N 4°44′30″W

And this one periodically blows scented smoke rings (because reasons).

1/125 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′38″N 4°44′30″W

View from Liskeard station, waiting for the Looe train.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°26′50″N 4°28′4″W

Thursday

We took a five mile walk along the South West Coast Path to Polperro, which is an extremely picturesque village.

Looking back at Looe Island.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′27″N 4°27′57″W

A tree on the slope.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′25″N 4°28′4″W

Rocks and the path dropping down below.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′20″N 4°28′26″W

An interesting (and extremely windy) rock jutting out toward the sea.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′0″N 4°28′23″W

Small island by the coast.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′0″N 4°28′26″W

Coming in to Talland Bay.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′14″N 4°29′36″W

Talland Bay features two cafés; we stopped at the first one for a rest and an ice cream. I took a short diversion uphill to see the church, which is interesting because it has a mostly-detached tower.

Passageway between church and tower; yellow bucket.

1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′16″N 4°29′27″W

Inside the church.

1/125 at f5.6, 23mm, ISO200 50°20′16″N 4°29′27″W

We continued the walk into Polperro.

Hedge arch.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°19′53″N 4°30′20″W

Entrance to Polperro Harbour.

1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°19′50″N 4°30′43″W

Houses backing onto the river in Polperro.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°19′52″N 4°31′10″W

We couldn’t stay too long in Polperro, so we visited the model village (not as impressive as others we’ve seen), but not the museum. Afterwards, an enormous queue of people including us somehow managed to fit onto the late double-decker bus back to Looe.

Looe fish market again.

1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′15″N 4°27′16″W

After we got back to the flat, R rested and I took a short walk on my own.

Banjo Pier, with waves contributing to a rather nice puddle.

1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′3″N 4°27′5″W

Pier and waves.

1/500 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′3″N 4°27′3″W

Self-portrait with railings and rocks.

1/250 at f11, 23mm, ISO200 50°21′11″N 4°26′57″W

I went out again after dark, trying to spot the Eddystone Lighthouse. I believe I did find the light (I have a photo to prove it but I haven’t posted that here because, you know, it's a white dot). It was a fun trip out on quite a wild night, with a strong wind and waves occasionally splashing onto the pier.