West Country Tour Spring 2022

Wed 30^th Mar

We had John Plant’s funeral to go to. He had been a close friend of ours from our years in Cobham Christian Fellowship and Pioneer People. We collected Mark Harper from our church in Aylesbury, and Pam Laws from Thame, and drove to Leatherhead for the crematorium event. There were lots of people we knew, some of whom we hadn’t seen for many years. John Noble was there, although we didn’t see him. We were half expecting Gerald Coates to be there as well, but we discovered he was seriously ill.

The celebration service was at Esher Green Baptist, where James had been asked by Pat to say a few words by way of a eulogy. It was the first eulogy for James, but he managed OK, although he left out some things that he had intended to say.

John Noble had left to see his wife Christine in the care home, so we never saw him.

Sadly, we later learned that Christine died three days later, on the Saturday, and Gerald died the following day, on the Sunday. Hazel had been Gerald’s secretary for eight years, and James had known him since the days of Inter Church Action in 1968, when he was a window-dresser, then a postman.  He was a radical church leader, author and preacher, and influenced many lives. Sadly his wife Anona is also ill, and suffering from dementia.

Thu 31^st Mar

We left for our West Country tour, which had been delayed by two days because of John Plant’s funeral.  Our first port of call was to visit James’ cousin Dick Bell, and his wife Eileen, in Seaton, Devon. They are both in their mid eighties and it was a joy to spend some time with this precious couple. 

Dick and Eileen

We continued on to Brixham, where our good friends Adline and Barry gave us overnight hospitality. We went to their Baptist church where Adline was having a singing group practice. We followed this by having fish and chips in a restaurant overlooking the harbour. Again we haven’t see them for a while, since they moved from Salisbury a few years ago.

Fri 1^st April

Our destination was Newlyn in Cornwall, where James’s 2^nd cousin Ian Berwick lives with his wife Eleanor. We took a scenic route, crossing the Dart estuary on the lower ferry from Kingswear to Dartmouth. The Dart Valley Railway also leaves from here, and a train was just leaving as we arrived. The ferry was just a floating pontoon, with a tug alongside to pull it. The fare was £6 one way for the car and passengers.

Dart Valley Railway

Boats at Kingswear

Dartmouth Lower Ferry

We then followed the road south via Stoke Fleming and Strete, where James had spent a holiday week with his parents in the mid fifties.

We encountered some slow traffic on the A30, and our satnav guided us up a bumpy farm track to the wrong part of the complex of old buildings where Ian and Eleanor live. So, we had to return a short way to find another equally bumpy track which brought us to the right place. Ian and Eleanor used to have a vineyard in Suffolk, and they sold it to move down to Cornwall to be near their two sons, James and David.

As well as the house and garden, they have bought an adjacent small field which they are landscaping, and turning into a beautiful peaceful garden. They have pond at the end, and as we approached, a snipe flew away.

Sat 2^nd April

We went to visit Cape Cornwall, where we were hoping to see choughs, large black crow-like birds with red legs and beaks. James went for a walk past a ruined church and round the small peninsula, but found that the coastal path suddenly turned left to go straight up the hill, to avoid the cliffs and the coastguard station. There is monument in the shape of a chimney at the top, built to remember those who worked in the nearby tin mines.

Ruined church

The view from Cape Cornwall

Chough pic by Andrew Collins, nicked off the web

Not a chough – a raven

Cape Cornwall, with James as a silhouette

Chimney monument

Gorse

James was very out of breath by the time he returned to the car, where Hazel had been watching his progress.

The National Trust warden recognized our Canal Ministries fleeces, as his previous job had been as a Canal and River Trust employee at Marsworth, very close to Aylesbury.

We didn’t see any choughs, but had found the right place, and were told that there are usually choughs around, but not today. The lady in the café described a location where we might see some short eared owls, so we drove the short way to the place. We found a man with binoculars peering into a field, and asked him about the owls. “They are usually here, but not today!!” he said. We went back to Ian and Eleanor’s, buying some Cornish Pasties in Newlyn on the way. We consumed these together with some of David Berwick’s home produced cider, which had won an award as the best still cider in the world. It was very good.

We were finally rewarded with the sight of an unusual bird - a peahen on the bird table at Ian and Eleanor’s.  Apparently no-one takes responsibility for it, but everyone feeds it.

Peahen

Later we had a visit from their son James and his family, followed by a peaceful moment in the late sun in the “field.

Sun 3^rd Apr

A day out with the Berwicks, particularly useful as Ian is not driving for a few more days, recovering from a light stroke.

Ian and Eleanor

We visited Newlyn, where the statue of the fisherman was being used as a roost by a herring gull. Then to Trengwainton Gardens, which was a delightful place. Rhododendrons, azaleas and gardenias and magnolias, all at their very best. We had a light lunch in the café there. We then found our way to Mousehole, where James spotted a seal, too far away for a photo, and a sanderling resting on one of the boats. There was a view across to St Michaels Mount.

Herring Gull on the fisherman statue

Trengwainton Gardens

Mousehole

Sanderling

St Michaels Mount

Mon 4^th Apr

We said our farewells to Ian and Eleanor, before driving to Gorran Haven where we had a pasty and a drink in a café near the beach. A short stroll revealed a racing gig, and a possible sighting of a cirl bunting. Sadly James did not have his binoculars or camera to hand.

Gorran Haven

Gig

Cirl Bunting?

Then we drove up the hill to Gorran Churchtown to find the grave of James’s grandparents on his father’s side. We had been given a description of the memorial, and the location as the middle cemetery, in the far corner, near a telegraph pole. Well, we found the churchyard, and the council cemetery, but we weren’t sure where the middle cemetery was. We clambered around looking at all the possible memorials of the right shape. We even rang the vicar to ask about the middle cemetery, but he was none the wiser. We spoke to Maggie, who described the location. It was actually the far end of the churchyard. We couldn’t see any tombstones that matched the description, but James went right down to the furthest corner. There he spotted a memorial that was lying on its back out of sight, presumably having been blown down in the recent storms. It was the right one. Arthur Lewis Bell and Catherine Bell. They had both passed away before James’ parents were married, so James had never met them, although he had followed their trail around Brazil a few years ago. The telegraph pole was there, but hidden behind a tree, so we hadn’t seen it. James managed to pull the memorial to an upright position.

Headstone on the ground

Upright again, by the hidden telegraph pole

We drove to St Austell, where we had booked a few nights in Bankside B&B. This was a lovely place, a few minutes walk from the centre of St Austell, but very quiet, as it was set well back from the road. We had a comfortable firm bed and were pleased with our choice.

We went out for a pleasant curry in the town.

Tue 5^th Apr

We drove to Lanhydrock to meet another friend from years back. Sarah is the sister of our friend David Hawkey, who we know well, and visit sometimes in Newbury. Last time we were there, Sarah rang up, and David passed the phone to James. We hadn’t realised she lived in Bodmin, and we agreed to meet up during our Cornwall visit. We hadn’t seen her since 1979, so it was with some nervousness that James approached a lady in the car park, saying a tentative “Sarah?” Fortunately she replied “James?”, and we were delighted to catch up, and meet her husband Colin. We had an enjoyable wander round Lanhydrock, including the house.

Colin Sarah Hazel James

We then found our way to Charlestown, a quaint harbour, where some filming is done, including scenes from Poldark. There were lots of barrels around, presumably film props. There were some cannons, and a pillory. It was a pleasant spot, and we had a relaxing cream tea overlooking the harbour. A herring gull had his eye on us but he got nothing.

Herring Gull

Charlestown

Wed 6^th Apr

We visited the Eden Project today. Last time we were in Cornwall, it had still been a china clay quarry. It was a long walk down to the domes, so were pleased we had started early and secured a place in the car park near to the path down. There were two main domes, with facilities connecting the two. Apart from these there was another place with some unusual sculptures, but not a lot else to see, so we were a little disappointed. Perhaps our expectations were too high. We had a very nice meal in the Mediterranean restaurant. Thankfully there was a lift up to the top level, and the walk back to the car was manageable (just). The usual bus service for guests had been cancelled due to covid.

Eden project

Gorse

Roul-roul partridge male

Roul-roul partridge female

Grass tree

We then went to find some sea views at Trenarren and Porthpean, but we couldn’t find anywhere suitable.

Thu 7^th Apr

On our last morning in the B&B we had a Chinese breakfast consisting of a large bowl of soup, with noodles, chicken and spring onions. It was very tasty. You don’t get that in many B&B’s, but our hostess was Li, from China.

Chinese breakfast

We took a scenic route towards Plymouth, pausing to visit a stone circle, and going through Downderry.

Duloe Stone Circle

We set out satnav for our garden ventre rendezvouse, and realised we would have go the most direct way instead of taking the coastal route. We crossed the Tamar Bridge, and arrived at the garden centre near Ivybridge, where we met Adline and Barry, as well as Joan Williams, whose departed husband Les used to be our mandolin and flute player in our folk group Amberwood. It was good to see Joan again after a lot of years.

Adline Barry Hazel Joan James

We then returned to Adline and Barry’s, following them via another scenic route.

Fri 8^th Apr

We visited Greenway, the holiday home of Agatha Christie, now a National Trust property. There were extensive gardens leading down to the Dart estuary, where we saw a seal.

Greenway

Adline Barry Hazel

View of the Dart from Greenway

 We also had a walk along the Brixham breakwater to the lighthouse, and saw another seal.

Brixham from the breakwater

Seal in Brixham

Golden Hind replica in Brixham

We ended up having a lovely meal at Beamers, a seafood restaurant.

Sat 9^th Apr

We started the journey home, meeting Oliver at a property for sale near Gillingham in Dorset. It was not the right one, but it was good to have a look, and spend some time with our son. We had lunch in a garden centre before going our separate ways, he to Amanda’s in Poole, and we to Aylesbury.

Finding stationary traffic on the A303 just before Stonehenge, we diverted off via Devizes, Marlborough and Abingdon to get home. We collected a Chinese takaway.

In conclusion: a very successful trip, with good weather, seeing some lovely places, and enjoying catching up with some people we haven’t seen for a long time. The trip was three years overdue because of the Covid pandemic.