2017 |
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Truro House
Cornwall - January 2017
Based on our visit there last June we bought a house in Truro and spent much of January taking possession and getting some works done, including some re-pointing, installation of burglar alarm and some cosmetic work. As the house was empty we camped inside it during the week and spent weekends visiting friends in London, Verity in Bristol and a childhood friend in Somerset. This gave us the opportunity to test the south west rail network to destruction, including multiple trips to and from London's Paddington station. The journey can be done in under 5 hours during the day but there is a Night Riviera Sleeper Train leaving London Paddington just before midnight and arriving in Truro at about 7.00am. See video of the service. Having used public transport all over the world I can say with great confidence that the railways servicing the South West of England are excellent.
Paddington Station Statue of Paddington Bear at Paddington Station
Night Train Cafe / Bar Sleeper Cabin
Train views between Paddington and Truro
Train views between Paddington and Truro Pullman dining service on selected trains.
Boscawan Street, Truro
Truro
For reasons of fitness we are trying to walk 10,000 steps per day. In Dubai this entails walking from our villa and along the Dubai Canal and turning back home somewhere past Sheikh Zayed Road. About 45 minutes each way. From our new house in Truro the turning point is the Heron Inn in Malpas, part of the Fal River estuary. Quite a contrast.
Heron Inn, Malpas
View from Heron Inn, Malpas
Fal River Estuary, Malpas.
Morning Coffee at The Heron Inn, Malpas A massive G&T next to a pint glass at The Rising Sun
The Heron Inn opens at 10.00am, is at the end of a refreshing walk, had a welcoming log fire, a truly beautiful view and a comprehensive menu of coffees. The Rising Sun in Truro served its usual superb Sunday lunch preceded by an enormous Gin and Tonic. The "hand-crafted, artisan gin" was first-class and made by Tarquin at the local Southwestern Distillery. The one we had went very well with Fever Tree tonic and a large slice of orange. The roast beef, homemade horseradish sauce, colossal Yorkshire puddings and vegetables with a Mornay sauce was up to their usual high standards. Our knowledgeable waitress recommended a dark, sweet sherry to go with the cheese board, which was a perfect choice. It seems boutique gins and sherries are very fashionable.
Ballet at Hall for Cornwall theatre in Truro
The St. Petersburg Ballet danced a creditable performance of Swan Lake at Hall for Cornwall. The stage is much smaller than The Royal Opera House, which restricted the number of dancers, but it had the advantage of being £100 cheaper per ticket and a 10 minute walk from our new house.
A freezing night at Ashton Gate, Bristol - Bristol vs. Bath Rugby match
Changing trains and a pint in the waiting room at Taunton railway station.
"Boys cooking" with my oldest friend. Not a vegetable in sight.
Malta - February 2017
Maltese Coastline
Visiting a much loved sister (3/4) in Malta. Much rain has added greenery to the island. There are more photos from our visit in 2014.
The Chappell Family at home.
Maltese Harbour
Maltese Street
England - February 2017
Visiting family.
Friday Lunch at The French Horn, Steppingley
Fine lunch at the French Horn with parents and sisters 4/4 and 3/4. We also had an excellent Sunday lunch at The Birch in Woburn.
Winter walk around Woburn Abbey
Morning Coffee, The Black Horse, Woburn
Cornwall, Spring 2017
Truro Cathedral from Boscawan Park
A fortnight based in a Truro holiday cottage whilst we had more works carried out on our new house gave us a chance to explore the local area as a family. My idyllic childhood memories of a Cornish Spring were not disappointed by the pleasantly cool sunny weather and early flowering bulbs and bluebells set in beautiful countryside. We've lived abroad for so long that England is now as exotic to us as anywhere else!
Truro Cathedral from Boscawan Park
Boat wreck, Truro River.
Walk from Truro to Malpas
Walk from Truro to Malpas
St. Ives
St. Ives' beaches are reachable from Truro by train in less than an hour - less by car if you want to forgo a glass of wine or Cornish cider with your lunch. We had a picnic on the beach. Clair and Verity thought St. Ives deserved a second visit for the shopping.
St. Ives
St. Ives
Railway to St. Ives
Railway to St. Ives
Fal River Tour on Enterprise Boats
We bought a three day Mussel Card that gave us unlimited travel around the Fal River Estuary and Roseland Peninsula - classed as areas of outstanding natural beauty. The card gave us unlimited travel on all the ferries on the Fal River estuary, the Falmouth / Truro railway line and the local bus services. It also came with three consecutive perfect days of sunny weather.
Fal River Tour on Enterprise Boats
Fal River Tour on Enterprise Boats
Trelissick House
Enterprise Boats took us from Truro to Trelissick Gardens. This gave us the opportunity to introduce our children to a Great British institution - The National Trust. This is an organisation that owns and cares for countless national heritage sites, nature reserves and wild life preserves. They manage 50 such sites in Cornwall alone, including Trelissick House and Gardens. We've been family members of The National Trust for decades but we were able to buy our children their own annual membership giving unlimited access to all their sites for little more than the entry fee for this site.
Trelissick House Trelissick Garden
Trelissick Garden
Trelissick Garden
Trelissick House Trelissick Garden
I have many ancestors from Cornwall and have researched them back to 1551. Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries policy destroyed many church records between 1536 and 1541 making earlier research difficult. I've inherited land in Roche, which has been in the family for hundreds of years and have relations with the Vivian (Vyvyan) family and links to the Trelowarren Estate. Nevertheless it was a surprise to find a doppelgänger for Edward in a portrait of the family "black sheep" in Trelissick House.
Trelissick House
Trelissick House
Trelissick Garden
Picnic, Trelissick Garden
Falmouth
Falmouth is accessible from Truro by river boat and made a pleasant day trip punctuated by lunch at Rick Stein's Fish Restaurant, which makes as good a traditional Fish and Chips and Rhubarb Crumble as I've had.
Rick Stein's Fish, Falmouth
The river boats also took us to St. Mawes, a surprisingly "quaint" traditional fishing village. Another "ferry" (an open topped motorboat) then took us on a 10 minute ride to Place, for a walk to St. Anthony's Head through pretty countryside with dramatic views of the river estuary and coastline.
St. Mawes
St. Mawes
St. Mawes
The Place Ferry comes into St. Mawes
Place Ferry, St. Mawes
The Idle Rocks Hotel, St. Mawes
The Idle Rocks Hotel, St. Mawes
The Idle Rocks, St. Mawes
The Idle Rocks Hotel provided front row seats to the beauty of St. Mawes. We arrived between the lunch and dinner menus but friendly and helpful staff from New Zealand and Germany quickly settled us on to the front terrace. We were able to sample their excellent Cornish Cream Tea, BLTs and Cornish Cider whilst leisurely enjoying the views.
St Mawes Castle, an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII between 1540 and 1542.
Place House, Place
Place
St. Mawes Castle from Place.
Place
Beehives, Place
Place House
Sennen Cove, Cornwall
We hired a car for the day and drove to Sennen Cove, where we parked and walked to Land's End and back along part of The South West Coast Path.
Walk between Sennen Cove and Land's End
Land's End
Land's End
On the way home from Land's End we took in St. Michael's Mount.
St Michael's Mount
St Michael's Mount
Sunset over the Truro River.
Truro provided excellent city amenities. We had an enjoyable evening at the theatre for an excellent, well acted and intimate performance of Jessica Swale's Nell Gwynn at Hall for Cornwall. St Mary's Singers and orchestra put on an evocative performance of Bach's St. John's Passion at the Cathedral. This was "free" with a "retiring donation" but was excellent value and well attended. The Old Ale House provided some excellent pints as the official tap room of the local Skinner's brewery and The Rising Sun cooked us its excellent Sunday roast.
A Walk to a local Pub - June 2017
The quickest walk to the Heron Inn from our house is through St. Clement......
St. Clement, Cornwall. May 2017.
.....and then along a public footpath to Malpas........
Public Footpath between St. Clement and Malpas
Public Footpath between St. Clement and Malpas
...and then along the Tresillian River....
Tresillian River, Malpas.
....arriving at the Heron Inn.
Heron Inn, Malpas
Heron Inn, pre-dinner drinks.
Total walk is 2 beautiful miles (3.22km).
A Day Trip to St. Agnes - June 2017.
A number 87 double decker bus leaves Truro about every hour and takes 35 minutes to arrive in St. Agnes.....
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St. Agnes St. Agnes path to the beach.
St. Agnes path to the beach.
St. Agnes beach
St. Agnes coastal path.
Verity at St. Agnes. 
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