1992 Cadgwith
- Fri 1992-09-04 {14025}
- Cats to cattery, then off at 10h. Rover, \phi to Leigh Delamere,
\theta to Exeter, \phi to Cadgwith. Sunny & warm. Arr ~17h. Only
reliable parking is in 'pay & display' about 400m away at 50p/day, which
was a bit of a surprise, but otherwise as expected. Tiny fishing village
on a cove, now mainly providing for tourists. Cottage looks out over the
sea from a small terrace & bedroom window ditto. Light upstairs, in all
4 bedrooms, but the downstairs is gloomy during the day, OK at night.
Pub in village serves good food (by looks so far) & Pedigree, Flowers,
Boddingtons + local brews. There's also a cafe, a gift shop & a
take-away sandwich & sea-food place. Stench of seaweed. Small shingle
beach covered in small boats, & chains & winching gear. Short walk eve
along the coastal path (\phi only, most of the way) & later in the pub.
Cottage unusual in that it's unlocked, just go in - no-one there to meet
us, nor is there any requirement to meet on departure, tho' there is the
name of the caretaker to contact if needed. {Fuel 22.09l @ 36696mi =
5.79e-8m^2} (9L26 Mobil MK) {Fuel 34.52l @ 36919mi = 9.62e-8m^2}
(4261.12l = 7.17e-8m^2) (16L30 @ BP Lewdown)
- Sat 1992-09-05 {14026}
- Up early, to walk to car & buy today's parking ticket. Sun streaming
thro' the window over the sea, but not forecast to last. To Lizard (60p
in NT car park) & walk along the coast path, past the hotel &
lighthouse. Warm & pleasant to watch the sea & the wild coastline. Pix
of \theta & rocks &c on my camera. Then into Helston shopping. Lots of
small shops, butchers & bakers, with fresh bread & cakes. Bought maps,
eclairs, &c, & back to the cottage for lunch as clouding over. Aft in
reading, watching the wind & the rain. Eve to eat in the pub. 36-exp
from \phi posted (to go Mon).
- Sun 1992-09-06 {14027}
- To Land's End, in dreary fog, with occasional light drizzle. Saw the
flashy multi-media show, with impressive storm (with wind & spray as
well as thunder & lightning) & helicopter with flashing reflections of
rotor blades, down draft & realistic noise & stereo effect. Film &
projection TV + moving screens, animations &c. Good was Merlin's face
projected onto a model of a head. About 30 mins. Rest fairly
conventional static exhibits, gift shops. Had lunch there. Walked on the
cliff tops a little, but could barely see the sea below thro' the fog, &
it was blowing a gale as well. 5L each to get in, & busy-ish, despite
the weather. Home, diverting thro' the centre of Penzance, again to read
& watch the sea crashing outside.
- Mon 1992-09-07 {14028}
- Warm sunshine. To Goonhilly, the satellite earth station, run by BT.
Little exhibition centre + cafe to wait in, then 40min tour. Visit the
old control tower for viewing, saw the main control room, thro' a glass
wall, then a bus trip around the site. Competent commentary from a young
girl, but no technical content. Did say what each aerial was doing, eg
TV, telephony, & where it was pointing. Largest aerial ~30m dish,
earliest was the one that did the 1st transatlantic TV (60s). Then to
beach again (at Porthoustock), sitting in the sun watching scuba divers
playing in the sea. Then into Helston again, but no books, as only a
Menzies with very little to offer. From there back to cottage for lunch,
then sitting out on the "Todden" (spit) in the sun, with all the
tourists, until it became chilly. Fishing boats went out this morning
about 07h. They push them stern-first down the beach with a tractor, on
the front of which is a frame covered with old tyres - this at around
low tide. Lots of helpers to steady the boats & place & retrieve the
small logs that protect the keel & help it roll. The boats went out with
one man each, & stood just outside the cove - going astern until clear
of the cove, then turning. After the last was launched (4 or 5), the
remaining men went out in an open boat with an outboard, which delivered
another man to each boat making a 2-man crew for each, then came back.
The main boats are probably 8-10m, with a small enclosed wheelhouse, but
no deck. They returned, to be winched up the beach, about 15-16h,
carrying lobster pots & teachests full of fish - the catch just sitting
in the bottom of the boat. Classic FM started today at 6h, but don't
think I can get it down here. Sitting (or rather, lying) now on the bed,
looking out on a sunny evening, the sea, the tide ebbing, crashing over
the rocks to the left & breaking on the shingle, the day-visitors are
mostly gone, the boats deserted, sea-gulls above & on the beach, and
perched along the ridges of the cliffs. A single small bank of white
cloud sitting over the sea in the distance. A single sea-gull on the
chimney of the thatched cottage to the right. What was the name of that
company in Hemel? Later, the local gig club went out for ~1h in their
gig ('Buller') (a 6-oar + cox rowing boat), we went to the pub, &
finished a bottle of fizz.
- Tue 1992-09-08 {14029}
- Sun shining, & the boats going out again at dawn, tho' fewer this
morning. Reading on the bench outside the front door, until the sun was
obscured, & it got a bit cool. Then into Falmouth shopping, including a
good 2nd-hand bookshop. Then to Pendennis Castle, & a quick snack in the
cafe there. Sun shining, alternating with very short showers. Then to
Gweek & the seal sanctuary; still with sun & showers. Transport around
the site in 21-seater trailers towed behind Land-Rovers. Saw seals of
various sizes, in various stages of rehabilitation, tropical fish, & a
nature trail. \theta bought another fluffy seal. Then back to the
cottage for reading, &c. The pilot gig went out again, this time with a
all female crew (apart from the cox), who later all appeared at the pub,
where we were dining. Pub serves mainly sea-food, exactly what depending
on what they've caught that day. Helston has NatWest, Midland cash
dispensers, a TSB & something that will take Visa, but no Link at all -
very unusual. Falmouth had everything. Falmouth badly done - the main
shops are in a narrow cobbled street, & cars are directed down it
(one-way) to get to the main shopping car park. This is difficult for
the cars & the pedestrians. Also, parking is expensive in the centre (1h
40p, 2h 80p, 3h 1L70). Parking overlooks the harbour. Falmouth has
everything, Helston is only a local centre. Clear moon this evening,
directly over the bay & reflecting in the sea. Post \theta's 36-exposure
film. Tried the local mead - not so sickly as the last lot we tried
(Lindisfarne?).
- Wed 1992-09-09 {14030}
- \phi trying out the coastal path to the S, past the "Devil's Frying Pan"
- a point where the sea has broken through, making a tunnel which
emerges into a deep pit. The path, unfortunately, goes around the pit
rather than over the bridge, which is still grassed. Pix on \theta's
camera of here & further around the path. Back via the roads, leaving
the coast path at the first farm track. Dull at first, & signs of
overnight rain, but the sun appearing around 11h. Annoyingly, Cadgwith
is exactly on the boundary between 2 OS sheets, so traced the coastline &
major roads from one sheet onto the other. Village peaceful in the
morning, only a few walkers along the path, the bulk of visitors seem to
come only on sunny afternoons. Another 36-exp from \theta's posted
today. (Now Fuji 24-exp 400ASA in \theta's & Konica 24-exp in mine).
Before lunch, \theta\phi up to the headland to the N of the cove sitting
there watching the village's movements for some time. Warm, despite no
direct sunshine. Then after lunch, to sit on and explore the sand &
boulder beach on the 'other' bay, on the S side of the 'Todden' - more
popular with bathers & swimmers, & very warm, even tho' the sun shone
only for an hour or so in the afternoon. There seems to be a "village
idiot" - blonde-haired type, not wearing oil-skins like the rest, gets
his own boats out & back again, whereas the others always help each
other. Carries oars from one boat to another - then a few minutes later
back again. And today he got one of his boats out, & the engine wouldn't
start, so he's gone off rowing it.
- Thu 1992-09-10 {14031}
- The boat-winding system is as the drawing [DIAGRAM]. The central
pulley block is attached to the chain & not moved, the other is hooked
into a link of the chain to get the pull along the line required. The
pulley outside the winch-house is fixed on a vertical axis. The boats
did not go out this morning, tho' the sun is shining & the sea is calm.
The boats have a short length of line attached to the
front of the keel, with a loop on the end, which is kept clipped to the
top of the bow when not being used for winching. Shopping in Helston, &
{Fuel 34.95l @ 37195mi = 7.87e-8m^2} (4396.07l = 7.18e-8m^2) (15L95 at
Merlin (Jet) Helston). A garage with a swipe reader but not for Allstar!
Then to Mullion Cove, a proper harbour with walls, & lots of big rocks
around it, & watched the last of the sunshine disappear. Then back to
Cadgwith for lunch. Very large tides today (~6m, they were only ~3m when
we arrived). Despite Mullion having a nice harbour, it had fewer boats
that Cadgwith, & is owned by the National Trust & kept as a beauty
spot. Cadgwith works - it's far more fun! Towards eve a strong wind was
established from the E; blowing straight into the cove, so pretty choppy
even there - this combining with the high tide to bring the sea up close
to the boats. Pix on my camera from the Todden. Film of mine (Konica)
finished, but not yet posted. Eve to the restaurant in Cadgwith, mostly
sea-food. I had crab cocktail & salmon (sea?), \theta had crab pate &
prawn creole. Good, friendly service, even if they did move us from one
table to another before the 1st course!
- Fri 1992-09-11 {14032}
- Home. Up at 6h, dawn still awaited. Boats out again today, despite the
rough sea. They turn in the cove as there is plenty of water there, &
still they look a bit wobbly sideways to the waves. Difficult to launch
as well, one came back & gave the tractor a big thump, knocking it
backwards. Rain during the night, driven straight onto the bedroom
window by the E wind. Away at 8h. Day of sunshine alternating with very
short showers.