Sunday 9 August 2015

Out and About around the Plymouth Area

 There is a nice short walk around Devils Point towards The Royal William Yard.  This is the point where the River Tamar empties out into Plymouth Sound
 There are nice views up the Tamar from the Mount Edgecumbe Estate to Torpoint, the Devonport Naval Base and up to Saltash
 The village of Cremyll which is located at the gates of Mount Edgecumbe




The view back to Drakes Island in Plymouth Sound
 The Royal William Yard, Formerly the Royal Navy's Victualling yard which is now being converted into upmarket Apartments, Restaurants and boutique shops
 The Cremyll Ferry which crosses the Tamar from Stonehouse (near the Royal William Yard) to Cremyll
 One of the trip boats that does Tamar River Cruises and Dockyard Cruises
 The memorial to Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) in front of Admiralty House.  As can be seen Admiralty House is now being converted into upmarket apartments!
We had a very nice lunch at the Wagamama Restaurant.  This was my Wagamama Ramen.
 We visited Tavistock where they were holding a Farmers Market as well as their regular Pannier Market.
 Some of the stalls at the Farmers Market
 This lady was playing her harp at the entrance to the Pannier Market
 Dukes Coffee House alongside the Pannier Market
 We had Leak, Potato and Stilton soup with Garlic Bread for lunch
 Inside the Pannier Market
 The Leather Goods stall
And my favourite - the Book Stall.
 We took the bus from Tavistock to Calstock.  The bus ran into a problem soon after we got off - it met another bus coming up the hill and it is a very narrow (and picturesque) Road.  The bus coming up manged to squeeze in until the two vehicles were level but then they ran out of space.  By this time I was running between the two drivers with messages!  However, the matter was resolved when the bus coming up hill reversed back to about where it is in the photo and then the other bus reversed back up the hill and turned round.  It never arrived at the bus stop where it was scheduled to pick up passengers, and they had to wait another hour for the next bus!
 Two views of the Calstock Viaduct which carries the branch line from Plymouth to Gunnislake.
 It was Calstock Regatta Day and the Gig Races were in full swing on the River Tamar
Three Gigs lined up with the Village behind
 The Cornish Coat of Arms on the stern of a Gig
 Gigs racing on the river

Our friends, Eve and Al took Viv and myself to visit Viv's friend Lesley who lives in her own little cottage next to her daughter, Clare, deep in the East Cornish countryside not far from the village of Quethiock.
 The Farmhouse
 Lesley's Cottage
 Lesley and Viv
 Clare and Tuppence
Al, Eve and Viv

This is probably the last update for this trip to England and the Continent.  I return home  very soon.  It has been a great trip, encompassing my Mum, Viv's, 90th Birthday in March as well as more ancestral searching in Somerset and Cornwall.  We also very much enjoyed our spontaneous trip to Corfu as well as our two weeks in Normandy and Brittany.

Tuesday 4 August 2015

Some photos taken by my friend Eve in Brittany and Normandy

 Al, Viv and Bob studying the opening times for the Chateau de Pirouz on the Cotentin Peninsula on our first full day in Normandy.  We didn't get in to the Chateau in the end, because of time constraints, but we had a nice Crepe for lunch at Pirou Plage.
 Bob punching in the security code to get into our Holiday Home in the Priory of St Michel in Normandy
 and then disappearing up the driveway.
Eve making friends with a horse in the stables of the Haras du Pin
Viv and Bob outside the Bar-Tabac in a small Breton Village called Lennon.
 Eve on the walls of the Ville Close, Concarneau

A swarm of Bees that Eve saw a little further along the wall
 Les Statues des Soeurs Goadec in Carhaix
Sculpture called the Dancers in Poullaouen

The Last Day in Brittany

On our last day in France we firstly to the town of Morlaix, but, before we carried on to the Ferry Port in Roscoff, we visited an amazing prehistoric site not far away on the Baie de Morlaix.
 The railway viaduct in Morlaix
 The Cairn de Barnanez situated on the shores of the Baie de Morlaix
 This remarkable pre-historic monument dates back to the Neolithic period - about 4800BC
 The view down the bay towards Morlaix
The view across the bay towards Roscoff

Monday 3 August 2015

A Day Out On The Crozon Peninsula

The Crozon Peninsula is the middle of the three peninsulas that make up the western coast of Brittany.  It falls almost all into the Parc Naturel Regional d'Amorique.
 The town of Chateaulin situated near the mouth of the River Aulne and near the start of the Brest Nantes Canal
 The chapel Sainte-Marie-du-Ménez-Hom - a very ornate church.
 Menez-Hom is a hill not far from the church with fantastic views around that part of Brittany.  My friends Eve and Al at the summit.  It was a very windy day and there were many people there flying radio controlled model gliders.
 The view south over the Baie de Douarnenez towards the town of that name
 And the view over the River Aulne towards Brest
Eve took this picture of me taking the photographs above
The Pointe de Penhir near the town of Cameret-sur-Mer
Rocky Islets off the Pointe
 The Cross of Penhir, a Monument to the Bretons of Free France
 We saw this climber ascending this rock adjacent to the monument
 Apparently, people who wish to climb mountains start here.
 A memorial to those who fought in the Battle of the Atlantic constructed around bunkers constructed by the German Occupying forces as part of their Atlantic Wall defences.  Today it also hosts a museum dedicated to the battle.
 Two views of the bunkers and other works.
 The lighthouse at Pointe Toulinguet taken from the
 The harbour at Cameret-sur-Mer

Ordering coffee at a cafe in Camaret-sur-Mer