Day 9 - Truro, The Minack, Mousehole, and Lanyon Quoit

We started the morning with an earlier breakfast and then went to do laundry.  Mom and Grandma did the washing while I stayed at the lodge to finish getting ready and tidy up the kitchen.  While the washing machine was running, Mom and Grandma walked around the estate and took photos.  (Following photos taken by Mom)

We had planned to start our excursions with a free organ concert in the Truro Cathedral.

On the news we had seen that a school in Truro had staged a reenactment of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in the Truro Cathedral.  I had found the free concert on the internet before leaving on our trip so we had been looking forward to it.

We arrived at the Cathedral plenty early so we could find a place to park and have time to walk around a bit before hand.  We did this and enjoyed seeing the external and internal architecture. 

taken by Mom

taken by Mom

taken by Mom

taken by Mom

Altar, taken by Mom

Steps up to the organ manuals, taken by Mom

Organ pipes

Altar

There was a clay carving along one wall showing Jesus’ walk to the crucifixion.

The artist and used faces of people he knew or saw as well as using scenes of people interacting to place in the background in period dress.  It was very interesting.  The concert itself was wonderful.  The organist played four pieces, one each from Bach, Mozart, Gigout, and Vierne.  We couldn’t see him during the concert because the manuals are tucked up behind the choir, completely hidden away from the audience/congregation.  When he was introduced at the beginning, he waved his hand out between the architecture of the choir!  When he had finished, he came out to take his bow in front of us.  We really enjoyed it!  We stopped briefly to look in the cathedral’s shop before going back to our car.  We did stop to get something from the bakery next door.  Mom and I got pasties and Grandma got a pastry.  Our pasties were piping hot inside a paper bag.  We ate them as we walked to the car.

Then we started our drive to the Minack Theatre which is an amphitheater built into the side of the cliff on the western shore of Cornwall.

It is a neat and picturesque place to visit, even if you aren’t there to see a play!  At the time, a Shakespeare company was staging Antony and Cleopatra and if it weren’t for the fact that this is a tragedy (which I’m not too fond of) I would have wanted to see a play there!  When we arrived, they were in the midst of a matinee, so they wouldn’t let us tour the actual theatre, much to our chagrin!  However, for a pound, we could have a scenic overlook where we could glimpse the stage

and see some lovely gardens up at the top.  Grandma and I each paid to do so and got some nice pictures, including of the actors in their Roman attire.

Grandma enjoys the gardens

The stage where Antony and Cleopatra is underway

Mom decided not to and after Grandma and I had seen all we could, we walked over to the coastal path (the same one we had seen in Port Isaac and other places as it makes it’s way around the coast) and walked part way down it to see the amazing view of azure water, white sand, and high cliffs!  Fantastic!

taken by Mom

Stone steps down the Coastal Pathway, taken by Mom

Exterior of The Minack, taken by Mom

Next we decided to see Mousehole (pronounced by the locals “mou-zul”) which is charming village on the coast.  As we were going along, we kept our eyes open from some prehistoric structures Mom had wanted to see ever since she read about them.  We knew that they would be on our way and we knew that they are usually tucked away in fields, away from the roads; i.e. hard to see or find.  There is little or no sinage for these structures, so trying to find them can turn out to be a fool’s errand.  Before we could find it, however, we just happened to notice a small sign on the side of the road by a small parking area for a prehistoric site.

We stopped and went to investigate!  There was a turnstile next to a large gate that was closed.

taken by Mom

  Mom and I climbed the turnstile which Grandma did not try.  We tried to open the gate for her but it seemed tied shut with a bit of string that I couldn’t quickly undo.  Mom and I walked a short distance up to the site.  We found a circle of 11 stones protruding from the ground, almost looking like gravestones.

taken by Mom

taken by Mom

There was no sign to tell us what the significance of the site was.  In the mean time, Grandma had worked out how to open the gate and joined us up by the site.  We took some pictures and headed back to the car.

Then we drove on to Mousehole.

Mousehole, taken by Mom

  Once we got there, we once again faced the infamously narrow, two-way streets.

Narrow street in Mousehole, taken by Mom

We kept our eyes open for parking but didn’t find it easily.  It was starting to get late and we needed to get back to Clowance to check out for the morning so we wouldn’t have to do it on Sabbath.  So we stopped on the other side of Mousehole to take pictures, and then pressed on to Camborne.

Coastline outside of Mousehole, taken by Mom

Harbor in Mousehole, taken by Mom

Roadster passing us by, taken by Mom

Then we drove on to try to find one of the prehistoric structures called Lanyon Quoit and it is the only one that is relatively close to the road.  So we set off to find it, having an approximate location on a map and no GPS guidance to the actual site. Soon, we found ourselves going down a long and narrow lane with high hedges making the fields to our left and right invisible.  As we turned down the lane, we immediately came face to face with another car.  I actually had to drive a little ways in reverse to let him out.  I rolled down the window and asked him if the quoit was on that road and he said he didn’t know but warned us that the lane was very narrow.  We pressed on, trying to see through the hedges to spy the quoit.

Narrow country lane, taken by Mom

taken by Mom

At the end of the lane, we still hadn’t seen the quoit, but realized we probably were not yet on the road closest to it.  So we turned left and kept driving.  All of the sudden, I could see it in the distance!  Once we got to the turnstile that leads to the field where it is located, we found two other cars parked on the side of the road in a space only big enough for three cars.

taken by Mom

  We parked and climbed the turnstile (even Grandma!)

taken by Mom

and got to walk all around and under the Lanyon.  Quoit is an old word for table-shape.  Quoits often formed chambers that were used for burial.

Making the 4th leg

"Look!  One finger!"

Just clearing the height of the quoit

taken by Mom

This quoit was destroyed in a storm in the early 19th century and re-erected by locals.  In so doing, the original structure was changed resulting in it being shorter and facing a slightly different direction.  It now has only three legs as one leg was broken by the storm.  Perhaps this is why it faces a different direction now.  The view from the quoit revealed pastures, a nearby house, and a mine up on a hill.

On our way back to Clowance, we stopped to get fuel and I ran in to the grocery store to get some rooibos (pronouced “Roo-bosh”) tea to bring back home.  This type of tea comes from South Africa and it is hard to find in the States, save on the internet!

We made it back to Clowance before the check-out deadline and after taking care of that, we went back to our lodge and fixed sandwiches of roasted veggies and hummus!  Of course we were sure to go up to the bar area to get on line one last time after that.