Our accommodation at Truro is at a Bed and Breakfast. It's in a
house dating back about 120 years. It is comfortable and the host is
very hospitable. Although breakfast does not include hot food, what
is provided is of good quality and there is plenty of it. We knew
that the Cathedral would not open before 10:00am so did not hurry
with breakfast. Arriving at the Cathedral just before 10:00am, it
looked very closed indeed. I realised that, as it was Easter Monday,
it may not open. Just after 10:00am we decided to leave but Satoshi
noticed someone opening the gates so in we went. Truro Cathedral is not
hundreds of years old like most of the cathedrals in England. It was
erected from 1880-1910, making it the first Anglican Cathedral to be
built in England since Salisbury in 1220. Although it is very young
compared to most cathedrals, it is still very beautiful and
contained enough of interest for well over an hour. The photos below
were taken after Evensong yesterday and during our visit today.
The impressive Font
The Easter "garden"
As you may be able to see, the Quire and the sanctuary (in the
distance) are not aligned properly with the nave.
The sanctaury viewed from the Quire.
The Quire (the part of a cathedral where the choir sings)
The Bishop's Throne
Looking up into the inside of the tower
St Mary's Aisle. The cathedral was built on the site of St
Mary's Church. The locals campaigned to keep this section of
it and it was incorporated into the cathedral.
I think this is an oyster catcher (on the ceiling of St Mary's
Aisle).
The organ in St Mary's Aisle
The Baptism of Jesus
The Lectern
Look carefully and you will see that the lion at the foot of
the font has his tongue out!
Next on
the list was Glendurgan
Garden. This is managed by the National Trust (so we could
get in free as we are members of the National Trust in
Australia). The gardens were begun in 1820 by the owner of
Glendurgan House. There were twelve children in the family so
they needed somewhere to play. Even today, a maze is part of the
garden. The sun was shining brightly and the pathways were very
steep. I was exhausted at the end of our visit and very happy to
get back into the car!
The Maze. I gave up but...
...Satoshi was successful!
Some of the trees were enormous! I think this was a
rhododendron?
The host of our accommodation had suggested that we visit the towns
of Helford Village, Gweek, and Cadgwith on our way to Lizard Point
and Land's End. Some of the roads were VERY narrow. On one occasion,
we had to reverse down a road to allow another vehicle to pass. A
little further on, another vehicle had to reverse for us. I found it
quite stressful and I wasn't even driving! At Gweek we came across
the Cornish Seal Sanctaury. Satoshi wanted to go in so we did. We
had thought that this would be indoors but it wasn't. It was
necessary to traverse ANOTHER set of steep paths to get around to
all the exhibits! By the end of all this, I had done 20,509 steps!
This seagull was hoping for a free feed
The sanctuary houses a pair of beavers who built this dam!
Visiting the sanctaury made us very late and we arrived at Land's
End only a few minutes before sunset (8:08pm). Land's End is the
western-most point of the United Kingdom. The coast was very rugged
and a gale was blowing. At least it wasn't raining!
We had planned to visit St Ives but it was so late that we decided
to make it a day. After eating at McDonald's in Penzance, we drove
one more hour to return to "The Fieldings" at Truro. I was too tired
for journal writing and we both retired for the night quite early.
