A Bit of Visiting and a bit of Sea

The present circumstances mean that if you want to go anywhere you have to plan in advance. While we were in Cornwall we were not keen to visit any of the overcrowded tourist locations such as St Ives and many gardens etc have to be booked. We knew we could get to see the dahlias easily as described in my last post but it was then a case of what to do next. Visiting Cornwall for me with my mum being Cornish has always been a time to visit relatives. Sadly I no longer have any living kin in the county so instead it was a trip to Penlee Museum in Penzance to visit Great Great Grandma.

This was not so simple as it may seem. The museum requires prebooking. There were plenty of spaces available in 5 minute slots so it was just a question of choosing the right time. Luckily we gave ourselves plenty of leeway even though we were only 10 minutes away because we couldn’t find the car park. The not so trusty sat nav took us up a pedestrian area (the summons letter hasn’t arrived yet) and then down a very narrow no through road... Luckily we retrieved ourselves, parked and got to the museum on time.

The main reason for our visit was to see an exhibition of the work of the Newlyn artists. These were a group of artists who lived and painted in and around the fishing village of Newlyn just outside Penzance. Their work portrays the everyday life between 1880s and the early 20th Century. My great great grandmother was the model used in several of the works of one of these artists Walter Langley. She was a fisherman’s wife called Grace Kelynack and the most famous of these paintings is “Time Moveth Not, Our Being ‘Tis that Moves”. You can see the picture by clicking the link here. I am reluctant to post the picture for copyright reasons. It was very emotional seeing the actual picture and I did ask the steward if I can have permission to take a photo. This was not granted.

It was then time to visit the sea so we headed to Godrevy for the afternoon.

This is one of our favourite spots and a good location for a picnic (Cornish Pasties of course) and a walk.

Our walk took us around the headland and a along the coast path.

This is a wonderful location for seeing seals both in the sea and basking on the rocks. Why therefore did I leave my telephoto lens in the car?! Should you have good eyesight you may spot some pups being encouraged up onto the rocks by their mums.

It was drizzly afternoon but fortunately the sun managed to just inch through.