Rooftops on the Riverside

Wednesday 1st April 2015 (Day 3, week 13)

Hello

I once heard someone famous say that you should always remember to look up when you’re walking along so that you don’t miss important architectural features. We didn’t have to do much looking up as a lot of houses along our way were below the level of the path – I got a bit fixated on the rooftops! This one’s even got a bell tower:

Enjoy!

Rickety

Target: 1000 miles in one year (20 miles a week average)

Achieved so far: 259.3 miles (target 260 miles)

Achieved this week: 8.3 miles

Flushing circular via Mylor Churchtown (5 miles)

Walking through Flushing by the riverside pathway towards the Trefusis Estate we have views over the river to Falmouth Docks. The path takes us past this interesting stone wall plaque telling us that the wall was part of the cellars built as storage for the Post Office Packet Service:

The service began in 1689 and was developed to carry mail throughout the British Empire. Falmouth was felt to be a safe harbour and provided the shortest sea passage to the western colonies. Two local families, the Killigrews and the Trefusis’s determined to ensure that both Falmouth and Flushing could provide suitable storage and accommodation for this service which used privately owned or hired ships – known as packet vessels. Packet vessels often carried huge sums of money including gold bullion but they were fast and designed to be able to escape enemy action.

Across the river we can see an unusual looking ship at anchor in the docks. The Polarcus Adira, was built in 2012 and is described as an arctic ready, seismic vessel, designed to carry out research and surveillance within the arctic circle, presumably in Falmouth for a little holiday. Not a very clear picture here – I think a new camera is on my wish list!

The boat sailing just in front of the Polarcus is the St Mawes ferry on its way across the bay.

Our route takes us past some large houses and onto the Trefusis Estate and into Kilnquay Woods. I’ve already mentioned the Trefusis family above, their estate is large, over 1000 acres and indeed the headland we’re now on is named after them. They are known to have lived in the area since the early 12th century (did you know that the prefix ‘tre-‘ in a name means pre Norman times?).

The woods on our left are largely oak and we are dismayed to see that many have fallen – over a dozen trees seem to have toppled over, either from storm damage or from disease, possibly honey fungus.

Carrying on along the path we pass Restroguet Sailing Club and enter Mylor Churchtown with its busy marina. We take advantage of a lovely cafe and sit watching a large yacht being prepared for its return to the water. As we leave it’s being lowered into the dock.

Fortified with tea and cake we make our way around to St Mylor Church, a Norman building with a well kept graveyard full of primroses, and a large Celtic Cross, said to mark the site of St Mylor’s grave.

We step inside to have a look and a chat with some local people busy preparing the way for Easter Sunday services. The church is large with some impressive stained glass windows and interesting memorials which portray the long maritime history of the village. This window is especially interesting as the faces of two of the figures appear to be missing! I didn’t notice when I was taking the picture – only when I transferred it – spooky!

Among those commemorated in this church are the 31 lives lost when the Pleasure Boat Darlwin was lost off the Cornish coast in 1966. The tragedy is shrouded in mystery but it is known that the boat left Mylor for a day trip to Fowey and local people there pleaded with the captain not to return to sea due to impending bad weather. The boat was later found to have been unseaworthy and questions were asked in Parliament about the limited and inefficient search operation.

Leaving the church we head along the lane admiring the rooftops and the views of the creek on the way.