Porthleven Food Festival

Saturday, 25th April 2015, (Day 6, week 16)

Aiming to walk 1000 miles in a year

Total so far: 315 miles (9.6 miles this week)

Hello – from not so sunny Porthleven where the Food Festival is in full swing!

Staying around Porthleven today, I wanted to see how the bluebell woods in Penrose were coming on so we did a quick walk through the estate before heading back to the Festival.

Enjoy!

Rickety x

It’s misty and murky today as we set off up the hill, and there’s rain in the air, but fortunately for the Festival, the wind has dropped so all should go off without a hitch.

The bluebells are in flower, but don’t look as spectacular as last year today, maybe because it’s a bit dark and dreary. It’s difficult to take a picture with my camera that shows the scale of the carpet of flowers – but here are a few anyway:

Bluebell Wood - Acrylic and Inks on Paper — Bluebell Wood – Acrylic and Inks on Paper

On the lake we saw a pair of great crested grebe and I was pleased to see the herons on the opposite bank wading in the water and resting in the branches, so hopefully they are nesting.

The air was full of tiny flies, all the way around the lake – very annoying (better get used to them I hear my friends from Scotland shout!!). On the plus side, all the flies resulted in lots of bird sightings. We saw a greenfinch, a blue tit, goldfinches and goldcrest – the smallest British bird and so pretty, all fluffed up and plump, flitting about the conifers towards Looe Bar. The RSPB book tells us that they love coniferous woodland and feed on flies, beetles and caterpillars. Here’s a picture from the RSPB Handbook of British Birds:

Back along the coast path, the sea pinks are in flower but need a couple more weeks to be at their best I think. Spring squill, wild garlic and bluebells line the banks as well.

And this little beauty is just springing to life:

At first I thought it was a toadflax – but it’s not tall enough. The Bird’s-foot Trefoil usually flowers from June to August so this one’s a bit early.

We’re soon back in Porthleven where the Food Festival is buzzing although as I write this it’s raining hard – what a shame. Here are some photos – I’m very impressed with the temporary bridge across the harbour – and with the mermaid swimming serenely in the inner harbour despite the seagulls which have adopted her for their own!