A Lovely Day Out in Cornwall

Last Thursday my hubby and I took my parents out for the day. My mum said she wanted to go to the seaside, so my hubby suggested an unspoilt area of South East Cornwall which is a little off the tourist track, which is full of old-world charm, and unlike many areas more popular with tourists, it hasn’t been “tarted up” and remains attractive in a delightfully faded way.

I haven’t blogged since then because it was a very long day for me, and I suffered payback for the majority of the following week, and in between, I was sorting out all the photos I took, and making a video slideshow.

With the restoration of my big laptop, I installed some new video editing software – CyberLink PowerDirector 9, which is a very powerful program with lots of different effects, and the ability to import and export more video formats than my Pinnacle Studio 12, which I still like and will continue to use – but I do like to try something new once in a while, and so far PowerDirector hasn’t disappointed. Making the video slideshow took a lot longer than I hope it will take in the future, because I was learning the software while I went along.

Our outing began with our crossing into Cornwall on the Torpoint ferry with the car. While we were out, I had my camera constantly on the go, until my mum started saying things like “What’s she photographing now???” and at one point, when I was leaning over a railing to get a shot of a blue plastic container full of bits of old rope in gorgeous faded colours, she said, “What do you want to photograph that old rubbish for?” Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder! All she could see was rubbish, but to me the colours were beautiful, and it was part of the whole seaside atmosphere: the interface of man and ocean, the whole world of boats, the elements, history, hard work and leisure, to say nothing of the richness of colour and texture found in unlikely places.

I also took photos of old stone walls (a great favourite of mine):

and many pictures of the sea, rocks and sand – we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day with a breeze, and constantly changing beautiful cloud formations which created interesting shadows and colour variations on the surface of the sea.

When we arrived, we had a picnic lunch on the sea front and soaked up the atmosphere of the lovely old village:

and then had a walk through to the neighbouring village. The little street was so narrow that at one point I had to back up with my wheelchair to allow a car to pass!

My dad pointed up this narrow alley with steep steps up the cliff between the houses and said, “Wheelchair access?”!!!

We then drove up to Rame Head where you can see the sea on three sides.

We had a look in the little church there:

This church has no electricity and I was intrigued by the red and white striped candle holders which made me think I was entering a barber’s shop! The building was ancient, and although there was much Victorian restoration, the pews around the sides were much older.

Then we made our way towards Saltash and the River Tamar.

We had planned to have an evening meal near Saltash, and had a bit of time in hand, so we visited Antony House, a National Trust property near Torpoint, for a cup of tea. We didn’t have the time or energy to go round the house by that time, and my hubby and I plan to go back soon to explore, as it’s many years since I have been.

After this, drove round to the Tamar bridges for some photos. My hubby has been commissioned to paint a watercolour and wanted to get a few more photos to help him on his way, and I was keen to get some too, as last time we were there I’d foolishly left my camera at home, something I always vow never to do!!

I love the juxtaposition of the old Royal Albert Bridge and the modern suspension road bridge, which I remember being built when I was a child. The rail bridge was constructed in the 1860s by I.K. Brunel, our famous Westcountry “Great Briton” and my hubby is very interested in the history of the Great Western Railway and other examples of his work, for instance, the beautiful suspension bridge which spans the Avon Gorge in Bristol.

On the Plymouth side of the river there is a pub on the riverside, and when I first lived in Plymouth and heard people talking about it, I couldn’t understand it, because it was always called “The Rabi.” Jewish pub? – and why only one “b”? Couldn’t they spell? It was years before I discovered it was short for “The Royal Albert Bridge Inn”!!!

Here’s a dramatic view taken from underneath the suspension bridge. I love the structure of it, and the perspective stretching away into the distance. The noise was pretty impressive, too, with the traffic roaring overhead and reverberating through the structure, and my hubby told us that the house underneath couldn’t be sold for ages because of the noise – it was suitable only for a profoundly deaf owner!

We were fortunate enough to see the train going over Brunel’s bridge.

We had a great meal out at the China Fleet club, and then home via the road suspension bridge.

Here is the video I have created with my photos, complete with sound effects. It is the first project I’ve created with PowerDirector, and I’ve uploaded it to their “DirectorZone” website and was straight away given 5 stars by another member!! I feel really chuffed, especially as this particular member has achieved a “top ten of the week” award this week. (Thanks, Rosa Maria! Your videos are great, too!)

I think this is going to be great fun to do!

I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing a virtual tour with us. Not getting out much, trips like this are so special to me, a real event, and taking lots of photos is so important for me, as I can look back on the day again and again and relive it at my leisure.