Tuesday 13 June 2017

The last of Cornwall & a dip into Devon

The last of the photos from Cornwall taken from Tintagel head. After fighting our way up the second set of stone steps, (which by the way almost face the first set ,previous post) we came out onto a beautiful undulating area covered with grasses and sedges, with the occasional wet area, the views where stunning, two photos in the previous post are taken from the top. A few Gulls appeared from the cliffs now and then, but I was more interested in the little brown flitty thing my Daughter had spotted, it turned out to be -----


Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)


Meadow Pipit, and not only that but.

The pair were feeding young.
They are generally a bird of the uplands  and moorland building there nest in thick grass or heather, and usually lay 4-5 eggs and very often two broods. This a good thing as they are one of the favourite nests to be parasitized by the Cuckoo, it laying its egg in the nest. The newly hatched chick will then push out of the nest any Pipit eggs or young , and the Pipit parents rear it as one of their own.
    It is also  the pray bird for other upland birds such as Merlin and Hen Harrier, so yes two broods is good.

So who is this food for Pipit or young Cuckoo, its difficult, we like both birds.
We left Tintagel and headed along the coast calling at Port Isaac  , better known to millions of people around the world as Portwenn the home of Doc Martin the TV series, sadly only my Daughter took photos , and yes they are still on her camera.
    Our last port of call was a little village in Devon called Clovelly, and the straw that broke the camels back.

Main street Clovelly, in fact the only street Clovelly.
The steepest street in England is in Bristol, this however must  run a close second, as can be seen it is a narrow cobbled pedestrianised street. On approaching the village traffic is directed to two car parks one for locals and one for tourists, which are channelled towards a ticket booth and tourist shop. locals use their car park where they unload their shopping, load it onto a sledge (if there is too much to carry) and set off down the street.
   The village is privately owned and all tourist money goes to the upkeep of the village, at the bottom of the street is a beautiful harbour.

View from the end of the cobbled part of the street, but as can be seen its still a long way down to the harbour

Again terrific views.

Looking back up towards to top of the street well hidden amongst the trees.
And so after some lunch and a rest we set off back up the street, my Daughter exploring the occasional little off shoot alleyway, while I just kept plodding, eventually reaching the top and badly in need of oxygen.
                                                   THE END.
 PS.  and I'm still wearing an elastic bandage on my knee three weeks later for my effort.
     

52 comments:

  1. Hello, the Pipit is a beautiful birds. Great sighting. I love the views of the pretty town and harbor. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

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    1. Hi Eileen, good of you to drop by, and thank you once again for your comments. Gordon.

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    1. Good to hear from you again, thanks for dropping by, Gordon.

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  3. Pretty bird. Nice street view and also of the harbour.

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    1. Thank you Nancy, and thank you for looking in and your comments.
      Take care, Gordon.

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  4. I love the Meadow Pipit, keeping alive their babies, superb.

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    1. Thanks for looking in Bob, much appreciated.
      Have a good week,Gordon.

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  5. A beautiful area and super sighting of the pipit!

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    1. Thank you Christine, yes my Daughter helped with the sighting, I'm trying to get her interested.
      Take care, Gordon.

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  6. What a quaint place. I do like that sheltered harbor with the boats. I was wondering if they were land-locked because of low tide.

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    1. Hello Carol, yes Carol this happens in quite a few places around the UK,where the fishing boats depend on the tide.
      Thank you for looking in, Gordon.

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  7. Hello Gordon, very happy to meet you and to see all the birds you find. Love the Pipit as it goes about feeding its young... great photos!
    I also enjoyed, very much, seeing the towns you visited. I shall go back through your posts and see some more. Cheers :D)

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    1. Hi Sue, thank you so much for visiting and your ever so kind comments, its always nice to know when people have enjoyed reading th e text of just looking at the photos.
      Thanks again,take care,Gordon.

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  8. Great photos! Meadow Pipit is a beautiful bird!

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    1. Thank you for your comment Lea, much appreciated.
      All the best, Gordon.

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  9. Thank you for this fine showing!

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  10. That is kind of you, and thank you for chooseing to follow me.
    Take care, Gordon.

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  11. What an interesting post, Gordon. I've never imagined a village being privately owned but it is beautifully kept. Thanks for showing me a part of our world that I'd never see otherwise. Have a great day. Jo

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    1. Hi Jo, I was surprise when I found out about the village,
      and I'm glad you enjoyed reading about it.
      All the best, Gordon.

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  12. your narratives are the best gordon, you sure do know how to tell a story. i also enjoy your pictures, telling the story as well. great captures of the meadow pipit, funny how we can be distracted, but this distraction turned out to be a win, win!!!

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    1. Thank you so much Debbie for your kind comment, it is very much appreciated.
      Take care, Gordon.

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  13. I'm feeling the pain Gordon. I think you should take your next break somewhere flat like the Fylde. Not as scenic but we still have good fish and chips.

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    1. I'm thinking that's a sound idea Phil.
      All the best, Gordon.

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  14. a lovely Pipit. I hope the food was for their own chick :)

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    1. Thank you for looking in, I think we all hope that, LOL.
      Take care, Gordon

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  16. Very professional bird photography and delightful post ~ ^_^

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    1. Kind of you to say so Carol, thanks for looking in.
      Take care, Gordon.

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  17. Beautiful photos! I would never have been able to manage that street at all, so you did much better than I would have. The Pipit is a pretty little bird.

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    1. Thanks Lois, I'm just beginning to recover, LOL.
      Thanks again, Gordon.

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  18. Glad you thought so, it was interesting to visit.
    Take care, Gordon.

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  19. Such a beautiful place to visit !!
    I really enjoyed to see these beautiful birds !!
    Gorgeous photos !!
    Greetings

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  20. Thank you for your comment Ela, and also for choosing to follow.
    Take care, Gordon.

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  21. Very pretty little village. Yes, I imagine I would need an elastic bandage as well. Hopefully it was worth the effort.

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    1. It was in the company of my Daughter, so yes it was worth it.
      All the best, Gordon.

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  22. Well, gorgeous photos and I love the harbour views, but sorry about your knee. My wife wears a knee bandage... no fun having knee pain!

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  23. Thank you for looking in, your wife has my sympathy.
    Thanks again, Gordon.

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    1. Success,thank you so much for looking in.
      Take care, Gordon.

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  25. The pipit is a beauty. The narrow road looks like a big challenge but its worth it for the lovely views. Thanks for the tour, I enjoyed it.

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    1. Thank you for dropping by Bill, it was certainly a challenge.
      All the best,Gordon.

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  26. Thanks Jim, Good to hear from you. Gordon

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  27. Good for you for giving it your best shot. You will wear the bandage as a badge of honour!

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    1. Thanks for that David, I will show your comment to my Daughter, LOL.
      All the best, Gordon.

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  28. Lovely photos, I really love Main street Clovelly.

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  29. Thank you so much for your kind comments.
    Take care, Gordon.

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  30. 'Hope your knee is feeling better now! I love your photos both of the pipit and the harbor! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  31. Thank you so much for visiting, unfortunatly the knee is still niggling
    Thanks again, Gordon.

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  32. Ow, sad about the knee -- hope it heals soon.... Bill really can't do those kind of walks at all any more because of hip and knee issues. I'm sure it's not long until I'm in the same boat. Love the scenery and the pipits -- kind of hard to hate cuckoos, but their behavior really doesn't fit our sense of morality (but they are not us of course). Must admit to being a huge fan of Doc Martin and I would love to see your daughter's photos of "Portwin".

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  33. Thank you Sallie, always good to hear from you, I'll have to see if my young Daughter will allow me to publish some of my photos.
    Tke care, Gordon.

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A big thank you to everyone for looking in and leaving their comments, much appreciated, Gordon.