Spring Holiday Part Seven - Mine, Castle & Country Estate

A note from me - Apologies for this late post, which should have been published on Sunday, but I promise there is good reason for the delay! We were returning from Ireland, so we had driven from Bettystown in the Republic of Ireland, through to Belfast in Northern Ireland, before being on a ferry over the sea to Liverpool, before driving home to Southampton. It was a very long and tiring day, but I promise the pictures and stories of what we got up to there will be very much worth it, so watch this space!

 We'd seen how beautiful Cornwall is, but I also wanted to see more of its history, both industrial & historical. And I'd managed to find out about Wheal Martyn, a former clay mine that is now an open air museum. How better to appreciate history than to see it in action!

But as every great explorer knows, you cannot explore on an empty stomach, so we had a hearty breakfast of egg fried rice. I swear egg fried rice is like a superfood. It's got carbs from the rice, protein from the eggs, it's tasty & nourishing for the soul. Why is it not more common for breakfast?

Anyway, it was a short drive and we arrived just as they were opening. It's a small but interesting museum, with quite a few little bits dotted about the place that's worth checking out. There's a shed with some antique vehicles that would have been used, as well as the ruins of an engine pumping house at the top of the hill. Just be careful, it was very muddy when we were visiting!

A closer look at the ruined engine pumping house, which is a common site across Cornwall!

And here's a view down towards the settling tanks. The chimney housed another pumping station, and just behind it you can see one of the pumps that still continues to pull clay enriched waters from the ground. It's interesting, because it's powered by a waterwheel further down, which then causes movement along a long rope, which then pulls the pumps to bring the waters up. When you think about it, it's really simple, but it's actually ingenious. As long as the water doesn't stop flowing, you have unlimited power for free, to use however you need it. Nowadays it's mostly for show, but as you walk around the settling pools, you can see the water still moving about in the wooden culverts alongside the pools.

Gravity also helps, the water drains down, from one pool to the next, and gradually the amount of clay in the water increases until it starts to settle. It's then removed and dried, before being bagged and sold on wards. 

You can see in this picture the different colours of water, depending on how much clay sediment is present in the water.

The clay would then be taken to the drying house, where it was allowed to gently dry, before it would then be used for making all sorts of things. The clay here from Wheal Martyn was mostly used for ceramics & crockery. Production started in the 1820's, and the mine continued until the 1960's before it finally closed. However, the actual mine reopened in 1971, with a company continuing to extract clay using more modern methods, and the former works opening as the Wheal Martyn Clay Mining Museum in 1975

A view in the very long drying area. It was heated by underfloor heating, provided by a furnace at one end, and made sure the clay was dry enough to be packaged up. Most of the clay was exported internationally, and this area supported many jobs & livelihoods until the post war period, where most industries had declined to the point of closure.

I found the museum really interesting & informative, James not so much. He's not keep on these sorts of places, and isn't so interested in industrial heritage. There's also a nice little museum with some information & exhibits on the clay mining industry. If you'd like to know more about Wheal Martyn, what's there & it's history, check out their website @wheal-martyn.com. 

As we were leaving Wheal Martyn, we did discover a small farmshop in a shipping container nearby. We popped in for a quick look, and I discovered that not only did they have these giant jars of pork scratchings (as seen above) but that they were perhaps the tastiest I'd ever had! I'd love to have shared them with you, but by the time we'd reached Restormel castle, we had scoffed the lot! 

There's not many castles as visually striking and engaging like Restormel Castle. I've never seen such a complete circular castle. From the lawn running up to the main entrance, to standing inside the circular keep, it's an impressive site.

More interestingly, the castle has only seen action once in its history, and that was during the English Civil war. It's important to note, that the castle was already in a state of disrepair and neglect, and the Royalist army took is with relatively little effort.

A view of the main entrance way, and a view through one of the windows at the landscape beyond.

Another view inside the castle, from up on the walkway giving you a view of the some of the interiors. 

Walking around the exterior of the castle, you can see the built up bank around which would have originally been part of the motte & bailey castle. The castle is also in the middle of nowhere, and you've got lovely views across the Cornish countryside.

And one other thing of detail to notice is at the back of the castle, which was an extension built to house the chapel, although most of its details have long vanished, as it was also used as a Parliamentary defence post during the civil war.

You're not going to be here for long, I think me & James spent around an hour. But it's a rather rustic and charming place to visit, and one worth doing if you're in the area. It's £9 to visit, with a small discount for booking in advance online, and as always English Heritage members visit for free. One small word of warning, the castle is closed to visitors over the winter. To check when it reopens, head to english-heritage.org.uk/restormel-castle

Our final visit of the day was to Lanhydrock, one of Cornwall's impressive country houses. 

From the moment you enter the complex, you know this is a place that's going to show off, with this impressive entrance via the gatehouse. It's just a short walk down the road from the car park, through some pleasant park land, peppered with trees.

We started by having a nose around the kitchens, with it's wide array of jugs, jars & other cooking supplies. A house like this would have had a busy kitchen!

The house is tastefully decorated throughout, sumptuous carpets, artwork adorning the walls, long passageways. It's quite a dreamy place to visit.

Here's one of the bedrooms, it was the wallpaper that interested me the most, for it was such a lovely colour & pattern. Although the house was built in the 1620's, a large devastating fire damaged large parts of it in 1881, and it was fully restored & extended afterwards. So much of what you see is still (in the grand scheme of things) relatively new!

This time, there's a fearsome looking kitty relaxing on the beautiful rug, while the rest of the room is again decorated beautifully. It's almost a house that feels understated, it may not look showy, but there is a feeling of high quality & well designed character through the place.

A view out between the wings down to the entrance gate. I love the way the greenery is in blocks on the building, which further give it a manicured look, especially with the topiary trees in the background!

And now for something really special. The grand ceilings of the long gallery were due restoration, and when we visited, we were able to come up onto the scaffolding to not only get a good look at the fantastic plaster work, but also to see some of the conservation team working on the plaster work. It was really fascinating, and we were lucky to be this close to a ceiling of this caliber! 

The house is looked after by National Trust, and similar to Restormel Castle, closes during the winter months. If you'd like to know more about Lanhydrock, as well as book tickets, check out NT's website here. nationaltrust.org.uk/lanhydrock. At £24, I thought there was a fair amount there for the price. There's also a big car park, several little eateries/cafes and a shop as well. 

We then headed into St Ives, firstly to wash & charge the car, which you can see James dutifully doing here. I did try to help, but missed the car and sprayed him, so he quickly decided he would do it, before walking a little way into St Ives. Frustratingly, everything seemed to close at 5:30, and it felt like a ghost town. We just did a lap of the high street, then went and sat back in the car while it charged. It felt like a quick charge, but I think that's because I fell asleep, and I only woke back up again when James started to pull away!

We then headed to our last accommodation of the trip in Hennock, where we had a quick dinner, before crashing out on the sofa! I think that's always a good thing, proof we'd had a busy & fulfilling day!

The accommodation was also amazing, it was a medieval house, over 500 years old and lovingly restored, while full of character!

The living area, with it's high beams & comfortable sofa.

Mind your head as you enter in the kitchen, and another view across the living area. It was lovingly decorated, clean and comfortable. If you fancy a night here, then follow the link to their booking.com listing page, the photos there are better than mine! @booking.com/historic-property