November 24, 2009

Helford Village Christmas Fayre

Filed under: General Bloggery — admin @ 1:51 am
Thanks to everyone who supported the Christmas fair at the Down by the Riverside Cafe in Helford Village.
Leanne did a great job showing off river images while I just walked around the village and up to Frenchmans and back taking pictures and wishing I’d brought the boat :)
Have to say Ottie did a fantastic job putting the event together so a great big thanks to the Cafe Crew..

Was great to see Ben & Kate from Bishops Quay again, and thanks for supporting us Kate.

here’s a few pics from the day while you were all working :)

Down by the Riverside Cafe
Down by the Riverside Cafe

 

One of the reasons I didn't take the boat - an empty creek at low tide
One of the reasons I didn’t take the boat – an empty creek at low tide
You can see how far I would have had to drag the boat in order to launch today..
You can see how far I would have had to drag the boat in order to launch today..

It was nice to see the village from a different perspective anyhow and it can all look so different.. The Larch at larch Cottage taking on some lovely shades of Autumn for example..

Beautiful Autumn colours
Beautiful Autumn colours

The river was looking particularly quiet when I reached the ferry point and look out to sea… just a few boats moving slowly in the breeze, a far cry from a few weeks back when the river was alive with the end of summer tourists… still all things need time to recover :)

The River Helford looking out to sea
The River Helford looking out to sea

Onward and upward was the next stage heading over to the beach at Penarvon for the first stop.. saw lots of these on my walk which I have no clue what they were so if the plant lovers or gardeners among you wish to enlighten me it will be appreciated.. I just thought they made a really nice picture..

wispy plants everywhere hanging like fairy wings in the sunlight.
wispy plants everywhere hanging like fairy wings in the sunlight.

Just up the path from Penarvon cottage I discovered this beautiful old out building.. I’d thought it really lent itself to some sepia toning but decided to leave the colours as it just didn’t warrant taking anything away from it.. I love old buildings like this and there’s so much within the picture.. I stood for quite a while there and watched the birds to-ing and fro-ing for food from the feeders just by the side.

Beautiful old outbuilding by Penarvon cottage.
Beautiful old outbuilding by Penarvon cottage.The creek was alive with Autumn colour and these beautiful beech trees reflected every shade in the orange to brown spectrum.. the beauty of the beech is that it will hold onto its leaves all winter displaying these beautiful shades until the new shoots appear in the spring.Beech trees at Penarvon
beeches by the beach at Penarvon

beeches by the beach at Penarvon

Those who have made this uphill climb on the way over to Frenchmans creek will have come across the wonderful yard up above ‘Penguin’ ( always thought that should have been written as Pen Gwynn :) complete with its old mangles and machinery..

old mangles and rusty wrought iron gates leading to who knows where..
old mangles and rusty wrought iron gates leading to who knows where..

From there its into the woodland walk and more beautiful shades of Autumn with sunlight streaming through the now stark oaks where squirrels were busy gathering for the cold weather to come.. they were far too busy to stop for a photograph so I made do with the trees..

more autumn shades in the woodland walk
more autumn shades in the woodland walk
the woodland walk to Frenchmans creek
the woodland walk to Frenchmans creek

I have to admit that this was as far as I got.. with all the uphill and downhill climbs my legs were becoming increasingly more unstable so I figured I’d best not make the descent down to frenchmans and headed back to the village.. besides I was feeling a little hungry too especially when I saw these fellows sitting there looking rather delicious… not that I ate any as I honestly don’t know my Fungii well enough to take the risks.. sometimes I miss my old walking buddy from my days in the Yorkshire dales who would simply grab a wonderful selection of natural foods during our walks and promptly fry them up for lunch.. I headed back to the down by the riverside cafe..

wild fungii
wild fungii

Suitably refreshed after lunch with my lovely wife I set off once again for the village and the creek.. I’d bought bread at the post office and met a lovely local lady who’d thought I was TV crew due to having the big tripod and camera Lens and who seemed quite relieved that I was only shooting the wildlife and beauty of the village and River… she told me where I could photograph ‘Egg’ her very own Egret friend who had become rather territorial about his space on the Helford creek.. so here he is prancing around the boat looking for unsuspecting fish and raisinga commotion to any other Egret who fancied his space..

Egg the Locals Egret
Egg the Locals Egret
Egg still fishing
Egg still fishing
a couple of collared dove watching Egg
a couple of collared dove watching Egg

 and in scenes reminiscent of a summers day.. which immediately reminded of the poem…shall I compare thee..

Blue tit
Blue tit
Greenfinch
Greenfinch
female chaffinch
female chaffinch

and more of the hairy plants

Fairy plant
Fairy plant

back along the creek and it was simply curteous to visit the most photographed cottage in Helford.. I didn’t clone out the satellite dish on this image though many do… I do think its a sign of our times :)

one of the old thatches in the village
one of the old thatches in the village

Sometimes art just creates itself.. like this image which was taken completely unknowingly when I caught the shutter button as I walked along..

taken completely accidentally while walking along through the village
taken completely accidentally while walking along through the village

Well the afternoon had galloped away from me and I walked back along the creek catching the mallards at play in the edge of the creek in the incoming tide.. finally water was making its way into the creek.

male & female mallards
male & female mallards
Egg still pacing around his territory
Egg still pacing around his territory
and this little redshank watching me nervously after retreating from the waters edge.
and this little redshank watching me nervously after retreating from the waters edge.

A sudden Pheep pheep pheep drew my attention along the creek to the main river where a few oystercatchers flew past .. I just managed to get the tripod down in time to catch the last one passing by.. on their way up to Bishop’s Quay I shouldn’t wonder..

Oystercatcher flyby
Oystercatcher flyby

and that rounds up another trip to Helford.. I hope you enjoyed the different viewpoint as I enjoyed the river from its walks rather than from the boat…

Until next time.. thanks for dropping by and having a look..

your comments are always welcomed..

 

Mel x

Mel

2 Comments »

  1. Beautiful photo’s – doesnt matter what time of year it is – beauty and tranquility abounds on the Helford River

    Comment by Helford River Expeditions — January 10, 2010 @ 10:07 am

  2. Thanks Guys, will say Hello when we next see you on the River..

    Comment by admin — January 31, 2010 @ 2:02 am

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