Well, it is surprising what a trip to Waitrose supermarket turns up. Living in Plymouth our local Waitrose Supermarket is in fact in Saltash, which involves a drive across the Tamar Bridge in to Cornwall. Its free to get in to Cornwall but they charge you £2.60 to get out! At this point I normally go in to my rant about paying to go across the bridge but, in my new relaxed semi-retired state, I simply smile, take a breath and enjoy what Cornwall has to offer (even if it does cost £2.60!).
In this case a visit to our local Waitrose not only resulted in two bottles of Primitivo and a Bottle of Morganhoff Chenin Blanc (don’t forget Aunty Sarah was with us and regular readers are aware that she is head of family hydration) but also included a visit to Cotehele House, a National Trust property some 20 minutes drive from Waitrose Saltash and situated next to the River Tamar in a beautiful estate of some 1,300 acres.
As usual we arrived precisely as the café opened and so we settled down to a steaming coffee and croissant. Always best to start these visits from my happy place.
For this visit I was armed with my usual “National Trust Kit”; the Leica SL2 and the manually adapted 50mm Noctilux F0.95. You have to be prepared for low light and the Noctilux is a low-light beast.
With one eye on the weather (It rains a lot in Cornwall, about 400 days a year) we decided to leave the house for this visit and head down through the woods to Cotehele Quay, about a 15 minute walk.
Approaching the main house
A simply stunning property
I can feel myself relaxing as I press the shutter
Through an archway and the garden emerges
So tranquil and zen
All of our sudden we had views of the River Tamar and quite different from the Tamar Estuary with its dockyards and marinas.
A view of the Train viaduct at Calstock
The River Tamar in all its calmness
We then came to Cotehele Quay, which was a total revelation. Our first stop was a carpenters workshop, where we were warmly welcomed by Chris, a carpenter by profession, who was working on the restoration of what looked like an old wooden river boat. As we talked it was clear that Chris was a man who had definitely found his happy place and was doing something he really loved.
The Carpenter’s Workshop
Chris - The Master Craftsman
A labour of love
Handmade in Cornwall
So generous with his time, even though he clearly had so much to do
I look forward to returning to speak with Chris once his restoration project has been completed. I really do envy someone who has the ability to visualize what they want to make, and then have the skill to bring the vision to a reality.
Leaving Chris to his work we continue to wander around the Quay, with its discovery centre and Edgecumbe Café, definitely a lunch spot for our next visit. Here are a few of the images I captured:
Is that a future Bench of Contemplation that I spotted in the foreground?
The Discovery Centre
Upstart Crow
The Boatyard
The Edgecumbe Café - There’s a pastie with my name on it next visit!
We did have a walk around the main house but I did not have the time to do it justice with my camera. So this will be the subject of a future visit. After all, there’s a pastie with my name on it down at The Edgecumbe!
The Bench of Contemplation
So the moral of this story is that if you go to the Supermarket, always wear a camera, as you never know what might be just down the road.
All the best from a wet and very windy Plymouth.