Sunday 15 November 2015

Caradon Hill climb

Not very far from home today; this photo was taken from the road which runs between my village and the moorland.  My home is over to the left, on the outskirts of the village.


The animals are free to roam all over Bodmin Moor, but kept out of the villages by cattle grids in the roads, which also restrict them to speed-limited sections of road.

This photo is taken from the same spot, looking on to the Moor; the ponies are obviously reading all about their surroundings from the illustrated information boards.


Basking in the brief sunshine


Zac and I have the same idea as the sheep - head towards the top of Caradon Hill.  The pine trees surround The Wheal Tor Hotel, which as well as meals and rooms, also offers wooden cabins amongst the trees for holidaymakers.  You can see a few of them in this photo; each has a small deck with table and chairs.  I confess that they strike me as possibly being damp and cold, as the pines prevent sunshine from breaking through. I definitely like as much sunshine as possible, and light and warmth. 


"Just keeping an eye on you and That Dog"


Towards the top, ruins of a former homestead sheltered from the wind by the peak of Caradon Hill.


On the right, Caradon Mast which provides the TV signal for a wide area as well as boosting mobile phone reception for many people. 


Phew!  It's OK, Zac - that's it; you can lie down and rest now. 



We didn't stay long at the top of the hill because we had gone through patches of mist on the climb up and now it was drifting lower and lower.  Time to head off the Moor and go home.


15 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking me with you, I absolutely love the horses all over the sign and Zac, oh Zac!

    XO
    WWW

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    1. It's a pleasure, WWW; Zac loves to be taken on the walks as well.

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  2. Replies
    1. They need to be able to survive a bad winter - fat is good! (That's my excuse as well).

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  3. So lovely to get out and about with you! xx

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    1. It's lovely to have a sunny day - even a dry day is good amongst all the wet & windy days that are the regular thing at this time of year. Getting out and about depends a lot on the weather; did I tell you that my water-loving dog detests the rain? Wallow in puddles, lie down in the sea, swim in the river - great; but go out when it's raining - YUK!!!

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  4. I really enjoyed that climb along with you and Zak. Amazing to see the "free range" ponies and sheep. As I've said before, there is nothing like that around here. The views are gorgeous!

    Hoping that your return home stayed ahead of the rain... xo

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    1. The fog descended rapidly; I reached the car OK but needed headlights on to drive home. That's how fast the conditions can change on the Moor.

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  5. You would imagine those conifers would keep the sun away from the log cabins. Not an ideal holiday destination.

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    1. The cabins are only 2 years old and already turning green! I don't know how popular they are but I saw a couple in the summer that were occupied. Not my idea of a summer getaway! I prefer my tent in the open, well away from overhanging trees.

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  6. It's a few years since I was on Bodmin Moor but it looks lovely as ever! Tilly always eyes up the sheep! We have to keep her firmly on the lead otherwise she'd be off in hot pursuit! A

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  7. Zac is so used to the animals; I lived on Dartmoor when he was very young so he was always around cattle, sheep and ponies. One of my previous Collies had to be kept on a lead when there were animals around, not because she would chase them but because she insisted on rounding them up. It was a devil's own job to get her away from them once she had them all bunched up. Bribery usually worked - a sweetie wrapper being rustled or a pack of biscuits produced from a pocket would eventually persuade her to desert her post to grab a titbit!!

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  9. You live in a beautiful area!

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