Well, it’s still cold, but the sun came out for a time here in Cornwall over Easter weekend. Of course, this is the weekend I get a streaming cold and cough palaver, and have no energy to go anywhere!
Never mind – I had to go into Helston for some medicine, so rather than going back to crawl under my duvet at home straight away, I decided to go for a short walk through part of Penrose, near Helston. This is one of my favorite places in Cornwall, but normally I park in the National Trust car park about half way down the road to Porthleven, and make my way through the Penrose Estate down towards the sea (see my first ever post here on this blog about the wonderful Loe Bar!). But today I was only up for a short stroll, so I parked opposite the Boating Lake and had a wander through the Penrose Amenity Area.
After a more open grassy area by the side of the Cober the way takes you into wet willow woodland, full of the signs of spring. There are so many small winding paths, I found myself meandering about happily without getting very far at all, as I kept doubling back on myself, attracted by this flower or those steps or that clump of fungi, or meeting and greeting friendly dogs and their owners. The runny nose and sore throat was almost forgotten!
Stitchwort with its delicately divided petals
Looking like its own name – navelwort.
One of the many winding paths…
How nice it was to find a bit of nature ‘on the doorstep’. There may not have been the sweeping views of the Lizard or the North Coast, but sometimes you just need something a bit more close to home and comforting…
