This is the second report of our trip through South West England. I have never written blogs like this during the trip itself before, but I'm really enjoying it so far. First of all, it is much more fun to write about something you have recently seen or experienced and it is also nice to let the readers of this blog look over our shoulders in some real time. Thanks again for the various nice reactions to the first part of this travel report.
When traveling I always use several travel guides, so that I don't miss anything that we think would be fun. This time I also have a “photographer's guide” with me with the best photo locations in Cornwall.
Of course there are many more beautiful places and suitable moments to take photos, but it is nice to have some guidance. From the 50 locations mentioned in the booklet, you can choose what appeals to you. This will save you a lot of time and effort from having to figure it all out yourself, so it's highly recommended.
Golitha Falls is a place that is also mentioned in that booklet. And I must say, we were not disappointed. A meandering stream, home to salmon and trout, flows through a narrow valley surrounded by large beeches and oaks. There is indeed some height difference, which creates small waterfalls. Initially I took some photos where the height difference is the greatest, but I felt like I just couldn't get enough distance from the water at that point.
I then found a spot a little upstream where this was possible and where I could better capture the surroundings and atmosphere of the whole. That certainly appeals more to me.
Just like in other places the previous days, we were surprised by the fact that it was already quite busy quite early in the morning. Later that day we found out that they had a long weekend here in combination with the May holidays of the schools. That of course explains a lot.
That afternoon we visited The Eden Project. That is a botanical garden, which was created in an old quarry. The eye-catchers of the garden are two greenhouse complexes, which are formed by several so-called geodesic domes. Very futuristic to see.
In one complex there is a tropical climate and all kinds of plants grow there from tropical rainforests from all over the world, and in the other a Mediterranean climate is maintained with associated flora.
It was certainly fun to walk around there and see all kinds of crazy plants and trees. But the only way to visit it is to immediately purchase an annual subscription for €38. That's fine if you live nearby, but for holidaymakers who only visit once, it smacks of a money grab.
Late that afternoon we found a small, quiet spot near an old Coast Guard lookout post to spend the night. Of course I had to go out with the camera around sunset. That lookout post was accessible and I took this photo inside it.
There was also a beautiful castle nearby, so when I went to take Timo out the next morning, I hoped for nice morning light. Despite the thick layer of clouds, that light eventually came, but I had to wait about half an hour for it. No landscape photographer makes a fuss about that, of course.
That day we leisurely explored the Roseland Peninsula. I had read about an old church in St. Just and although I wasn't expecting too much, it was a really positive surprise. This church has stood in that beautiful spot on a bay for more than 800 (!) years. And the small accompanying one reminds me of the former haunted castle in De Efteling.
We then stop in St. Mawes at the very tip of the peninsula, where an old defensive fort still overlooks the sea. It is here that I took the photo below.
The roads in Cornwall can therefore not only be extremely narrow, but also extremely steep. In any case, I have never seen a sign with a slope of 33% before.
Every morning when I walk Timo, I take my camera with me. After all, you never know what you'll encounter. The same was true the next morning. My eye first falls on some cow parsley on the side of the road, with some dew drops hanging from it.
And then I walk on a nice example of the narrow roads in Cornwall mentioned above. You see that when you encounter oncoming traffic, you sometimes really have no choice but to put the car in reverse.
And that is exactly why we chose a small VW bus as a camper. You can get to places that you absolutely cannot access with a larger and wider camper. Moreover, you can always park anywhere in a 'normal' parking space. Something that we also really like.
On to Lizard Point, the southernmost tip of Great Britain. The views of the cliffs here are nice, but not great. I am therefore unable to capture any of this convincingly in a photograph. However, the cloudy skies that day are fantastic. “Real Dutch skies” as Erwin Krol would say. When we walk past the local lighthouse, I see a beautiful contrast. The clean lines of the lighthouse and outbuildings contrast with those enormous clouds that look like cauliflowers.
Later I take a photo of the ramp of the disused rescue brigade building on the west side of Lizard Point. Unfortunately, the tide is low, which means that on the one hand there is little wave action in the water, but on the other hand there is a lot of seaweed on the pebble beach. Unfortunately, nothing can be done about it.
Finally we drive on to Mullion Cove. A small harbor protected from major storms by two enormous walls. In the afternoon it is also low tide there, so I decide to zoom in a little more on those walls and take the photo below.
But because we have a great parking lot, where we can spend the night, we decide to stay there. This gives me the opportunity to take a photo of those estuaries even at high tide. And what a difference! It had been blowing hard all day, but now at high tide the waves are really impressive. Too bad I didn't see the very last rays of sunshine of the day, because by then the sun had already disappeared behind a thick band of clouds. But all in all I am happy with the evening light in the final result.
The different locations we visit these days are all very close to each other. As a result, we only cover about 25 to 30 kilometers per day on those days. We both like that leisurely pace. And so on the morning of day 9 we leisurely drive to Gunwalloe beach.
I take the photo below there.
Initially I had a composition in my head with only those smaller boulders in the foreground. I thought that large boulder was too dominant. But after not seeing the different photos for a few days, I looked at them again and then I made a 180 degree turn. In that other composition there was little for the viewer to focus on and that is absolutely not the case with the photo above. There is only one subject, you cannot ignore it. And the foreground and background match perfectly and provide a nice depth to the photo.
In the afternoon we drive to St. Michael's Mount. According to the guide, this is the English counterpart of the French Mont St. Michel. And indeed we not only see a striking similarity, but here too you can walk to the island at low tide. It's holiday time, nice weather and very busy. We therefore skip a visit to the island itself. More or less perfunctorily, I quickly take a photo in the bright afternoon light.
But we are on the coast and the weather can change quickly here. In the course of the afternoon the sun will make way for a thick cloud cover. And when we drive past The Merry Maidens, a Neolithic stone circle, I can just take the photo below before it starts to drizzle.
That drizzle lasts quite a long time. The next day there are also dry periods, but the drizzle has not yet disappeared. Fortunately, it has been dry for exactly half an hour when I look out on the beach of Pedn Vounder. Now low tide is the best time for a photo, because more or less two sandbanks dry up, which gives a nice effect.
I have also taken photos here with longer shutter speeds, but this time I thought they were less successful. By the way, there was a surfer with a bodyboard in the surf at the time. Nice to see and so I also took the telephoto zoom out of the backpack.
Both photos were taken from the same vantage point. I also captured the surfer in the first photo. Have you seen him yet? This is what the difference looks like between 18mm and 560mm in APS-C format.
That's it for this second part. I actually wanted to finish it earlier, but in the following days I often didn't have the time or energy to work on it anymore in the evenings. Of course, more about that in part three.
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