Week of Walks

Walk for the Week with the Lizard and Penrose Team

The National Trust team at the Lizard and Penrose are planning another walking festival this year. For a whole week this May they will be holding a series of walks that highlight the natural beauty and diversity of the area. From identifying spring flowers at Kynance to foraging for your lunch in the wild, there’s plenty to experience on the walks.

Kynnace beach from the cliff tops. 

‘There really is lots of incredibly walking to be done here,’ says Layla Astley, Visitor Services Manager. ‘Having our own walking event allows us to really show off the exciting and beautiful natural places we look after and gives us an opportunity to teach people about what we do to keep these places so special.’

‘Lots of people visit our properties to walk all through the year and want to know more about what they are seeing. This will be a great opportunity get answers to these questions from our experienced team of rangers,’ she adds.

Loe Bar looking East towards the cliffs at Halzephron

The ‘Week of Walks’ starts on Sunday 20 May with a guided botanical walk taking in the spring flowers along the cliff tops at Kynance. Please see the column on the right for more information on the walks coming up or get in touch for details by calling 01326 561 407.




Layla 

Blooming Bluebells

The bluebell woods at Penrose are looking marvellous at the moment with the flowers nearly at their peak. Over the winter we've been working in Sycamore Grove with local volunteers removing rhododendron and coppicing the woodland to allow more light down to the ground. 

The footpath through the Sycamore Grove is now open to walkers and cyclists. Coming from Helston, you can access it from the track on the right just after Helston Lodge. Coming from Penrose Hill car park, head through the kissing gate by the bath house, cross the river and head up the field to the small gate into the woods. Let us know what you think!

Porthleven Food and Music Festival

Porthleven Food Festival was a great success this year, as we had free kids activities, which included making flying dragonflies, felt bracelets and elder/ bamboo necklaces.


 

Join us for other events like this throughout the summer, pick up a Lizard and Penrose events leaflet or visit the website at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lizard or /penrose

Shelters, sausages and slow worms

Dens of all designs

 Our Easter Family Bushcraft Days at Poltesco proved hugely popular, both with local families and visitors down for the holidays. Sorry to folk who were disappointed but we will be running more next year, so book early to bag your place.

cooking bread on swizzle sticks

The days started with some shelter building, with all sorts of innovative designs on show, made from bamboo, coppice poles and other natural materials. After all that construction we'd built up an appetite, so time to have a go at bushcraft fire lighting techniques and munch some campfire bread. Everyone was determined to master using fire strikers and char cloth to catch an ember and we had some fine efforts with the fire bow. One of these days we'll make fire that way!

fun with nature's paints

After some flame grilled sausages for lunch (are you sure they're cooked in the middle!) creative 'nature paints' talents flowed. We used natural pigments such as charcoal, quarried chalk (ok from Wiltshire), elderberries, blackberries and earth colours to create artworks on wooden 'canvasses'. Great fun for the whole family.

Also on offer was the chance to have a go on a traditional pole lathe, set up at kiddie height, and to learn how to create string from nothing more than plant leaves, through splitting out and twisting and braiding the fibres. Perhaps using the the power drill to add twist isn't strictly 'bushcraft' but it does make great cord!

Slow worms can live to over 30 yrs old!

 As an added adventure, we became nature detectives tracking down some slow worms hiding under a corrugated sheet. These leg-less snake-like Lizards can live for over 30 years and they can shed their tales as a sacrifice to a predator, in order to make their escape, later growing a new one. After a quick peep we left them be, but I guess in true bushcraft style we should have tried them for a snack (only joking, we know they're a protected species)!

Toasting marshmallows on the fire rounded off an enjoyable few hours fun in the great outdoors. Ray Mears / Bear Grylls eat your hearts out!

Rachel

Soundwave Festival - this weekend at Gunwalloe.

Dont forget to buy your tickets for the Soundwave Festival this weekend at Gunwalloe. Great bands, great food and one of the most beautiful views and settings you could ever wish for .... Tickets and more info available through the links below. We are helping out with the kid's activities across the weekend, and camping is available. See you there.....


http://barefootkitchen.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barefoot-Sound-Wave/368498586504316?ref=tn_tnmn


 

Penrose shows off its wild side

To kick start the Easter holidays, we linked up with the CN4C crew for a 'Really Wild Day' at Penrose. The day was full of fun for all the family and everyone went home tired out, inspired by nature and a little bit muddy!

First on the agenda was hunting for minibeasts in the meadow and in the woods. The children were really excited by all the creepy crawlies living underneath the bigs logs in the woods and learned the difference between a centipede and a millipede.

Then there was a chance to make bird boxes and bug homes to take home and make their own gardens an attractive habitat for wildlife. Pond dipping gave everyone a glimpse of life under the water in Loe Pool, which is a valuable habitat for insects such as dragonflies, as well as different species of birds.

Laura