I-Spy this week.

This week this fantastic Stonechat has made it into our I-Spy column. This beautiful bird was seen on Loe bar just a few days ago, their call gives them away, sounding like two stones being struck together. The Stonechat is still commonplace along the coast here in the south west, they are very approachable if you are out walking the coast path. At this time of year families of Stonechats are very active looking for food in coastal scrub.

If you have an I-spy you would like to share of local wildlife you've been lucky enough to see please let us know, get in touch via the blog, twitter (@swcornwallnt) or give us a call in the office on 01326 561407. We are running a competition this Summer/Autumn, the best two photographs will win goodybags and the best entries will go into the fortnightly column in the West Briton so get in touch and let us know what you've been spying!

Layla

" Performance, Pasty, Pint, Poltesco - Perfectissimo !! "

These were the words of Grade Ruan Primary School Headmaster Tom Harman, at the end of 3 succesful evening performances of the School Summer Play - " A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"

After weeks and weeks of practising their lines the children delivered brilliant and memorable performances, culminating in a final night in front of an audience of well over a hundred people cheering, clapping and dancing through the evening.

The final night treated to us to a few "extras", guest performances from teachers, a sky lantern release and not to mention some very interesting sound effects from the PA system !

And the weather held up, all those anxious hour by hour internet checks to see when the rain would stop must have helped........

It was great for us to help the school by hosting this event, the orchard is such a great place and we had loads of positive feedback about using it more in the future for all sorts of events and activities - a Folk Festival ? Storytelling ? Hog Roast and Apple weekend ?

Please tell us what you think. We know it's a great spot and we'd like to know how we can help people enjoy it more

Oh, and don't forget to look out for next years School Play !!

Mike

Nature Club Launch

Yesterday saw the first of 6 out of school nature clubs taking place at Penrose. In conjunction with SKILL and co-ordinator David Finney the Monday morning club will be taking small groups around the estate looking at the various wildlife species and learning about their habitats. The days will be led by Steve Osborne from Nansloe school and estate warden Dave Chambers. For more information contact estate warden Dave Chambers on 01326 561407.

Holifair

This year the National Trust is going to Holifair!
Holifair is a charity run, eco-friendly family festival at Gweek. We will be running children's workshops in crafts from recycled and natural materials and green wood working throughout the 3 days.


For more information and to book tickets, visit the Holifair website.


See you there,
Elle

Artist in residence

Hello! I’m Olivia Dale and I will be working with the National Trust as their artist in residence for the next 12 months. Having recently graduated from University College Falmouth this is a great opportunity for me to further my career in Marine and Natural History Photography and I am looking forward to seeing what’s to come.

During the year I will be working with the team to photograph various events and activities as well as recording how the environment changes over time. I will also be running nature photography courses to budding photographers giving tips and ideas to improve their skills!

I will be recording my journey at the National Trust on this blog to reflect my experiences over the year, so watch this space!

Olivia

www.oliviadale.co.uk

liv_dale@hotmail.co.uk

Lizard and Penrose NT launch new product!

We are proud to launch the new NT membership incentive for the Lizard and Penrose. These new water bottles are currently exclusive to the NT points of sale down on the Lizard so if you want to get your hands on a free one sign up for membership at one of our car parks! You can also buy them for a very reasonable £8, all money goes back to the NT property you got it from.

Let us know what you think of this new product.

Penrose to host Playday!

The National Trust is taking part in the annual Play England’s Playday at Penrose. The event, taking place on the 4^th August throughout the country is designed to encourage children to get out and play at one of hundreds of locally organised events across the UK. The Our Place campaign, of which the Playday initiative is part of, aims to puts children at the heart of communities and asks everyone, young and old, to help create better places for all of us to live and play.

The Playday on the 4^th August will be hosted by the Trust at the Penrose estate, it will include an opportunity for youngsters to have a go at various arts and crafts, play games and take part in woodland den building. The Trust are keen supporters of this initiative, Dave Chambers, warden on the Penrose estate says: “We are delighted to be able to offer the estate as a location for the Playday, we have organised a variety of events and activities throughout the day and hope to encourage people to get out and enjoy the outdoor environment.”

The Playday kicks off at 10am on the 4^th August, directional signs will lead from the Penrose hill car park located just off the Helston to Porthleven road (B3304).