Island Odyssey: Fowey

Our next stop was not an island, but the small harbor town of Fowey (pronounced "Foy") on the English mainland. This turned out to be a very photogenic day, creating a very long blog entry!


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The Explorer arrived early in the morning, and was gently nudged into position by a tug.

Here was the view looking down the estuary towards the mouth of the River Fowey.

Our ship was immense compared to the other vessels in the harbor, and one small craft had not been warned by the harbormaster that we would be mooring barely forty feet to his port. He had quite a shock awakening to the clangor of the tug and the Explorer looming over him!

The first outing of the day was a 30-minute drive through the Cornwall countryside to the Eden Project. This facility, built on the site of an abandoned open-pit clay mine, struck me as one-third botanical research facility, one-third public education effort, and one-third Disneyland. Cornwall has a long history of open-pit mining for clay, granite, and slate, and this Google Maps image just west of Fowey shows it very clearly.

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The bus park and entrance for the Eden Project were modern, and at 10:00 on a Sunday morning it wasn't yet congested. This sign revealed how the original clay mine had looked.

The ticket offices, main restaurant, gift shop, and such had been built on the lip of the old pit. Once allowed in, we walked down a series of gentle switchbacks and observation galleries to the exhibit level. From partway down, the main domes of the project looked like this:

These domes are constructed with two layers of plastic, separated by a pressurized air gap. With them the Eden Project can create a wide variety of spaces and climates. Some are available for booking private events such as a wedding.

There are several innovative and educational sculptures on the grounds. The bee is on the path to the domes' entrance.

The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) man is alongside one of the major paths to go from one part of the grounds to another. His existence requires an explanatory sign. (Click to enlarge and read the print.)

 

The WEEE man stands at least two stories tall.

With a photo zoom, I can capture his face.

The domes, especially in the bright sun, enable the Eden Project to create habitats with different degrees of heat and humidity. Cold is forbidden.

This picture shows several elements within the "wet tropical" dome, including lush vegetation, a paved pathway, faux display elements, and near the apex of the dome, a special observation platform.

Additionally, there were human dwellings set up representative of several different locations; here, one for Indonesia/Malaysia and one for one of the African vegetation zones.

Visitors can go up to the apex platform, but you must first sign a waiver. Also, if the top of the dome gets too hot, the platform may be closed. You climb a series of staircases to get there.

The view from the platform is wonderful, but the heat -- you are at the top of a huge greenhouse, after all -- discourages lingering. This panorama has some flaws, but taking pictures of curved surfaces that are not far away presents challenges!

The object in the lower left corner is the balloon. Yes, there's a hot air balloon that the staff botanists can use to reach the treetops.

Of course, there were flowers, trees, and bushes, indeed all kinds of plants to admire. Our limited time at the project prevented an extended perusal, but here are two samples.

The warm and dry dome, or Mediterranean climate, featured a slope covered with figures from Greek mythology.

But the best part of this dome was a series of PIG SCULPTURES done in natural wood, in thick sticks such as driftwood.

A more conventional building on the site is used for various presentations and events, such as educational workshops for children. In the lobby there is a "plant processor," which is really one of those mechanical marvels that lifts steel balls up to a great height and then releases them to flow back down to the bottom through chutes, drops, levers, and such. This one was special in that it was not automatic; it was hand-cranked. The faster you crank, the faster the next ball gets lifted to the top. (The crank is on the far side, invisible to the photo.)

At this point or in its proximity we started back towards the main building, on the top of the pit, to do some gift shopping. Fortunately we encountered some fellow Lindblad tourists who told us that the gift shop was closed until noon. I am certain this must be against T.A.R. (Tourist Attraction Regulations) -- to allow guests entry two hours before the gift shop opens. For us, it presented the dilemma that there would not be enough time to shop at noon and still be back at our bus on time. So we dashed back to the first dome, which had a modest gift nook, and found a couple of small items.

On our way out we took in the Plant Takeaway, an animated exhibit about what would happen if plants disappeared. Hint: they are important.

I have a video clip of about 97% of the show. The captions are on a near the top of the frame.

Those who wished to see the Lost Gardens of Heligan took buses and had lunch en route. Joan and I were going for the long walk, which meant taking the bus going back to the Explorer for lunch.

The hike (variously described as between 4 and 6 miles) was a loop, including zodiac rides to/from the ship and the main dock at Fowey, two ferry rides, and several different terrains. I've marked up a snapshot of Google Maps, where the zodiac and ferry rides are in blue and our walking is in yellow.

Our first ferry ride was from Fowey to Bodinnick.

After a short but steep climb from the ferry landing we saw the marker for the trail.

The early part of the path was in woods with occasional openings for a view.

The first mile on the trail had several historical markers. This is a memorial to the citizens of Fowey who died in World War II.

As we neared Penleath Point there was a small stone shelter with this historical plaque.

We had a long stroll until the Pont Pill (Creek) had shrunk enough to cross on a footbridge. Here is a look back down to the Fowey River and the village of Polruan.

There were old farm buildings on the north side of the crossing.

Long ago this was a thriving quay (dock) where barges would unload coal, fertilizer, and limestone.

 

The swans were popular and their cygnets adorable.

One side note is that Pont Pill is considered by many local people to be the inspiration for the popular book The Wind in the Willows. Author Kenneth Grahame often holidayed in Fowey and hiked in this area.

Up a footpath, a short distance on a road, and another footpath took us to an old church. This was the only stretch of the trail that had the potential for confusion, but our leaders knew or appeared to know where they were going.

I had not written down or saved any information on the church, but upon asking Mr. Google it became apparent that it is St. Willow's Church. Now I can state that it's a church with Norman origins, with at least one stone dating to no later than the 8th Century. Restorations are known to have occured in the 14th Century and in 1904-1905. The interior was not well lit for cameras, but by holding my breath and being very steady, this image was successful.

Looking back along the road towards the church.

At this point our group began to break up into smaller clusters, and for a short while we were along country roads until the path cut across the last few fields before the coast.

At the coast there was a spur trail to a headland, and the main trail lost altitude and continued west along the coast. This view is shortly after we began giving back some of our hard-won climb.

Looking back we could see the headland, a path down to a small beach, and to the right, a zodiac from the Explorer and several divers in the water.

There aren't any further pictures from the coastal section of the walk. They would look much like the above two. Joan and I did pause from time to time in search of birds that we could hear chirping in the brush, with mixed success. Entering the village of Polruan, walking down to the ferry, we could see the outsized Explorer.

This was our ferry to the lower dock on the Fowey side.

About an hour after our return, another tug appeared to ease the Explorer from her mooring and assist her turn-around to head down the Fowey to the Channel.

We successfully passed the pair of blockhouses that flank the entrance, and then went inside for a well-earned dinner.

Tomorrow we would visit the Channel Islands of Sark and Guernsey.