MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS THE KING GEORGE V MEMORIAL WALK...

The King George V Memorial Walk is a fine place to take a stroll and we did just that, during our stay in Hayle, Cornwall.  On Sundays during the summer months the main road next to it is closed to traffic, apart from for access. It was created to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the aforementioned monarch in 1935. 

At the start of the walk, looking back towards the North Quay.

Looking forwards, and to the right is the Copperhouse Pool which is fed by the River Hayle.  It is named after the Cornish Copper Company which ran a copper smelter, and other works, in the area between 1758 to around 1860.

The Copperhouse Pool was created by building a sluice gate to impound tidal water, which in turn sluiced the waterways... 

The Copperhouse Pool is a tidal pool, and the water was quite low this day...  

The pool had been modified to serve as a tidal reservoir, which allowed ships to travel up as far as the dock, and to flush the channel to keep it clear of silt and sand...   

The pool was built in 1788.  Look at that brilliant view over to Hayle!💚

We had to take the lower walk.  The top section leads to houses...

I'm assuming the pretty string of colourful lights light up after dark...

The plants are quite exotic.  We certainly were not alone and I often had to wait for others to make themselves scarce before I could take my snaps...

Knotty tree.  I just loved this gnarled specimen for its artistic value!

Dean is reflected taking his photo in this shiny ball- but I cropped him out!

This pond was cordoned off for some reason...

Seating area.  This was very prettily executed...

Cool, calming shaded pool, in a section behind the main walkway...

I actually found this tree with dummies hanging from it quite sinister- I mean, was it a tribute to dead babies?  Then a bit of research revealed that it's actually following a Scandinavian trend, where children hang their dummies on the tree (or maybe parents confiscate them when the child is reluctant to let them go!) to mark the passage of life in moving on from babyhood.

The greenhouse in known as 'The Hut', but the gardeners who work from this greenhouse were not present on the day we visited.

Ferns and a jungle-like enclosure...

Spiky grass...

This pool was swarming with either flies or gnats- I didn't hang around long enough to find out which!

...But I did take a quick piccie of this bird (he was either plastic or fibreglass) guarding his space...

The plant holders on this wall are made by the Wednesday Wanderers, which is a group of people living with dementia, and their carers.  The group meet regularly and take part in walking and pottery activities...

The idea is so that people living with dementia (or with someone who's going through dementia) can feel less lonely and isolated.  My favourite piece was this Cornish pasty...

This wooden wall is the old Copperhouse sluice gate and was found during excavation works for a new road in 2011.  The sluices ran until 1971; a decline in port trade led to them being closed.  A new flood protection system was provided in 1981.

Approaching the end of the walkway, and we rested on one of these benches on the way back... 

Greenery...

Final section and by then we were getting quite knackered...

Riviere Cottages are almshouses...

After a rest we walked back.  Right at the end at our starting point is Hayle Outdoor Swimming Pool.  It was not yet open, but looks like it had been cleaned in preparation, as the season was little more than two weeks away...

These stairs led up to the higher level walkway and our way home...

Looking down and I believe this shot was taken in the morning, when we were finding our way around...

Up past the houses and this guy has added a Guinness pump to his fish pond!😆

The beginning of our rustic walk up the bridle path...

Hayle provided us with quite a workout for the legs- we were only about fifteen minutes from the town, but it was over rugged ground and, coming back, uphill.  Never mind 10,000 steps per day- most days included more like 20,000 for us, including this one.  We also had to walk on a main road without a pavement, and on a bend at that (I nicknamed it 'life or limb road', but remembered my country code and got on with it, albeit with my skates on!)

But I would definitely do it all again.

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS PARADISE PARK...

Paradise Park is a wildlife attraction situated in Hayle, Cornwall.  During our recent Cornish trip we stayed in Hayle for a week and the park was about a mile away and easy to reach by shanks's pony.

It's the only sanctuary I've been to which consists mainly of aviaries- they have over 130 species, totalling 1000 birds- although we did get to see a few four-legged friends as well.

Open since 1973, Paradise Park sanctuary's stunning range includes: flamingos, toucans, parrots, owls, choughs, cranes and kookaburras, as well as rabbits, guinea pigs, mini donkeys, pygmy goats and sheep.

We passed the Bird In Hand pub at the entrance (they couldn't really have called it any other name, could they?  Well, maybe The Feathers...😁) and entered through a very well-stocked and attractive shop.  

We walked through the outdoor seating area, partially shaded by this statuesque tree, then began our walk round...

The park was well kept and adequately signposted and I liked the fact that they gave you are circular route to follow.  It meant that we got to see everything with ease.

Here are a selection of my favourite shots, but I haven't listed the names of each species as I didn't capture every written detail.  I did notice a couple of discrepancies, however, when whatever was inside the cage clearly bore no relation (literally!) to the advisory label.

I did bother to check out the name of this dazzling Scarlet Ibis as it was one of my favourites, and very distinctive.  It inhabits tropical South America and the islands of the Caribbean...

It looked more striking in the flesh, especially when highlighted against the green grass...

Waterfall next to the mini-railway tunnel...

A selection of dinosaurs.  These are not just to interest children but actually tell a tale...

...As birds descend from a group of meat eating dinosaurs called theropods...

...Which is the same group the Tyrannosaurus Rex belonged to...

These miniature donkeys were very friendly and came to see what we were about.  Mind you, I think they were maybe hopeful that we had carrots to offer them.  But we didn't- they do have a feeding time which visitors can get involved with, but we'd just missed it...

Baa-Ram-Ewe (as the chant goes, from the film Babe).  This chap was definitely a ram!

Pygmy goat...

Piebald goat...

Here's me!  That's right, I've always felt a bit of a black sheep (a position I revel in).  There were a couple of white sheep in this pen as well, and behind that a falconry display and the view over the Carnsew Pool, which sits in front of the River Hayle.

Fish pond...

The beautiful, tropical Victorian Gardens...

Note to self: learn how to use your camera properly.  It was a bright day, and these photos all look a tad overexposed!

This section of the park is beautiful and relaxing.  Here is the attractive summerhouse...

Caribbean Flamingos...

These birds live until they're about 40, and are able to breed from the age of 6...

In this exotic setting- and taking into account that it was a very warm day- it didn't really feel like you were in England!

The park is devoted to the rehabilitation and breeding of all species (especially those which are threatened) so that they can be returned to the wild...

Penguin pool...

Closer view of the two waddling friends we spotted...

This was my favourite.  It is called a Bleeding Heart Dove and gets its name from the red feathers on its breast which roughly form the shape of a heart...

This was the best shot I got, so I honed in on it...

As well as what we DID see, there were also a couple of no-shows:-

Otters- these notoriously reticent animals refused to come out to swim in their pool.

Red Squirrels- they were also not present.  I believe there were birds in their mislabelled cage!

Red Pandas- another shy animal; I did get a glimpse of one, but he didn't want to pose for a piccie.  He's the red flash to the left of the photo.

And that concludes my day at Paradise Park.  After afternoon tea in their cafe, looking out over the very quiet otter pool, we made our way back.  

I would definitely visit again as it's a lovely, clean park filled with interesting species, and a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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