Until 1965 people were living in houses carved into the rock at Kinver. It was a very interesting place to visit. Here are my photos. Please note the captions are below the photos (they are usually above them!)
Two of the Rock Houses have been restored.Here I am outside of one.I rather liked the wash stand that had a mirror. The kitchen had some things that people used to eat years ago on the shelves.This is an old fashioned washing machine.This cave was being used as a shed with tools inside.There was a splendid range in one of the cottages, and I enjoyed warming my fur next to it.More interesting bottles from years ago.A stone hot water bottle; we have one of these at home that we use to warm the rabbit hutch sometimes.Here I am watching the world go by from this cottage.The hole in the well is very deep and goes down very very long way. I was glad to see a grid on top to stop people and bears falling in. The top caves haven’t been restored into houses but visitors can still walk around them. The buildings at the top have been restored and are now a cafe.Yum yum yum….
As you can see I ended my visit in the cafe. I was hoping to sit outside under the top cave but a cold wind had blown up so we sat inside the cafe. The women running the cafe were very friendly and helpful.
We stayed in lovely little National Trust holiday cottage called Ruan.
There are wonderful views of Cadgwith Cove from the cottage.
A lovely place to enjoy a bun or two!
The beach at Cadgwith is split into two by a promontory known as The Todden. There is a great view of the Fishing boats from The Todden.
The fishermen keep lobster pots stacked up on a wall nearby.
Here we are sat watching the waves on the half of the beach that isn’t used by fishermen.
We walked around to the other half of the beach and climbed up onto one of the fishing boats.
In this photo it is possible to see the holiday cottage, the terrace of three cottages is just to the right of my right ear. We stayed in the one at the end of the terrace, just to the left of Nye’s left ear. Ears are very useful.
Right opposite our cottage, on the other side of Cadgwith Cove perched up on the top of the cliff is a very small bear sized house.
Here we are back in our cottage garden, you might just be able to make out the tiny house over the other side, it is to the left of my left ear.
After a few hours out exploring in the cold we warmed our fur next to the log burner, but didn’t get too close!
Every day for breakfast I made porridge, which is good for bears and humans.
We forgot to get any honey, so used sultanas to sweeten our breakfast.
When the weather was wet and windy, it was fun just to watch the waves from broom cupboard window!
We also kept busy making a jigsaw puzzle of the cove.
While the humans were out one day we decided to go to the log store and replenish supplies.
It was quite challenging opening the door but we got there in the end.
Between us we filled up a very big bag of logs, but sadly we couldn’t carry it, so had to wait for the humans to return to get the logs into the cottage.
We enjoyed a treat of special cream choux buns. Bears do like buns.
The Devil’s Frying pan was just along from our cottage, so we went to take a look.
We were in such a hurry to see it we nearly got stuck in the stile.
The Devil’s Frying Pan is an inlet where the sea whooshes in, with a steep drop down to it, so we stayed safely behind the fence.
On our last day at Ruan in Cadgwith we were able to spend a short while warming our fur in the sun (we can’t do this for long as sunrays aren’t really good for our fur, but in winter the sun is far away).
When it was time to go home, Nye wanted to stay a bit longer, but the housekeeper had arrived and more humans would be arriving to stay in the cottage later, so Nye came along with us.
When we arrived at Eden Project we thought for a moment we might be on a different planet!
The model of the giant bee was rather disconcerting. We like bees, as they make honey, but not giant ones.
Back in 1999 Eden Project was a disused empty clay pit.
Humans built the Biomes and filled them with plants that usually grow in warm climates. There is a tropical rainforest biome, and a Mediterranean biome. It’s very warm and humid in the rainforest biome
Baka people live in the rainforest in huts a bit like this one while they are out hunting and gathering food. The women build the huts using weatherproof leaves from the ngongo tree.
The bamboo at Eden is much much much bigger than the bamboo we have in our garden at home. The stems are nearly as wide as me.
We had a look at a little stall showing crops grown in West Africa, the cocoa being of particular interest.
Human activity is starting to affect the weather around the world, which is being highlighted by this model of the earth showing the delicate balance.
There isn’t a photo of us on the high rope bridge, as our human was too busy getting to the other side, but here we are about to go across. It didn’t wobble as much as we thought it might.
This tropical flower looks more like a fluffy pom pom. It is a Bixa flower. Many people who live in the Amazon region paint their bodies with with the red juice which repels insects. It is also used as a food colouring, annanto, which is used to colour foods such as butter and cheese. Red Leceister cheese is orange coloured due to the annanto added to it.
We found rubber trees with lots of information about how rubber is extracted from them, and had a rest on old tyres made from rubber from rubber trees.
Here we are sat in front of a coffee bush. The coffee we buy in shops looks like the beans next to me, while those next to Horace are in their raw form prior to being roasted.
These pineapples have a lot of growing to do before someone can eat them.
We found some orange fruits on a plant but forgot to make a note of what they are; if anyone reading this knows, do please let us know!
We went on to visit the Mediterranean biome, but forgot to take any photographs, silly bears! Anyway, we were getting hungry so went downstairs to the cafe and ordered pizzas, and very yummy they were too….
All in all, a lovely day out, though a tad warm for wearing fur coats!
For more information see: edenproject.com
Horace the Alresford Bear 13/3/2022
PS Please let us know in the comments if you know what sort of plants are in the photo before the pizza photo.
I occasionally work in Bristol libraries. Today I did a few hours at a small branch library known as Marksbury Road Library.
The books are issued to readers using a ‘wand’ that scans their barcodes, and when they are returned the barcodes are scanned again. I was pleased to see someone had been reading about Winnie the Pooh.
The books have to be put back on the shelves after being returned. I put Winnie the Pooh on display. It is good book for young and old humans to read.
I spent quite a while shelving books, it is important that they get put back in the right place. The books are all quite large for a small Bear to carry about
I decided to look on the computer to see if Bristol libraries copy of ‘Horace the Alresford Bear’ was on loan. It was on loan, but was quite overdue. I think the borrower must have liked it so much they decided to keep it!
Libraries are really great places, full of interesting books with lots of wonderful children’s books too. All the books are free to borrow. I certainly enjoyed working in the library today, and I think the lanyard does look very good on me.
I love exploring new places. Alderley Edge is ‘up north’ in Cheshire, a few miles from Manchester.
There are lots of strange cracks and crevices in the rocks, and many mines in the ground below. Rumour has it that a wizard lives at Alderley Edge, it’s a place full of mystery and intrigue.
The cracks are big enough to shelter small bears.
The woodland has a diverse ecosystem, with many different sorts of tree. Autumn is a good time to find fungi, this bracket fungi was too far away to photograph up close though.
I had a long climb up to some interesting looking rocks through tree root steps….
Here I am peering over the top while humans called ‘don’t go to close to the edge Horace’….
My human clambered down with camera to take the photo.
Some more bracket fungi….
I thought this fungi was an excellent specimen of Hoof fungi.
You may know that I like to visit ancient stone circles. Here I am with the Druid Stone Circle, but it isn’t a real one like Stonehenge but thought to be folly put there about 200 years ago.
The Pilkington sisters bought the woods, with Cheshire County Council contributing a quarter of the cost, then gave the woodland to the National Trust in memory of their parents.
There certainly are lovely views at the top.
Before leaving I sat quietly for a while in the woods wondering if the wizard might appear, but suspect he hides away in the caverns below the ground.
Do visit Alderley Edge if you are in the area, such a wonderful peaceful place with lots of history and legends.
We arrived at lunch time so I had a bite to eat in the restaurant before exploring
The trees look wonderful in Autumn.
I sat for a while by the lake and thought to myself it would be good to be able to paint a picture of those trees.
Autumn is a great time for mushroom spotters.
After walking a little while I found some of the deer that live in the park.
Some of them were quite near the footpath .
This little fungi seemed to be hiding inside the log.
The trees behind me looked especially vivid in the late autumn sunshine.
I really enjoyed my trip to Dunham Massey, the last time I visited was in July 2018 when there was a heatwave, so this was a totally different experience.
Horace the Alresford Bear 