To New Quay on Feet

[bunn]

We canoed past the ruins of the old mining port New Quay a month or so ago, so this weekend I thought I'd see how hard it was to walk there.



Not too hard, it turns out, though you have to park in a car park much frequented by the insane downhill mountain bikers intent on throwing themselves down cliffs, and so I did not risk the hounds off the lead lest they should run up swiftly through the trees and make an accident.   Mr Ruggie is in the lead, because he's very unlikely to do that.

That's a 'county road' we are walking on.  Look, there's even a sign!   Which is good, because otherwise I'd have called it an 'unsurfaced track'.  I didn't know Devon had any un-tarmacked roads left.


There was nobody about at all down by the quay.  Because we are very law-abiding, we did not hop over the low chain fences and go furtling down to the river. We just wandered along the footpath and admired the ruins.


Chimney ahead up on the ridge.


Rather to our surprise, the footpath led us to a railway.

An ancient-looking engine of some sort, abandoned on the verge.  If you embiggen the photo it you might be able to see the frilly top on the chimney.


These were the footpath choices ahead of us.  We decided it might be best to turn around at this point.  The train must be the one that still runs from Morwellham Quay, a bit further upriver, which is run as a tourist attraction.  I still don't fancy meeting it on the track though.   That track on the right is going into the mine itself.  I assume that can't be a footpath. Can it?


We wandered up the steps but they didn't lead anywhere.

And then back up the hill, along the bridleway this time.  Peering up into the sunlit woods and wondering if the crashing sound is deer, mountain bikers or just the world's largest and most clumsy squirrel :


Squirrel....?

Comments

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

What wonderful ruins! I love the steps that don't lead anywhere, and the rusting engine...

I think we met the world's largest clumsiest squirrel once. My sister's Jack Russell caught it and got severely duffed up for his pains.

[howlin-wolf-66.livejournal.com]

Lovely photos and scenery.

I love the face that occurs with 'possibility of squirrel'! :-)

[ladyzi.livejournal.com]

Ohmygoodness. That face in the last picture is so sweet, and definitely on alert!

What a great place to be exploring! Absolutely beautiful scenery! I would be tempted to head down the mine and see what lies within, but at the same time be hyper-aware that most likely there are a lot of bugs/spiders/other crawlies with more than 4 legs.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Such an alert hopeful face! Squirrel!!

And yes, mountain bikers are insane. And here, we have EVEN TALLER MOUNTAINS. I can understand seeing a giant pile of rocks and wanting to climb it, but flinging yourself DOWN it on a bike? *shudder*

[timetiger.livejournal.com]

What beautiful colors! I especially like the second photo, where the hillside is framed by the arch in the wall, and the one of Rosie.

"Furtling" is new word for me. Might it be a portmanteau for hurtling while on foot?

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Beautiful scenery.

[sally_maria]

That looks like a really old locomotive, that kind of boiler and chimney is usually mid-19th century - I suppose it wasn't worth scrapping.

I see the Morwellan Quay train actually runs into the mine, or a mine, so I certainly wouldn't advise walking in after it.

(What, railway obsessed, me? ;-D)

Thank for sharing the lovely pictures.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Looks like a wonderful walk to me. Gorgeous photos! I hate to have to pick a favorite out of the bunch.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I like all the photos, but especially the last one.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Hah! It duffed up a terrier? that is serious Scary Squirrel territory!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I love that face too. I forgive her much for that!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Terrible things lurk down there, I'm sure!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

We wondered as we wandered, what happens if a biker comes off the valley side and lands in a crumpled heap at the bottom. It seems likely that it could be quite a long time before help could possibly be summoned, since there is no mobile signal in the valley, so even to call an ambulance you'd have to walk all the way up to the top.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I wasn't sure if I had heard or invented the word furtling, but Wiktionary seems to know about it in the sense I mean! (I hadn't heard the alternative meaning about cards that let you see your knuckles as buttocks. Truly the internet is an educational place).

[bunn.livejournal.com]

We've done the Morwellham train trip through the mine a couple of times, it's quite atmospheric. I hadn't realised we had got so close to that part of the valley though: definitely do not want to meet a train in a tunnel (but frankly even without the risk of meeting a train, I am not venturing into a mine. It might turn out to be my tomb!)

There are many mysterious rusting artifacts from the mining period scattered across the valley but that engine is one of the most complete I've come across.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I had a very photogenic model!

[tovaglia.livejournal.com]

Lovely photos.

Also, I like Pp's boots!