Saturday 16 November 2019

St Mary's (2)


I continued my walk around St Mary's  in the Scilly Isles by going to the Old Town which was no more than a few houses.  This is the beautiful old church of St Mary's in Old Town. In the churchyard is the grave of Harold Wilson (1916-1995) who was Prime Minister of the UK from !964 -70 and 1974-76. 



The churchyard overlooks the sea.
A number of graves were in memory of men who died at sea.







I left the churchyard and continued my walk around the coastline.




A pillbox, one of the defences left over from the second world war.




At the top of the cliffs I had to walk around the airport's runway. Flights had been cancelled today because of poor visibility. There is a warning notice and lights to let you know when you can't go near the runway as a flight is about to take off.
They were doing some kind of  practise involving the fire engine.








A path from the beach led me to a nature trail by a lake. Here there were a couple of hides overlooking reed beds. I saw about a dozen teals gently paddling amongst the reeds. I only knew what they were because a birder came into the hide and told me.
I walked inland for a little while looking for an ancient burial ground. On the way I passed fields of daffodils which were already in bud.

Hammock made from a fishing net.








The Porth Hellick burial chamber

This burial chamber, an example of a Scillonian 'entrance grave' , is part of a larger cemetery which had at least eight other cairns and entrance graves. They were built over 4000 years ago in the late Neolithic or early Bronze age.


Can you see the face in the rocks?










There are as many as 80 prehistoric chambered tombs known on the Scilly Isles but this is one of the best preserved.







After a few hours walking I came across Juliet's Garden. With a fresh crab and lobster salad on the menu I was in heaven. Pity the weather wasn't a bit brighter but at least the rain had stopped.
It was a short walk around the coast back to where I was staying. What a fabulous walk it had been.


22 comments:

  1. That was a lovely walk despite the low hanging clouds. Those burial chambers are fascinating. I guess back then that the islands were not islands. Am I right?

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  2. Oh, I enjoyed this thoroughly, the graves, the history, and the scenery. Thank you for taking the time and energy it took to share this with me. I feel very blessed to have you as a virtual companion. :-)

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  3. Wonderful country and post. Church yards and wild coast enhance wisdom!

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  4. What was Harold Wilson's connection to the area, that caused him to be buried there? Juliet's Garden looks like a lovely lunch spot.

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  5. I rather wish I was there and if your can sit out and have a nice lunch, how good is that.

    4000 year old burial chambers, truly amazing.

    Yes, can see the faces.

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  6. Grave yards are full of stories aren't they? Those burial chambers were amazing. What an facinating area.

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  7. What a lovely spot to have your lunch. Glad it didn't rain during your walk and the field of daffodils are already showing their spring colors. Thanks for taking us along on your walk. Beautiful collection of photos!

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  8. Hello, what a lovely walk. I would love to walk the old cemetery and along the coastline. The hide would be nice to check out for a while too. Enjoy your day, have a happy new week!

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  9. Sure does look a beautiful wild place for walking and photography. Shame it was so grey but still dramatic. Lunch looks delicious.

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  10. The ancient burial grounds are amazing to still be in tact after 4000 years.

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  11. I've never visited the Scilly Isles …
    Great to see your photographs … that crab and lobster salad dish looks fabulous :)

    All the best Jan

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  12. Incredible scenes, relics,and history!

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  13. Great views of the sea and old graveyards are always interesting.

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  14. I love these wild landscapes, the rocks the old houses and the grave stones ! It just brings you back a few centuries !

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  15. Gorgeous seashore shots and glad you got that delicious lunch ~ Wonderful photos ^_^

    Happy Day to You,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  16. Crab and Lobster salad - delicious. I once shook the hand of Harold Wilson when I was a young and foolish Labour Party supporter. I'm now a lot older and wiser. And the Labour Party is now a lot older but has become very foolish.

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  17. ...what a great spot! Thanks for taking me on this tour, there sure is a lot to see.

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  18. Beautiful photos of your walk and interesting to see Harold Wilson's grave as I am watching the TV series "The Crown" right now and he is a central character.

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  19. Lois said exactly what I was going to say about Wilson and The Crown..... wonderful walk and the food in this post and the later one is absolutely my favorite way to eat, just scrumptious looking.

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  20. Oh, that lunch! And what a view to enjoy while you age. The ancient burial caves were really interesting. Amazing they are still so well preserved.

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