A Trip to Blisland and a Cottage Update

Unbelievably Easter has come and gone!  Time for a quick update on progress with the cottage renovation and I also thought I'd share a great walk I did from Blisland Village recently.

Cottage Progress

Since my last blog post at the end of February, we have been concentrating on removing more plaster from some of the interior walls.  It's been hard work - the plaster is thick and the hammer drill is tiring on the shoulders when used for any length of time.  However, we have made steady progress and the troublesome walls have pretty much all been stripped and we're now picking out the joints in readiness for the plasterer who will be starting towards the end of April.

We also took down the dividing wall outside at the back of the property which in doing so confirmed our suspicions that a lot of wet was coming through the wall from that location.

As expected with an old property, we are making decisions as we go along based on what we discover behind plaster and under floors!  As if we haven't done enough with a hammer drill, we have decided to also take up the concrete floor downstairs so that we can install underfloor heating - we were considering a retro fit system, but on reflection and after inspecting the existing floor we're going to make the effort and do it from scratch with a good layer of insulation underneath.  The breaking up of the floor will be our next job in and around picking out the wall joints.  This part of the job feels never ending, but now that we have a start date for the plasterer and hopefully the carpenter, we think we can see a chink of light at the end of the tunnel.  Jason put on his 'plumbing hat' to install an outside tap for the plasterer...at least it was a change from wielding a hammer drill for a while!

We are feeling a little weary of the demolition side of things - it's been a lot - but we remind ourselves that it WILL be worth it and we've saved ourselves so much money by doing that part of the renovation ourselves.  We haven't really spent anything yet (apart from blood, sweat and tears!) and we know that's going to change soon so our future selves will  be glad we put these last few months into it from a financial point of view! The good thing is that we have had some really lovely dry, sunny days which means that we've been able to fling open all the windows every day to help keep the cottage aired - the longer and brighter days make everything feel better!  A good indicator of a change in the season is seeing the cattle turned out into the fields - we've had new neighbours over the cottage wall to chat to this past week!

So we still haven't finished making a mess inside yet, but it won't be long until we start to see things being put back which will be amazing!  Of course there is still a lot left for us to do, including taking down the two porches and altering the garden to accommodate a new porch, but at least it won't be that bloody hammer drill!!!

A Trip to Blisland

I had to take a trip to Blisland recently which is about a 50 minute drive from the farm and I thought I'd take the opportunity to explore that area with a walk.

Blisland is a small, Saxon village which lies close to Bodmin Moor above the valley of the River Camel and the houses are grouped around a village green with a Manor that dates from the 16th Century.  There's a beautiful parish church which is impressively ornate as well as a well loved pub, The Blisland Inn which is recorded on OS maps from the 1880's.

I followed a 4 mile circular walk via the iWalkcornwall app, which I've used many times before and has never let me down with directions.

The walk was a really nice one and started by climbing out of the village and then following pathways through fields before dipping back down into a valley which was dotted with hawthorn trees, bracken and mossy stones. 

The walk then followed the De Lank River before climbing back out of the valley and continuing to a working granite quarry.  Stone from here has been used in the Tower Bridge and The Royal Opera House. 

Eventually, the walk reached Jubilee Rock which is a large natural granite boulder which originally supported another large balancing rock (known locally as a 'logan stone').  It is now a Grade II listed monument as it is covered with carvings of Britannia, royalty and Coats of Arms.  The views from Jubilee Rock were far reaching - you could see across the moors to Rough Tor and Brown Willy and a huge patchwork of fields for miles and miles all around.  I was lucky with the weather that day and the smell of the gorse was delicious in the sunshine.

It was so lovely to have a day away from the farm and the cottage renovation and once I returned to the village I enjoyed a very nice toasted teacake and a cuppa in the community cafe in the village shop.  A real treat of a day.

Why did I need to go to Blisland?  Well if you like art and crafts, you might be interested to know that I create felted landscapes (like paintings, but with wool!).  I don't have as much time to do it at the moment because of 'you know what' but I've been doing it for a number of years and occasionally exhibit in art shows, one of which was taking place in Blisland over the Easter Weekend.  A lot of my art is inspired by the Cornish landscape as well as the fields and views here on the farm.  If it's something you might like to follow I share what I do on Facebook and Instagram - it's just a bit of fun and a lovely creative outlet and I can't wait to get back to it very soon!

Easter

We enjoyed a couple of days off over the Easter weekend to spend time with family and we braved some windy weather for a walk from Sennen around to Land's End - it was a bit wild, but it was just what we needed to blow the cobwebs away!  It's such a stunning stretch of coastline - we saw choughs, breathed in the sweet smelling gorse and got a good, healthy dose of Vitamin Sea!  I don't care too much for the tourist attraction that is at Land's End, but a quick dash through that takes you back onto the coast path to enjoy the natural beauty that Cornwall has to offer.

So I'll leave you with a few photos of the views from that walk, and I'll be back with more updates and progress with the renovation soon!  Hope you had an enjoyable Easter weekend - can't believe we're into April already, it will be summer before we know it!

Best wishes

Tanya x