Sawmills 22 May 2004, 02:26 pm
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Friends of the Fowey Estuary

Photographs - 2008

4th December 2008

Winter Get-together with a meal and
a quiz "with a difference"

Please click on smaller image for enlargement (and vice-versa)


Thirty-three of us turned up at "The Other Place" which has a large upper room and specialises in freshly caught sea food. The menu was simple - just one course of mixed sea food and really lovely bread. Add wine, good company, quiet background music, and a really good quiz, all masterminded by our Entertainments Secretary, Terry Eisler, and the result was a delightful evening.

It is amazing when

Get-together 1 - click to enlarge
Get-together 2 - click to enlarge

Mature and intelligent people

With a common interest

Get-together 3 - click to enlarge
Get-together 4 - click to enlarge

Put their heads together

And pool their collective wisdom

Get-together 5 - click to enlarge
Get-together 9 - click to enlarge

How little is achieved so pleasantly!

Here Quizmaster Terry announces the RIGHT answers! The winning team, "Credit Crunch", won a bottle of wine.

23rd October 2008

Trip to Hayle Estuary for Winter Wildfowl

Eight members met up at Fowey Central Car Park and headed the RSPB hide on the River Hayle where we stayed for three quarters of an hour. On arrival there was a man already there quite excited to have discovered a Yellow Browed Leaf Warbler, which was very busy in a dense low tree, and seemingly oblivious to the group of us a few yards away peering into the bushes with our binoculars. Apart from that, a group of Long Tailed Tits and the brief appearance of a large flock of Lapwing, we saw few birds there.

After three quarters of an hour we walked down the northeastern flood bank of the River Hayle and, passing the flood barrier which protects St Erth village, crossed the dual carriageway at the western end of Hayle Causeway and found the tide beginning to creep into the channels and a great variety and abundance of birds, Mute Swans, Canada geese, Teal, Wigeon, Godwit, Redshank, Curlew, a Rock Pipit, more Lapwing, Herring Gulls. This photograph shows a tiny proportion of the birds that were there.

Photograph © 2008 Barry Squires

Birds at Hayle Causeway - click to enlarge
Twitching at Hayle Causeway - click to enlarge

Here we are a-twitching, or, more truthfully, posing for Barry: Malcolm, Mick, Terry (in yellow), Douglas (pointing), Judy and John In the background is The Old Quay House Inn where we would later go thankfully for coffee, the wind being strong and and chilling, with rain and gales expected in the afternoon.

Photograph © 2008 Barry Squires

Terry and Jane. The novices among us were greatly encouraged by having the benefit of Terry's enthusiasm and knowledge of birds along with Jane's expertise in hydrology.

Photograph © 2008 Barry Squires

Terry and Jane at Hayle Causeway - click to enlarge
Bird‘s eye view of Binoheaded Twitchers - click to enlarge

What do birds make of twitchers? Here they are looking at Malcolm, Doug, Judy, Terry, John, Mick, Jane. While we remained on the causeway they ignored us, but Barry's foray onto the beach to take this photograph caused some restiveness, particularly to the Canada Geese, who adopted a regally disdainful and defensive strutting posture.

Photograph © 2008 Barry Squires

27th September 2008

Boat Trip to Lerryn on BEEF'R

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang displayed on Fowey Town Quay. The vehicle was one of six built for the film of that name and was there as a fundraising exercise in aid of Fowey CIC (Fowey Community Interest Company) which hopes to turn the old Station Master's house into a community centre.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Fowey - click to enlarge
Eighteen of us boarded BEEF'R - click to enlarge

Here eighteen of us boarded BEEF'R. Not Beefeater, but "B for" Boat, skippered by John Barker for Fowey River and Sea Cruises. BEEF'R's engine is powerful and quiet, making conversation easy, and John Barker was able to tell us about some of the places we passed without any need of a microphone.

Heading up river with the harbour mouth in the glitterpath astern. Note how the departing ship makes the planet palpably spherical.

Text - click to enlarge
Text - click to enlarge

Passing Bodinnick. The house is Ferryside, one time home of the novelist, Daphne du Maurier. Nearby, just out of the picture, is The Old Ferry Inn.

Relaxing at Lerryn where some of us indulged in the delicious Cornish ice cream from Callestick Farm supplied by the village store.

Relaxing at Lerryn - click to enlarge
View down river - click to enlarge

The view down river.

For most practicable purposes Lerryn Bridge marks the northeastern navigable extremity of the Fowey Estuary. I have kayaked about 300 metres further upstream where a few small craft nestle at the edges of private gardens. After that one grounds on shallow rapids.

Lerryn Bridge - click to enlarge
View of BEEF'R and Lerryn - click to enlarge

View of BEEF'R and the Lerryn picnic area from the opposite bank.

General view of the Lerryn picnic area.

General view of Lerryn picnic area - click to enlarge
Returning to BEEF'R - click to enlarge

BEEF'R moved downstream (you can just see her red ensign) and we followed, just about dry-shod, to board her.

Two canoes, here suggestive of Venetian gondolas.

Two canoes - click to enlarge
Boarding BEEF'R - click to enlarge

Boarding BEEF'R by clambering over her sister vessel.

Looking astern as we leave Lerryn.

Leaving Lerryn - click to enlarge
Above Golant - click to enlarge

On the way home - above Golant.

The sunlit yacht is close to the track of the Bodinnick Ferry.

Nearing Bodinnick - click to enlarge
Prime Cellars - click to enlarge

Prime Cellars - lovely name - lovely place.

A glimpse of yachts moored up Pont Pill.

Pont Pill Moorings - click to enlarge
KORENBLOEM of Lowestoft - click to enlarge

Brazen Island - beam trawler KORENBLOEM Lowestoft LT535 - she looks all ready for launching.

A brief tour of the harbour mouth before landing at the Town Quay.

Harbour Mouth - click to enlarge
The trip ends - click to enlarge

The end of an entirely satisfying afternoon.

28th March 2008

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting was held in Lerryn Village Hall on 28th March 2008. The Chairman, George Cussans, gave an account of the events held during the previous twelve months, most of them successful and enjoyable, but some, like the trip to Looe Island, scuppered by the weather. The members re-elected the existing committee en bloc.

Chairman reports - click to enlarge
Nancy Jolliff - click to enlarge

After the business of the meeting had been concluded, Nancy Jolliff of Pelynt gave us a fascinating slide presentation showing historical features in and around Fowey of the kind that we all overlook for decades until they are pointed out to us.

We were especially indebted to Nancy because she stood in with only a few hours notice when Sally Porter, who was to have talked to us about the environmental management of Pool Harbour, rang to say she was too unwell to come.

Brave stand-in - click to enlarge
Reluctant to leave - click to enlarge

Though not great compositions, these photographs convey the feeling of the occasion. When it was all over people we all seemed reluctant to leave - often an indicator of an enjoyable evening.

10th March 2008

Lostwithiel Just About Escapes Flooding

On Sunday 9th March 2008 the Environment Agency was using loudspeakers to warn the residents of Lostwithiel that there was a risk of flooding at 7 am next morning, and encouraging those living in vulnerable properties to take precautions. This photo was taken at about 0655 on 10th March. If you look carefully were the larger red car is you will see that the water in the river is only about six inches from the top of the flood wall.

Six inches from the top
Looking at his watch

Here is the Coastguard Landrover. The coastguard is looking at his watch, doubtless relieved that high water had been reached without serious inundation.

The cause was a high spring tide coinciding with a severe southerly gale during the night which veered to the southwest causing a surge up the English Channel.

Tidal surge
Not in full spate

Fortunately although there was plenty of rain, I wasn't a major downpour. The river was running fast and was slightly brown, but it was not in full spate. If it had been there would undoubtedly have been damage to the lowest lying properties.

The water in the river was about a foot higher that in the road. The motor boat that you see was later left perched beside the wall on the grass - unfortunately I didn't take a photo when I could have done and when I thought of it she was back at her usual mooring - the owner must have re-launched her on the next tide.

Perched on the grass
Squirting out of the masonry

Here is the wall taken from the road close to where the smaller red car was parked. The pressure difference between the river water and the road can be seen from the way the water is squirting out of the masonry. The drain holes in the wall had been blocked before the surge so that the level in the road was rising very slowly.

Coulson Park inundated. From the tidemark on the road this was taken about half an hour past high tide.

Coulson Park inundated
Round behind the houses

The water had been creeping upstream from the vicinity of Milltown round the backs of the houses.

The road under the China clay railway was flooded to a depth of over two feet. The headroom is shown as 6' 6".

Flooded to over two feet
Quite close

The water is quite close to the front gate here.

This was taken from the second floor in Brunel Quays. A neighbour looking down from the safety of his hilltop abode said that Brunel Quays looked like a small strip of an island on the encroaching sea.

An island on the encroaching sea

14 February 2008

Visit to Looe Fish Auction and Bluesail Fish

Please click on smaller images for enlargement (and vice-versa)


Looe Fish Market has a reputation for handling fish all of which has been caught within the last twenty-four hours. It thus has the freshest and priciest fish in the UK. Because we Brits don't reckon to pay for good food and turn our noses up at cuttlefish and squid, and because it costs more to get fish to Bristol than to France, nearly all the fish landed at Looe ends up in France, Spain and Italy.

Looe Fish Market changed over to the "Moby Clock" electronic fish auction system in 2003, a system widely used in small ports around the western region of Brittany.

As guests of Bluesail Fish, who are the wholesalers running the market, thirteen of us turned up at the market at 6.35am on a dark, dry morning with the temperature only just above freezing.

The Looe Fish Market is housed in a long building both sides of which are made up of many large doors, each of which has 15 transparent panels, that slide up and down as the movement of goods and the weather dictate. One side of the building opens onto the harbour wall the harbour wall where fishing boats come alongside to land their catch, or, as here, their nets.

Fishing Boats alongside - click to enlarge
Road access - click to enlarge

The other side opens onto an access road where buyers collect their fish after the auction.

In between is the market which has a smooth concrete floor with a very slight fall to a drain covered by a grid that runs along the centre of the building. Plastic boxes slide easily and can be kicked along or dragged with a hooked rod. Heavier loads are moved with a pallet truck.

Smooth floor - click to enlarge
Electronic scoreboard - click to enlarge

The focal point of the auction is an electronic scoreboard akin to that used in an athletics stadium. Beneath the scoreboard there is a ticket printer. All the participants were friendly, cheerful and relaxed in the near freezing temperature.

The auctioneer (in navy blue with woollen hat extreme right) sits on the back of a small and manoeuvrable three-wheeled electric trolley that carries the scoreboard and ticket printer. His driving seat is also his office desk, with room for his thermos of coffee, writing implements, fish knife and a computer with a flat screen display and keyboard that interfaces with the scoreboard.

Auctioneer on Moby Trolly - click to enlarge
Selected fish - click to enlarge

The auctioneer drives to a pile of fish boxes landed from a particular boat and the details of the catch (species, grade, weight, name of boat) are displayed. The bidder has a remote control and can bid by pressing a button.

The auctioneer occasionally gives a few words of encouragement, otherwise the whole process is carried out with quiet efficiency with everyone knowing what they are doing. Stewards take tickets from the ticket machine and drop them in the appropriate fish boxes.

Plaice with Moby ticket - click to enlarge
Group photo - click to enlarge

On Thursday 14th February the market handled only three-and-a-half tonnes of fish, whereas on Monday there had been twenty tonnes. As a result the Auctioneer had time to give us a wide ranging twenty minute talk about the workings of the Fish Market, the fishing industry in the UK and Europe, quotas and plans for developing fishing at Looe.

The sliding doors, each with fifteen transparent panels, can be seen, here closed against the chilly breeze!

After that it was 8.25 am - time to go to an upper room in the bar opposite for a warm welcome with a steaming cup of coffee and a cooked breakfast. All in all a very interesting and most enjoyable morning, for which hearty thanks to all at Bluesail Fish.




Banner picture 16:   Sawmills 22 May 2004, 02:26 pm.