(no subject)
What a fantastic day out! After days of cloud and drizzle we finally saw some sun today and I decided to take full advantage of it by venturing out on my own for the first time.
Having already mentioned to my aunt that I would like to visit the Telegraph Museum she’d told me about, and not having many people stay at the B&B last night, she said it would be a good idea to do that today if it turned out to be wet, as I would be inside and could still have a nice day out. As it turned out, it was a lovely warm day so I made an afternoon out of it, also going to the Minack Theatre and the Porthcurno Beach.
The museum was excellent and very informative; I learnt all about ‘Victorian Internet’ and how communications worked from the late 19th Century through to World War Two - no prizes for guessing which part I was most fascinated by. The museum itself is actually mostly all underground in the tunnels that were created during the Second World War. There were concerns that Porthcurno would be bombed by the Germans as it was the most important communications centre in the world, so everything was moved down into these tunnels for protection and so work could continue undeterred.
I got to the museum for about 10:45 and was informed that a talk would be taking place in the tunnels at 11:00, so after milling around looking at the timeline of telegraphs, I made my way out and into the first tunnel. It was kind of spooky - a soldier (not real, of course) guards the entrance to the tunnel, as one would have during the war, and as well as that there was a 500lb unexploded bomb that had been dropped in the area attached to the wall. Both taller and wider than me, it was a bit of strange thing to be looking at. Fun fact: after it was diffused and made safe, the bomb was swapped for three dozen eggs by Walter William, who has now donated it to the museum for people to look at.
So after sneaking past an explosive that could have made mincemeat out of you and the ever-watchful Tommy, you pass through the first of the bomb-proof doors. They were a foot thick and had anti-gas paint which changed colour in an attack to alert staff. They looked pretty heavy so I’m glad they were already propped open!
I ended up spending well over an hour down in those tunnels, taking my time reading all the information and looking at all the displays. There was a lot of information to take in but it was all very interesting. It’s also a good place to take children - there were loads of activities for them (which I managed to refrain from taking part in. Mostly. I did make my own paper gas mask, but hey. Why not?).
I’m really sad that I forgot to go and find the bullet-proof escape stairs. We were told about them at the beginning of the talk and I wanted to climb them (all 120 of them) so I could see the view from the top, but after a couple of hours wandering around the place the only thing on my mind was lunch and a drink, and I completely forgot to find the stairs. But never mind - there’s always next time.
After that I crossed the road to make my way up to the Minack Theatre, located in the very sensible position of the side of a cliff. No, really. Upon buying your entrance ticket you’re given a piece of paper with some safety notices, the first of which being “The Minack Theatre is built into the Cliffside with steep steps and terraced seating”. My aunt had pointed out the road I could walk up to get to the theatre, warning me that it was fairly steep. And boy was she not wrong there. I made it about halfway up before having to pause for a few seconds, lamenting my lack of drink (which, for the record, I could have bought from the cafe at the bottom of the hill. A fact I will remember should I ever return!)
I eventually made it to the top, pushing aside concerns that I was going the wrong way and was to be accused of trespassing or doing something illegal at any moment (there is no footpath to walk up, only the side of the [very narrow] road. There’s also not a whole lot of sign posts leading the way, and being someone who gets lost very easily, I was expecting to be informed I was going the wrong way at any second).
The one bad thing about today was that I didn’t think to take a camera with me. The views from the theatre out across the sea and onto the beach below are stunning. I’ve never seen a sea so blue, it was absolutely beautiful. I could have spent ages taking pictures of the theatre and its surroundings - I can only imagine what it’s like to see a performance there with the sea as a backdrop (it’s an open air theatre, no covering/shelter at all).
After that I made a very brief trip to the beach - didn’t spend too long there as it was busy, and I was not in appropriate beachwear at all. It felt like I took half the beach back with me in my shoes, which reminded me why I don’t actually like beaches all that much. Then it was a hunt for the bus stop, all the while clutching the square of paper on which my aunt had noted down bus times for me. I hate public transport, particularly buses, and particularly when I’m somewhere I don’t know very well. Despite me wandering up and down the road for a while wondering why I couldn’t find the bus stop when it had clearly been pointed out to me by my uncle when we were in the car park, I eventually found it and succeeded on getting the [correct] bus to the village nearest my aunt’s house, where she then picked me up.
And now I wish it was naptime because I’m shattered, but I must first go and clear a bit of ironing like I said I would.
Having already mentioned to my aunt that I would like to visit the Telegraph Museum she’d told me about, and not having many people stay at the B&B last night, she said it would be a good idea to do that today if it turned out to be wet, as I would be inside and could still have a nice day out. As it turned out, it was a lovely warm day so I made an afternoon out of it, also going to the Minack Theatre and the Porthcurno Beach.
The museum was excellent and very informative; I learnt all about ‘Victorian Internet’ and how communications worked from the late 19th Century through to World War Two - no prizes for guessing which part I was most fascinated by. The museum itself is actually mostly all underground in the tunnels that were created during the Second World War. There were concerns that Porthcurno would be bombed by the Germans as it was the most important communications centre in the world, so everything was moved down into these tunnels for protection and so work could continue undeterred.
I got to the museum for about 10:45 and was informed that a talk would be taking place in the tunnels at 11:00, so after milling around looking at the timeline of telegraphs, I made my way out and into the first tunnel. It was kind of spooky - a soldier (not real, of course) guards the entrance to the tunnel, as one would have during the war, and as well as that there was a 500lb unexploded bomb that had been dropped in the area attached to the wall. Both taller and wider than me, it was a bit of strange thing to be looking at. Fun fact: after it was diffused and made safe, the bomb was swapped for three dozen eggs by Walter William, who has now donated it to the museum for people to look at.
So after sneaking past an explosive that could have made mincemeat out of you and the ever-watchful Tommy, you pass through the first of the bomb-proof doors. They were a foot thick and had anti-gas paint which changed colour in an attack to alert staff. They looked pretty heavy so I’m glad they were already propped open!
I ended up spending well over an hour down in those tunnels, taking my time reading all the information and looking at all the displays. There was a lot of information to take in but it was all very interesting. It’s also a good place to take children - there were loads of activities for them (which I managed to refrain from taking part in. Mostly. I did make my own paper gas mask, but hey. Why not?).
I’m really sad that I forgot to go and find the bullet-proof escape stairs. We were told about them at the beginning of the talk and I wanted to climb them (all 120 of them) so I could see the view from the top, but after a couple of hours wandering around the place the only thing on my mind was lunch and a drink, and I completely forgot to find the stairs. But never mind - there’s always next time.
After that I crossed the road to make my way up to the Minack Theatre, located in the very sensible position of the side of a cliff. No, really. Upon buying your entrance ticket you’re given a piece of paper with some safety notices, the first of which being “The Minack Theatre is built into the Cliffside with steep steps and terraced seating”. My aunt had pointed out the road I could walk up to get to the theatre, warning me that it was fairly steep. And boy was she not wrong there. I made it about halfway up before having to pause for a few seconds, lamenting my lack of drink (which, for the record, I could have bought from the cafe at the bottom of the hill. A fact I will remember should I ever return!)
I eventually made it to the top, pushing aside concerns that I was going the wrong way and was to be accused of trespassing or doing something illegal at any moment (there is no footpath to walk up, only the side of the [very narrow] road. There’s also not a whole lot of sign posts leading the way, and being someone who gets lost very easily, I was expecting to be informed I was going the wrong way at any second).
The one bad thing about today was that I didn’t think to take a camera with me. The views from the theatre out across the sea and onto the beach below are stunning. I’ve never seen a sea so blue, it was absolutely beautiful. I could have spent ages taking pictures of the theatre and its surroundings - I can only imagine what it’s like to see a performance there with the sea as a backdrop (it’s an open air theatre, no covering/shelter at all).
After that I made a very brief trip to the beach - didn’t spend too long there as it was busy, and I was not in appropriate beachwear at all. It felt like I took half the beach back with me in my shoes, which reminded me why I don’t actually like beaches all that much. Then it was a hunt for the bus stop, all the while clutching the square of paper on which my aunt had noted down bus times for me. I hate public transport, particularly buses, and particularly when I’m somewhere I don’t know very well. Despite me wandering up and down the road for a while wondering why I couldn’t find the bus stop when it had clearly been pointed out to me by my uncle when we were in the car park, I eventually found it and succeeded on getting the [correct] bus to the village nearest my aunt’s house, where she then picked me up.
And now I wish it was naptime because I’m shattered, but I must first go and clear a bit of ironing like I said I would.