Broken Symphony

After our meal this evening it was Hamish's time for his nightly stroll around Portreath and as it was still warm we took him to the beach. There were plenty of people about and a very strong smell of BBQ's as we walked from the harbour end towards Amy's Cove at the far side.

In the distance we saw our Harbour Association Chairman's car on the sand and as we got closer we noticed a big yellow trailer also parked up. Being curious we began walking faster and then someone told us that one of the boat-owners from the harbour had smashed his boat up in the surf. He is a lovely chap in his mid-seventies and his pride and joy was now just a wreck on the sand - it was so sad. Lots of association members were there helping to recover it so naturally we helped too.

These are the sequence of events in the process of getting it onto the trailer and then it was taken to the hardstanding on the harbour where it will stay until it can be disposed of.








The owner had been taken to hospital to be checked over but everyone said he was okay as he was clear of the boat before the surf did the damage of breaking it up.

The end of the evening ...

Harbour Fun Day 09

After the fantastic weather yesterday we didn't believe we could possibly be lucky again today. For once the British weather didn't let us down! No rain - apart from a couple of spots which I don't count!!

All morning the harbour was a hive of activity as stands were erected, food was prepared and the sound system was checked. After a short opening speech Harbour Fun Day was officially open. The Sparnon Gate Band entertained us ...

and then it was time for the local Line Dancers to strut their stuff ...


Finally we had music from Samba Celtica which got everyone tapping their feet.


Once the tide had come in then the water-based activities could take place and the greasy pole proved to be very popular ...




We went for a stroll around and I found this fabulous owl on the Gwel an Mor stand. He is called Chunk and is a European Eagle Owl.

We also saw these fantastic steam engines ...

Hamish managed to get a goodie-bag from the Coastguard and had his photo taken wearing it!


Swimmers had assembled at the Surf Lifesaving Club round on Portreath beach and they had a race to the harbour ...


Climbing the steps to finish ...

The last event in the water was the Raft Race which was great fun. Various craft had been built over the last few weeks and they took to the water down the slipway ...




We had one latecomer when two girls tried to get out on their raft ...



They were having problems so the dinghy came and rescued them and took them out to join the others ...

Once they were all afloat and the race started, the Fire Brigade began to soak the competitors with their water jets and there was a lot of flour and eggs being thrown both from spectators and competitors!

The winning raft reached the slipway and was rewarded with a trophy later in the afternoon.


The only slight hiccup was when a lad who had jumped into the water was immediately followed by another lad and he got struck by him. The RNLI lifeguards were very quickly on the scene and he was held still in the water whilst a board was brought down the steps.

He was then transferred to the dinghy and taken to the slipway where a doctor had arrived, checked him over and he went to hospital.

Everyone was very concerned especially as we've had problems with tombstoners but thankfully this had a happy ending.

Bicentennial Celebrations

Today was a big day for the village as there were festivities to mark the 200 years since the creation of the Portreath to Poldice tramroad which linked the county's inland mines with Portreath harbour.

In 1809, Francis Basset, Lord De Dunstanville, laid the first piece of track linking the small port with the mines in the St Day area. At Portreath, Cornish copper ore would then be transported to South Wales for smelting and coal from South Wales imported to power Cornish engines in return. The day's events all began after lunch when people gathered at the village school and there was a procession to the harbour.

Many people had dressed up in Victorian costume for the occasion and it was led by Cornish fiddlers complete with a pack-horse, a horsedrawn carriage with Mr Williams of Scorrier House on board and traditional dancing by local children.

While they were progressing to the harbour a 40ft Cornish Lugger arrived as part of the re-enactment of the copper for coal exchange.





We then listened to speeches and a ceremonial exchange of a piece of coal for a piece of copper.

The procession then left the harbour ...




and made its way to Greenfield Gardens for the unveiling of the replica early 19th century tram wagon which had been built by Pool Business and Enterprise College and mounted on cast iron plates and original set stones.




After a few more speeches the local children were given a Portreath penny which had been specially minted from Cornish copper to mark the occasion.

The Cornish Lads entertained us in the gardens ...

and everyone had a fantastic afternoon. The sun shone which in itself was a miracle considering all the bad weather we'd endured during the week.

In the evening when we walked Hamish we went back to the Gardens to see the wagon and memorial stone ...