Now we are allowed to go a little further afield we took our Yorkie, Evie, over to the Welland Valley in the north of our county. The River Welland marks the northern boundary of Northamptonshire and the southern boundary of Leicestershire, which is in the distance. The river is some 65 miles long and drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river rises here, in the Hothorpe Hills near Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Market Harborough, Stamford and Spalding, to reach The Wash near Fosdyke.
Tags: Northamptonshire landscapes Sibbertoft Welland Valley fences trees
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Mousehole is a small and very picturesque fishing village overlooking Mounts Bay in the far west of Cornwall. There has certainly been a harbour here for over a thousand years. The village was razed to the ground by a Spanish raiding party in 1595, other than one house, which still remains today.
Tags: Cornwall harbours seaside Mousehole England Cornish harbours EU fishing boats boats sea coast Mounts Bay
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The Calstock Viaduct crosses the River Tamar at Calstock, six miles south-west of Tavistock and 10 miles north of Plymouth. The viaduct was built between 1904 and 1907 and carries the Tamar Valley Line, which runs from Gunnislake to Plymouth.
The service is provided by a two-coach DMU, and it is single track all the way from Gunnislake to the outskirts of Plymouth.
The Tamar marks the boundary between Cornwall and Devon with Calstock on the Cornish bank on the right. Devon's picturesque Bere Peninsula is on the left. The Tamar is navigable to boats past Calstock some three miles upstream to Morwellham Quay. Calstock Quay was once important for transporting goods. In the Victorian era steamers also brought tourists to the village and Calstock was visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1846.
The importance of the river as a transport route declined with the construction of the Tamar Valley railway at the start of the 20th century.
Tags: Cornwall Devon Calstock Viaduct trains Tamar Valley line Calstock railways bridges skies
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St Ives Bridge, which dates from the 15th century, is most unusual in incorporating a chapel, the most striking of only five examples in England. Also unusual are its two southern arches which are a different shape from the rest of the bridge, being rounded instead of slightly gothic. They were rebuilt this way after Oliver Cromwell blew them up in the English Civil War. During the war and for some period afterwards, the gap was covered by a drawbridge. St Ives is on the River Great Ouse between Huntingdon and Ely.
Tags: Cambridgeshire River Great Ouse St Ives rivers medieval bridges chapels Medieval bridges with chapels bridges
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Cotehele is a medieval house near Calstock in Cornwall. Now owned by the National Trust, the early 14th century house was substantially extended by Sir Richard Edgcumbe from 1485-89 and his son, Sir Piers Edgcumbe, from 1489-1520. This house is one of the least altered of the Tudor houses in the United Kingdom. Unoccupied for the past two centuries, it has served as a repository for unwanted tapestries and furniture. The Great Hall serves as the entrance to the inside of the main house.
Tags: Cornwall Cotehele House Tudor architecture National Trust country houses mansions old buildings
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