Diary of a Heavenly Day.

I awoke at 6am to the sound of gentle waves caressing the shore and through the windows saw the sky already brightening over Lizard Point away to the east above a dark,flat ocean.

I dressed quickly.No time to waste with dawn rapidly approaching.Outside I gazed at the twinkling sky and sickle moon and gulped down the first lungfulls of sweet sea air.

There are two distinct and diverse ecosystems

here in Lamorna. Two different worlds. Within ten uphill paces of te Magazine I turn a sharp bend into a world still dark and cool.I walk quietly along the lane through the woods past the village,the Wink,and as far as Vow Cave.It is still nighttime here although the first fingers of the coming dawn are probing the treetops.Already the Jackdaws and Rooks are stirring but the Tawny Owls are still abroad,hooting mournfully as they search for a last meal before settling into their daytime roosts.

I turn around and head back towards The Magazine through the awakening village.By the time I reach the cove the gulls are wheeling and squawking,Jeannie,my resident Robin is calling,celebrating the new day.
I go down to the beach and watch the sky turn a magnificent blood red,shot through with yellows and blues,the black imposing bulk of Carn Dhu silhouetted in the foreground.Somnolent waves foam at my feet.

They say this is winter.Indeed,the BBC calls for cold and snow upcountry today.There are I see a few white caps out in Mounts Bay but here in the cove it is calm,the sea that wonderful azure blue and looking as inviting as any tropical lagoon.The sun is now well above the horizon and I can see a line of billowy white clouds marching across the Lizard.

I set off on a favourite,almost daily walk over the rocks to Lamorna Point and then on to Carn Barges.Fulmars wheel and dive in the now cloudless blue sky and fishing boats chug through the gentle rolling ocean.The tide is out and I pass rock pools and ledges where Birch,Munnings and Knight and other artists like to sit and paint.

At Carn Barges I look down upon Minack,the cliffside fields now overgrown where once Derek and Jeannie grew their potatoes and daffodils which slopes gentle down to small inlet where in summer they picknicked and bathed.

I walk on to Minack and Oliver Land and yes,there is a gull,two in fact on the roof of the cottage. I walk through the nature reserve to Ambrose Rock and sit upon it.I am serenaded by a little Dunnock as I admire the scenery and marvel at the wonder of it all.Since leaving my cottage I have seen no-one.I am alone n the world.This indeed a place for solitude.

I meander back across the heathland inland from Carn Barges.High above a pair of buzzards circle lazily.

At the top of Well Lane I detour to Tregurnow Farm in the hopes of seeing their nesting Barn Owl but no luck today.A skylark hovers high above and fills the scented air with it's melodious song.

Back in Lamorna village and around to the ancient mill and walk down through the woodland.The leafless trees are coloured green with moss and ivy and the sun-dappled woods are alive with birdsong and unerlying all is the constant roar of Lamorna Stream as it tumbles and rushes over the granite boulders on it's way to the cove and the sea.This is an idyllic,magical place.By the rear of Oriental Cottage I look into a deep pool and watch trout darting about in the current.Further downstream I pass the place where rare orchids will soon be blooming amongst a sea of bluebells.

Back at The Magazine I sit on the deck in the warm sunshine and gaze rapturously at the beautiful wonderous soul-uplifting scene before me,lulled lmost to sleep by the heat and mumuring sea.
If this is not paradise I don't know what is.

The sun moves west around Lamorna Point and is gone from my garden so later I climb to the summit of the old east quarry to catch the final rays before it sinks into the sea.

Afetr dark I again walk up the valley to Vow cave. There is no moon tonight,consequently it is very black and the air still and slightly frosty and pervaded by the aroma of woodsmoke.I sense the night creatures stirring around me as I tread quietly and carefully along the lane.The Tawny Owls have awoken from their daytime slumbers and their sine-chilling eerie hooting echoes through the night.A fox barks across the valley.

The welcoming lights of The Wink shine brightly in the distance.I go in and sit in front of the roaring fire and drink a pint of Betty Stoggs' bitter.It is quiz night so I will stay and chat and meet friends new and old and have a few hours of good company and cheer.

Finally I wend my way down the ink-black lane,the invisible trees rustling gently in the slight breeze,the air now redolent with woodsmoke and darkly mysterious and mystical.I let my imagination run wild!
I turn the corner into the cove and I am awe-struck by the dark vista before me.The vault of the sky is alight with twinkling stars,Orion glows magestically above the sea and there is the strange,disembodied glow of lights bobbing out upon the black sea and all around is the constant,eternal sound of the waves hissing and gurgling upon the shore.

That sound,as every night,will lull me to sleep tonight.

The end of another Heavenly Cornish Day.It is a magical place.