Our travels in England have not included an RV but we've been enjoying some lovely travels and our wonderful trip continues.
We set out from Tavistock to spend our sunny day visiting some of the medieval villages on the northern coast of Cornwall. We drove across the moorlands and began our descent down to the fishing village of Boscastle. So many of these villages we were visiting are at the bottom of a long downhill drive to the water and this was no exception. The best part was that we were able to drive down to a parking area in the small village where other places we have had to walk down.
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| Village of Boscastle, England |
We crossed the bridge to find our parking then walked through the shopping area of the village. This part of the village was only about a block long and had nice looking shops for those that may wish to browse.
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| Stone harbour walls in Boscastle, England |
The stone harbor walls seen here, were built in 1584 and act as a buffer from the tidal waters that offer some very rough waves from the Atlantic Ocean. The boats are able to come into the harbor to tie up behind the walls and away from the waves and dock safely when not in use. Boscastle is the only natural harbor for boats along the 40 mile stretch of coastline.
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| Atlantic Ocean at Boscastle, England |
We walked up the wet banks of rock overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and, as always, enjoyed watching the waves crash against the rocks. Waves are always fascinating and I wanted to take enough pictures to make sure I get the right wave and the right splash before I leave. It was very windy, I mean very very windy, so our stay out there watching the waves was shorter than we may have wanted it to be.
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| The natural harbour at Boscastle, England |
Several people were walking on the other side of the harbor and one hiker can be seen up on top of the hill, giving us a perspective on how big that hill really is. We had worn warm jackets and good walking shoes but these rocks were slippery and we needed to be cautious when walking on them. Many visitors sat down on the rocks to enjoy watching the waves and weathered the cold stormy winds. The blue sky is deceiving but the wind was blowing those clouds away, so we're not complaining.
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| Rivers running through Boscastle, England |
The Rivers Valency and Jordon come together to create this natural harbor. Then one day in August 2004 after torrential rains filled both rivers to overflow, there was a major flooding that devastated this small village. The water tore through the town and damaged the majority of the buildings and homes as it ravaged its' way down the valley, including taking out the bridge.
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| Sunny day in Boscastle, England |
We watched a video that showed the damage being done by the powerful force of that flooding and it is amazing that not one life was lost. People were sitting on rooftops and had to be airlifted out by helicoptor. The signage showing the water level that day makes it hard to believe their recovery has been so successful. We had lunch in a quaint little hotel and saw the sign of the water level shown on the second floor.
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| Fishing boats in harbour at Boscastle, England |
Fishing was once a major industry in Boscastle but tourism is now the number one industry for this village and much of that might be due to the flooding then the recovery done by the strength and determination of the people of the village of Boscastle. There is little evidence of the flood showing today, and it was great to spend some time in the village of Boscastle.
