Tuesday 15 April 2014

Up The Steeple








When the boys are on their school holidays, I try and strike a balance between getting out and about and chillaxing at home. So this morning saw me pottering about the house engaged in the menial and humdrum, while Olly played with PlayDoh and Lego. We have been blessed with beautiful weather in West Cornwall. All sunshine and blustery wind. Lovely to wake up to in the morning. Brilliant for hanging out the washing. Fantastic if you happen to be here for the Easter holidays. It makes me love living here all the more. We have spent quite a lot of our time at the beach. But we don't have to go. We can pick and choose. And today we chose not to.

Olly and Alfie wanted to walk to Steeple Woods. I was happy to oblige, as it's one of my favourite walks to take Honey. It's long enough for a good run out for her. There is lots to occupy a little boy en route, so the uphill climb doesn't seem so hard on his legs. And the lanes are safe to navigate, so loads of running like loons. There's lots for me to look at too. The sun was very bright and so taking photos of wild flora proved difficult. But there were carpets of celandine, wood anemone, bluebells, violets, gorse, blossom and buds galore. There were bees and butterflies busying themselves and the sound of birdsong was glorious.

Knills Monument is situated on a hill overlooking the town. Built in 1782 by John Knill, it is a triangular monument made of granite and stands over 50ft high. Knill was a rather eccentric mayor of St Ives, and this was to be his mausoleum. He actually died and was buried in London, but the monument remained. It's undergone some restoration recently and was looking rather magnificent in the Spring sunshine.

The area surrounding the monument is heathland.To the south lies Trelyon Downs and below is Steeple Woods. These three form the Steeple Nature Reserve. It's a rather special place, and you often hear people in St Ives talking about "Going up the Steeple." The view from the top is spectacular - a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding area. You can see for miles up there, and apart from the Atlantic, it is a rural landscape. While St Ives swells with the day tripper, Steeple Woods is a reminder that there is space around us. It's a real get away from it all kind of a place.

The boys love the tree climbing possibilities. And the rope swing in the woods. I watched as Olly challenged himself and followed his brother up trees and on the swing. I resisted the urge to stop him, and only helped him when he asked for it. Boys need these physical challenges, and I am loving how Olly is really pushing his own boundaries. The delight on his face as he overcame initial reticence and swung on the rope swing was priceless. And by the end of the afternoon he was as quick as a cat along the low lying branches of the trees.

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This evening I have had a tired and teasy boy, which gave a sense of a job well done. Kids should be tired from their activities at the end of the day, right? So that they sink into bed and silent slumbers, while Mum drinks her gin and tonic in peace downstairs.

Leanne xx




9 comments:

  1. oo yes sunkissed kiddy tiredness and cold gin! a nice combo xxxx

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  2. Sounds like a great day - and a great way to end it too! xx

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  3. What a fantastic day. We're embracing the good weather too and as such we're all a little tired and ready for cosiness at the end of the day :-) Yum a g&t can only add to a peaceful evening :-)

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  4. It sounds so beautiful where you live. I love that you always seem so appreciative of it, like you wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I love that your boys will grow up with that attitude as well, because of you.

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  5. I love days like this. The Steeple walk sounds just like a walk that I would enjoy with my lot. We have been walking a lot recently, never too far but far enough to tire us out. We always take picnic and a camp stove for tea and hot chocolate. I spilt it all over Sam's jacket yesterday.... I am thinking a G&T would be in order tonight, it is the holidays after all. Enjoy the rest of yours. x

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  6. Wonderful Leanne, it sounds like the perfect walk. Mine do so love to run like loons as well. And you're right, it's perfect when they're grubby and exhausted at the end of the day. Just as it should be. Enjoy that gin sweetie, you deserve it.

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  7. It looks like a special place, and a perfect walk too. My two aren't great walkers but if there's enough to distract them they'll go for miles without noticing. And anything that tires them out so they fall straight to sleep is fine by me. x

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  8. That looks and sounds like my kind of place :) And yes, wear the kids out, that was always my motto. If they got too lively for lack of exercise I used to threaten to send them down mines or up chimneys if they didn't find something physical to do pronto ;)

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  9. Great woods, I love how the trees get all twisty they look like something out of a fairytale. We have woods like this in our village but often pass them up in favour of the beach, but when we do visit it just makes them seem extra special and undiscovered. Have a great Easter holiday x

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