The Lower Treave Caravan and Camping Park Blog

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Scroll down for all the latest information, news and views from Lower Treave.

Wednesday 30 September 2009

AMBASSADOR...YOU SPOIL US!


Dear Readers,

Sorry not to have been in touch for a while, but things have been a little hectic around Treave Towers just lately. Time for a 'catch up'.

Last week, CoaST, the sustainable tourism network, were kind enough to invite me to be an Ambassador for their project. After a bit of argy bargy about how much Ferrero Rocher was involved and did the residence have its own staff and driver, we eventually agreed that I would just do the best I could with an old truck, Jake as driver and a couple of squares of Cadbury's Dairy Milk.

My first official engagement was to a cream tea at the Alverton Manor Hotel ( http://www.alvertonmanor.co.uk/%20)to ) to meet up with the other 'Ambos', have a bit of a chat and generally 'get with the programme'. Unfortunately, the event coincided with a meeting of the Fostering Panel, I went into the wrong room and ended up having to explain that I was not 'parenting material'...'ask any of the kids on the site and they will back me up on that!' I said. Anyway, a jolly time was had by all and Their Excellencies went on to do good works.



'In his new role as chauffeur, Jake waits patiently outside the Alverton Manor to drive His Excellency back to the residence.' 

On Thursday, the truck went in for its MOT. To pass, it had to have a set of new number plates because the speeding cameras were having trouble picking up the image due to 'de-lamination'...the fact that the truck has a top speed of 27 mph downhill with a following wind apparently holds little sway in a magistrates court.

Anyway, new plates were produced amidst a flurry of quips such as 'have we got any Roman Numerals left...truck's so old it seems a shame to spoil it with all this new fangled Arabic stuff?' ...comes to the point of collection and the garage owner, who I have known and traded with for some years, asked me to produce the Vehicle Registration Certificate and my driving license to confirm my identity and ownership.

Now, most of you have a two-part driving license...one part of which has a photograph. I have a six-part license, held together by browning sticky tape and no photograph...it was after all issued when I was 18 years old and has had a hard a life, like its holder, who is also held together by browning sticky tape!

'Question is' said the garage owner slowly 'how do I know you are who you say you are?'

'I'm an Ambassador' I said, 'I have Diplomatic Immunity.'

'Fair enough' he said, 'sign here.'




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Wednesday 23 September 2009

ALL ABOARD...!



Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trusts have again collaborated with the Steamship Company to run two wildlife specials onboard Scillonian III, to provide passengers to the Isles of Scilly with the opportunity to spot the diverse marine life that use the local waters. On Saturdays 26th September and 10th October, the Trust’s marine biodiversity guide Paul Semmens will travel with passengers to help them experience what can be spotted living in the surrounding seas.

Paul has been a RSPB guide on the boat for many years and is currently working onboard the Scillonian surveying and guiding for the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust’s Marine Biodiversity Project. Paul says, ‘It is great to be able to help the Wildlife Trusts by educating people onboard the Scillonian, and showing them what they would otherwise be missing. So far this year I have seen several minke whales, bottlenose dolphins as well as good numbers of harbour porpoises, common dolphins, basking sharks and ocean sunfish. We have also seen a huge variety of seabirds including balearic and sooty shearwaters, storm petrels, arctic, pomarine and great skuas, and sabine’s gull.’

September and October are well known for rare birds on Scilly, arriving on the islands from as far as Europe or even America. This time of year is also noted for the variety of species in the sea, with previous trips seeing ocean sunfish, orcas, minke whales and harbour porpoises as well as bottlenose, risso’s and common dolphins. Paul continues, ‘The Scillonian is certainly the best way to see dolphins and whales. So far this year, I have seen animals on every trip.’

The Scillonian sails at 9.15 am and leaves St Mary’s at 4.30 pm. To receive a discount when using the Scillonian, just mention Cornwall Wildlife Trust when booking and you will only pay the concessionary ticket price of £25, a saving of £10.

To book your trip, contact the Steamship Company on 0845 710 5555 or email sales@islesofscilly-travel.co.uk. Alternatively visit the Isles of Scilly Travel Centre, Quay Street, Penzance TR18 4BZ. For details of marine sightings from Scillonian III go to http://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/wildlife.htm
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Sunday 20 September 2009

WHICH WAY IS SOUTH?



Swallows don't have SatNav...which is quite good because it would always send them down the A38 rather than the shorter, quicker A30...!

They don't seem in any hurry to leave, given the beautiful early autumn weather we are enjoying here in Cornwall.

Senior Estates Manager spent a couple of hours on the kayak yesterday in Sennen Cove and brought home a bucketful of fish (Gurnard, Pollock, Mackerel) which were duly grilled on the barbie for breakfast this morning. Perfick!
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Sunday 13 September 2009

BARN OWLS SPOTTED!

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'Thanks for a lovely stay.


Excellent facilities, great location, a deserving gold medal (hurrah!) and we'll certainly be recommending the site to friends and look forward to coming back ourselves.

Missing the pair of barn owls already.

Although, v glad to be back in our own bed. Ahhh bliss.

All the best

Amanda and David'
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Thanks A&D, great spot on the Barn Owls. Now there are fewer people around they are getting a little more adventurous and visible in their wanderings. N
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WIN A TENT!

'Hi there,


I hope you don't mind me contacting you like this, but there's a free tent up for grabs and I thought you might be interested!


Pitchup.com are hoping to become THE authority on camping and caravanning through user reviews of campsites all over the UK. I'd love it if you'd take a look at the site, and submit a review -- at the end of the month, we'll be picking one reviewer to win a deluxe 8-person tent from Blacks!

Take a look here for all the details: http://www.pitchup.com/competition/

And if you think this is something your readers might be interested in, we'd really appreciate you mentioning it to them.


Many thanks!

Lucy'

Saturday 12 September 2009

1938 NSU VISITS LOWER TREAVE

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Pictured with his 1938 250cc NSU Trials Bike is Herr Siebenhaar of Bargteheide in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany. The bike is beautifully restored and maintained and travels on the back of the camper-van. This year Herr Siebenhaar rode it on the Isle of Man TT Course.
Now that's what I call re-cycling!

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Thursday 10 September 2009

LOWER TREAVE AWARDED BELLAMY GOLD



'We are delighted to advise you that Professor Bellamy has awarded Lower Treave Caravan & Camping Park with the Gold accolade for 2009. '

Thanks to everyone who makes this award worthwhile...to those of us who work at Lower Treave it obviously means a great deal, but as they say at the Oscars,  'we couldn't have done it without...

Everyone who turned off a light when it wasn't needed.
Everyone who saw a plant or animal they hadn't seen before.
Everyone who spent some time sorting out their recycling into the correct bin.
Everyone who gazed in wonder at the night sky.
Everyone who gave someone else a bit of time, space and quiet to enjoy their holiday.
Everyone who got on a bus.
Everyone who put a few coins in the Cornwall Wildlife Trust tin as they drank their coffee.
Everyone who asked about solar panels and wind turbines.
Everyone who said 'we'll be back'.

To everyone...from Lower Treave...thank you.


http://www.bellamyparks.co.uk/
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Sunday 6 September 2009

BRITISH CARAVAN CLUB RALLIES AT LOWER TREAVE




















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Members of the Cornwall Area of the British Caravan Club form their wagons in a circle around the flag as they rally in the wild west.
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The BCC is a Section of the Camping and Caravanning Club.
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http://www.cornwallbcc.co.uk/about.htm
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'WELL LIT BY MOONLIGHT'

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(1957) Powell and Pressburger; Starring Dirk Bogarde and Marius Goring from the book by W Stanley Moss - now showing at a campsite near you!
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Wednesday 2 September 2009

LONE SHARK RAISES INTEREST

. A young basking shark, which stranded on a beach in west Cornwall in early August has been the first of its kind in England to be examined by veterinary pathologists. At over four metres long, the fish was so huge it wouldn't fit on the examination table and was too heavy to be weighed on their scales. The male shark washed ashore at Sennen Cove and was reported to Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Strandings Network. Joanna Osborn, who was on duty that day, took the call and asked local volunteer Rory Goodall if he could go down to the beach to record the animal. Rory was unable to see any obvious cause of death and he found that, unusually, the specimen was very fresh in comparison to other basking sharks the Marine Strandings Network had recorded previously in Cornwall. It was, therefore, a prime candidate for a post-mortem examination. "Usually the basking sharks we've recorded are very decomposed" said Joanna Osborn, "so we realised that this was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about this amazing fish which we see so often here in the summer, but about which so little is known." "I checked with our partners at the Institute of Zoology, who are studying basking sharks as well as other marine species under the collaborative UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, and they were really pleased that we might have one to examine." "Normally a team of Network volunteers would be mustered to lift an animal onto a trailer" added Rory, "but as you can imagine, we don't have the equipment or manpower to move a shark, even one this small! So we were very grateful to Sue Nicholls from Cornwall Council, who agreed that their Beach Management Team would transport the shark to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) in Truro where it could be examined." James Barnett, veterinary pathologist at the VLA conducted the examination and concluded: “This young male basking shark was in reasonable body condition and there was evidence that it had fed recently. It appeared to have a gastritis, as the stomach lining was inflamed. There was some damage to the gill slits, which could mean that it stranded alive. But there was no obvious reason for its death, although we're still waiting for other test results to come through. It was a very rare opportunity for us, and a first for Cornwall." Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the world and are frequently seen around the coast of Cornwall, feeding on zooplankton as they cruise gracefully through the water. They can filter 6,000 litres of water through their gills every hour and grow up to 11 meters long. The Trust welcomes reports of any stranded sharks, or other marine animals on the beach, to its Marine Strandings Hotline on 0845 201 2626. As sharks decompose quickly, the public are urged to call right away. For more information on strandings, the Marine Strandings Network has a website at www.cwtstrandings.org. and sightings of any live marine animals can be reported via the Trust's website at http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/. .