The Lower Treave Caravan and Camping Park Blog

"Bugler! ....news coming soon on 2017 .....Sound the Advance!

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

Wednesday 31 March 2010

'GETTING THE WIND UP'

Our first visitors of the season have just arrived and are very welcome. They wake on their first morning in Cornwall to a bright but blustery day...no snow here!

Looking out of the office window to the distant horizon I can see a new micro-generation wind turbine which has been errected at Trevorgans farm (just outside St Buryan) spinning happily away. They will shortly be benefitting from the 'feed-in tariff' where every bit of electricity they generate earns them a little cash.

Here, the solar thermal project continues apace, although the recent wind and rain precludes any activity on the roof at the moment. We have just had the annual inspection of all the gas and electric systems and with a bit of good weather (and the timely delivery of some bits from the supplier) we hope to commision sometime within the next ten days.

Welcome to Lower Treave, welcome to season 2010; fair days, quiet nights, genorous sunshine and gentle winds!


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Thursday 25 March 2010

SPRING CLEAN CORNWALL

This week is 'Clean Cornwall Week' and everyone is out and about on litter picks tidying up, not just for our visitors, but for ourselves too.

Director, Estates and Wildlife (Paul) and Director, Bogs and Drains (me) spent an interesting hour this morning in the local layby on the A30. Those of you who are regular visitors will be familiar with the spot, a nice big pull-off just a couple of hundred yards before the site entrance where we encourage early arrivals during busy parts of the season to take a short break whilst their pitch is serviced for them between guests. We felt that as we are regular users of this convenient stop-over, we'd give it a bit of a spruce up for spring.


Let slip the dogs of 'wor...look wot I found!'

All life is in a layby...romance, celebration, fine dining, fashion and mystery...its all there!

Clearly romance flourishes amongst the crisp packets and choc bar wrappers as evidenced by the number of tear moistened disposable kerchiefs. However, I pity the poor damsel who is handed a yard of blue kimwipe by her truck driving amour to dab her damp eyes. That is serious loving!


'So this is where she got all her energy!'

Celebration is firmly at the heart of the layby culture and the drink of choice is a heady cocktail of cheap cider and green bottled German beer. Paul assures me that the pale yellow liquid in one of the bottles was a pre-club mix of vodka and orange...I'm just hoping it wasn't a post-club mix of vodka and orange!

Fine dining is the order of the day from a little known bistro beginning with a big 'M' who's name escapes me but I believe they used to have a farm until they grew too old!


Getting down to it!

Haute couture is no stranger to the layby fashion scene. The chance discovery of a rather fetching pair of ladies pants gave us cause for concern, given the chilly weather, so we will be sending them off for DNA testing and returning them to their hapless owner. Failing that, they will make a nice Christmas present for somebody of a distinctive shape and requiring rather more support than the average bal maiden.

And mystery of mysteries....why would you buy a set of new wiper blades in Halfords, choose to change them in a layby and then think that the correct way to dispose of the old pair was by throwing them into the hedge?


Home in time for tea and medals!

Many thanks to Clean Cornwall and Cornwall Council who do a great job throughout the year keeping us spic and span...but you can play your part....go on, pick up a bit of litter today, better still, lets not drop it in the first place!

http://www.cleancornwall.org/


'Just got to sort this lot out now..glass..tins...plastic...!'

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Wednesday 24 March 2010

THE BEAUTIFUL QUIZ

1. Which is older, the Merry Maidens stone circle or Chysauster prehistoric village?

2. St Michael’s Mount castle contains a model of the castle (made in 1932), from what material?

3. In the late 18th Century, Cornwall smuggler John Carter was better known by what name?

4. Which English king set the boundary between England and Cornwall at the Tamar in 936 AD?

5. How many nature reserves are owned and/or managed by Cornwall AONB partner organisation Cornwall Wildlife Trust?

6. Which American professor said: “The economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment”?

7. Which is the rarest animal found in the Marsland Nature Reserve on the Devon/Cornwall border?

8. Which island was occupied by sisters Attie and Babs Atkins for 40 years from 1964 and then bestowed to Cornwall Wildlife Trust?

(ANSWERS ON THE WEBSITE http://www.cornwall-aonb.gov.uk/)


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JUST THINKING....!


'Best get that holiday arranged at Lower Treave before they are fully booked. I know they don't overcrowd or double up when they're busy and everywhere else is so crowded, so better get my pitch sorted.

The great thing is they have free wi-fi, and the opening page is this blog so I will be able to keep up with all the news and events through the summer.

Right...where's that banana...?'


Tuesday 23 March 2010

'BOX CLEVER'

You can track the Blogwall Bugle Lower Treave Shelterbox here:

 http://www.shelterbox.org/trackbox.php

The box number is '42775'

The work of Shelterbox goes on....Haiti, Uganda, Chile....



...shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disaster worldwide.

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Monday 22 March 2010

RUN FOR THE SUN....Phase One!

Have just completed Phase One of the installation of a new Solar Thermal system for the laundry and shower block.

The pipework isn’t particularly pretty, but it had to mate in with the existing stuff and it is functional rather than beautiful. As some of the temperatures in the system are going to be pretty high, then solder is not an option for the solar circuit and the plastic is so much easier and quicker to fit.



The black box with the dials on is the pump station which will pump hot water from the panels on the roof to the thermal store (the big green thing in the picture below). The white cylinder is the expansion tank and the silver coloured bits of pipework with the red, blue and green controls on them are Thermostatic Mixing Valves to make sure you get showers at the right temperature. The blue circulating pump at the bottom will pump the water for the radiators in the loos and showers.



The controls for both the boilers (on the outside wall) and the solar thermal system are on the same panel. The wiring is all in place ready for the final connection. The solar controller will give you a display of how the system is performing.

Phase Two is to position the thermal store (big green thing) in front of this lot and connect it in and then Phase Three is to get the solar panels on to the roof.

Phase Four is when I try to explain to the Calor Gas rep why we're not using quite as much gas this season!

Will keep you posted on progress and how the system performs. I love all this stuff!

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CORNWALL AIR AMBULANCE...PLEASE VOTE FOR THEM!



The team name is Drambluie Rinse. It costs you nothing, just 5 seconds of your time.

If they secure the most votes, the nominated charity... CORNWALL AIR AMBULANCE will win the £2,500 prize.

Local or visitor...you never know when you might need them...they landed at Lower Treave in 1999 for a nearby road accident!

Only 1 vote per computer....but how many computers have you got in your house?

Please send this to all your friends and ask them to vote for www.drambuie.co.uk/teams

There has never been an all female team let alone one of their vintage!

Many thanks from Bridget of Bude



(The power of the Internet...don't you just love it!)

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Friday 19 March 2010

'LOWER TREAVE GOING INTO SPACE!'

Don't panic...no need for pressure suits or oxygen just yet...just a reminder that this year our pitches will be much bigger, so there's less of them and you will need to book up soon to guarantee your spot in the sun this summer.

Don't forget you can book on-line 24/7 from our website http://www.lowertreave.co.uk/ or call during office hours and speak to one of our friendly and knowledgeable staff about your summer holiday plans...or you could get me on the phone!


'Are you going to tell them...or shall we just turn up?'

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Thursday 11 March 2010

'IT CAME FROM THE SOLAR SYSTEM!'

Reports of mysterious objects landing at Lower Treave.


from the far reaches of the universe ...where I was born coincidentally...


Strange that they chose to land outside the ladies toilets...given it was covered in signs saying handle with care!

More news when the rest of the technically advanced alien sunworshippers arrive.

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Monday 8 March 2010

WE 'BEEN WURZELL'D

If you 're comin' on down to Cornwall best you learn the words...



The Cornish Wurzells played for the St Pirans Day celebrations at Camborne Rugby Club on Sunday. Where was Cookie, their number one fan (he's got all their records and took me to my first Wurzells gig)? Great weather, real beer, good rugby and pasty tossin'. Sundays don't get tougher than that!

British Irish Cup Round 5

Cornish Pirates 26 - Newport 20

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Friday 5 March 2010

HAPPY ST PIRAN'S DAY


No! Not me on a bad hair day!

St Piran - Patron Saint of Cornwall and Tinners

Legend tells us how Piran, originating from Ireland and known there as ‘Ciran' (the Cornish language naturally mutates the first letter to a softer ‘P'), was cast to sea tied to a millstone on the order of the Irish King who was suspicious of Piran's miraculous powers. Although the sea was treacherous Piran survived, the stormy seas calming as he floated on the millstone until he reached the shores of Cornwall. Many Cornish names now echo Piran's, for example ‘Perranporth', ‘Perranzabuloe' and ‘Perranarworthal'. It was at Perranporth beach, however, where Piran was said to have landed, and where he began to build an oratory to promote Christianity. The oratory is now preserved in the towans (sand dunes) at Perran Sands. His first disciples were said to be a badger, a fox and a bear! Piran is perhaps most famous for his accidental discovery of tin, when a blackstone on his fireplace got so hot that a white liquid leaked out; the first tin smelting. It was this discovery that earned Piran the title Patron Saint of ‘Tinners', tin mining historically being a fundamentally important industry in Cornwall. It was this discovery that also formed the basis of the Cornish flag, the white hot tin on the black of the ore. The Cornish flag is now used universally as a symbol of Cornish identity, from stickers on cars through to corporate organisations using the flag to identify 'Cornishness' to a global audience. According to legend St Piran was fond of a tipple or two, and the phrase ‘drunk as a Perraner' has become common place amongst the Cornish to describe those who share his fondness for alcohol! Despite these tipples, he is rumored to have lived to the age of 206!


St Piran's day celebrations have continued to grow in popularity, with the annual St Piran Play on Perran Sands a highlight, hundreds of people making a pilgrimage to the site of the oratory itself, now buried in sand for preservation.



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