Tregathenan Round-Up January 2023
As we write, it is hard to believe that only a few months ago, we were in the middle of a heatwave and the worst drought we can remember since moving to Cornwall. The grass in the fields was burnt and brown, and the trees were losing their leaves in the middle of summer. We were lucky not to have suffered the extreme heat that some of our city-based visitors experienced in August. Our thermometer topped out at about 32 degrees. Cornwall’s reservoirs were down to below 20% and we have been on a hosepipe ban ever since. Yet today, we have our 29th day of rain out of the last 32!
Tregathenan is so perfectly placed to enjoy these summer excesses – the sea breezes cooled the land and morning and evening dips in the sea were a joy. The hardest decision was which beach to swim at!
This year was our first full year without Covid restrictions and in April we were delighted to be able to reopen the Playroom for guests. During the pandemic the Playroom had been used as our Covid storeroom, so it had a good clear-out, a lick of paint, new and old toys and games and we found the table football! Once again this facility has been much used and enjoyed by our visitors, young and old.
It was also lovely to welcome back overseas visitors this year– including regulars from Holland, and visitors from Germany, US, South Africa and Australia.
It felt like we had only just got back on an even keel when Bird flu struck. It was a serious outbreak and heart breaking to see so many dead seabirds washed up on the beaches. With an outbreak only 3 miles away, Defra imposed restrictions on our chickens, geese and ducks to ensure they were kept separate from wild birds, and to ensure no contamination from visitors. For us this meant keeping them under netting in areas smaller than they were used to and sadly keeping them separate from our guests. As a protest, they haven’t laid an egg since!
Alpaca Trekking – we introduced a free Wednesday afternoon walk with the alpacas for our guests this year for the first time since Covid. This has proven very popular. Although we do receive enquiries from the general public, Tregathenan alpaca trekking is currently only open to guests actually staying at Tregathenan. Some of the boys are better at trekking than others. Eric, who is otherwise a complete hooligan, has surprised us with his enthusiasm. Barliman, on the other hand stoutly refuses to budge out of the field!
Perhaps as a reward for their trekking work this year, or more likely because their old one blew down in the autumn gales, the alpacas are having a new shed built. This will have a separate store for straw and hay, and an inside isolation pen for if they are poorly, or when they need individual attention. Work started last month, but has stalled because of the weather.
Other animal news: It seems to have been a good year for wildlife at Tregathenan. In particular, we have been delighted by the number of hedgehogs and their families that we have seen. Mr and Mrs Wren repurposed an old swallows nest in our front porch, adding an intricate circular house of moss to the mud platform the swallows had left behind. In June, four ridiculously small hatchlings were born – they seemed very vulnerable running across the garden, but soon took cover among the shrubs and we are pretty certain all survived.
Napoleon and Josephine hatched two goslings this year, but they were sadly predated by, we think, a weasel entering the goose house at night – not such a welcome addition to the wildlife at Tregathenan. We also had to say goodbye to our dear 19 year old alpaca, Paco. Ben, our lovely ginger cat and a frequent visitor to the back door of Tregathenan House, had a (very expensive) eye operation to mend his cornea, and Sam took part in a research project with the RCVS looking at the relationship between epilepsy and behaviour in dogs.
Like most of our guests, we have enjoyed our post-Covid freedoms, reconnecting with family and friends and ‘Going Out’! We saw and joined in with the Cornish Oggiemen (above) on a warm summer evening at Poldhu Cove; visited Bochym Manor in July with its beautiful agapanthus as part of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Open Gardens season; we went on a wonderful safari feast at Trebah Gardens in June to celebrate Ian’s birthday, and had a great day out at the Royal Cornwall Show.
Liz briefly traded bike for kayak one sunny day in July, completing a full day’s sea kayak trip with Vertical Blue https://www.verticalblue.co.uk/ around Mounts Bay from Porthleven. It was amazing to experience that stretch of coastline from the water, to explore sea caves and stacks; to lunch on a beach only accessible from the water, and to get up close to many of our local sea birds. And all just a few minutes from Tregathenan!
Holidays – In March, Liz was lucky enough to bag herself a short trip to the Isles of Scilly. Staying on a daffodil Farm on the island of St Martins, it was before the Scilly tourist season starts – so little was open – just the scenery and the wildlife – perfect and so easy to get to from Tregathenan – just 20 minutes by helicopter or a little longer by boat from Penzance, or fly fixed wing from Lands End, for a day trip or longer!. https://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/
Liz and Ian managed a week across the border in Devon in November. We thought we’d picked the holiday property really carefully – away from traffic and people to make it as relaxing as possible for Sam-dog, and for us, – only to discover on opening the curtains on the first morning – at least 30 pheasants in the garden from the neighbouring pheasant farm! Sam did however manage to de-stress on some lovely beach walks (not quite so lovely as those in Cornwall – obviously!)
We couldn’t complete a round-up of the year without mentioning the death of HM The Queen in September. She was much loved and respected far and wide and will be sadly missed. And so we have the excitement of a coronation in May (and an extra bank holiday!).
As we reach the end of our 20th year at Tregathenan, wondering where all the time has gone, we wish all of you a very happy, peaceful and healthy 2023.
Liz and Ian
