The Camelford Show will be held on the 12th of August this year and organisers are hoping against a repeat of last years weather. In 2008 the show had to be cancelled when excessive rain turned the venue into a mud bath.

Camelford Show website for other events that are happening in North Cornwall this summer try the what's on guide at www.thisisinorthcornwall.co.uk

WATER PILGRIM at Widemouth Bay
On Monday 20 July, Maxim Laithwaite arrives at Widemouth Bay for the Cornish leg of his challenge to walk 630 miles, along the entire length of the South West coast path. His mission is to raise awareness of global water issues, the work of WaterAid the specialist water charity and to promote its fund-raising event Coast Along 2009 which takes place on 12 September. Max's inspiration came from his mentor Satish Kumar, now the editor of Resurgance magazine, who in the sixties made an 8,000 mile pilgrimage walking from India to Washington via Moscow and London advocating nuclear disarmament. Like Satish Kumar, Max will make his pilgrimage without carrying any money and rely on the kindness of people that he meets along the way to to provide him with food and shelter offering to work on local community projects in return. Someone who has offered him accommodation is Jackie Pearce, proprietor of Shorething Bed and Breakfast in Widemouth Bay. As a WaterAid supporter Jackie will also be offering refreshments to walkers taking part in Coast Along. Max's walk will end on 12 September, timed to coincide with Coast Along 2009, when he will join teams taking part for the last stretch. The south west coast path runs between Minehead and Poole through Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. For Coast Along it has been divided into sections of between four and fifteen miles in length and each section is graded as easy, moderate, strenuous or severe – so that walkers can choose a path that suits their level of fitness. Some of the path sections are suitable for use by wheelchairs and buggies. Others are a real challenge even for regular walkers. Previous Coast Along events, in 2005 and 2007, attracted hundreds of participants and collectively raised over £120,000 to help those living in extreme poverty. In 2009 Coast Along for WaterAid is aiming for over £100,000, by having at least one team of between two and seven people on each section of the path.
For further information go to www.coastalongforwateraid.org 
 

The Camel Trail in North Cornwall has to be one of the Best Walk's or Cycle Rides in the Country today! and to illustrate that fact Poddley Tales have produced a fabulous DVD. The Camel Trail DVD Movie is the only one of it's kind, a year in the making and containing over 250 selected Artistic Photo's covering the Trail from it's Beginning with a "Once Upon a Time" history section, "Bygone Day's", "Mobility Walks", "Artists Corner", Trail Gallery" and much more! To find out how to get your copy go here

Celebrating 125 years of the Padstow Institute

"With a Pasty in My Pocket" is a new hardback book co-written by the late Jack Ingrey and Malcolm Mc Carthy.
The book is produced by the Padstow Institute to celebrate 125 years of the Padstow Institute and all proceeds from the book are going to the restoration fund of this grade two listed building in the centre of Padstow. Jack Ingrey who sadly died two years ago and was a well known character in St Merryn was born of local stock and the book which is written in a lively humorous and racy style chronicles his early years in St Merryn in a riveting manner. It covers such day to day affairs as bird beating, pig killing, stone cracking, family picnics, schooldays and a myriad of other country life pursuits that have all but disappeared over the last ninety years. Anyone interested in North Cornwall and life in a Cornish village in the early twentieth century will love this book. Malcolm Mc Carthy a friend of Jacks has reworked the book and illustrated it with copious photographs of the St Merryn district, including a series of photo's of the local pantomimes that Jack produced in the 1950's.

This hard backed book is a bargain at £9.99 and can be sent including postage in the UK for £12. Please make cheque's out to The Padstow Institute and send to Malcolm Mc Carthy Eglosgorn 5 Raleigh Close Padstow Cornwall PL28 8BQ or email taclowcoth@aol.com. The book is also available at: The Strand Bookshop Padstow, Petroc Papers Padstow, Rick Stein outlets in Padstow, Padstow Studio and Wadebridge Bookshop, all of these outlets are kindly selling free of charge to support this worthy project. The Padstow Institute is in need of a new roof and support of this project will be invaluable to the well being of this feature building in the centre of Padstow.
Reports from those who have read "with a Pasty in my Pocket" have been glowing.

Boscastle regeneration is completed

After four years of re-construction work costing £10 million, the flood defence scheme has been officially opened in Boscastle. The flooding that devastated the Cornish fishing village is no longer evident....more , but locals expressed fears of a new nightmare that is unfolding in this beautiful neck of the woods. A proposed sewage scheme threatens to put the whole area between Boscastle and Tintagel into months of further disruption if South West Water get their way.....more

Morwenstow villagers in North Cornwall will be joined by visitors from throughout the UK and overseas on Sunday 7th September 2008 for a church service commemorating a tragic shipwreck that occurred there 166 years ago to the day. They will also celebrate the fact that the vessel’s world-famous figurehead has been saved and returned to their Parish Church for the enjoyment and inspiration of future generations. The shipwreck was that of the brig. Caledonia of Arbroath which was lost with all hands - apart from one crew member - in 1842. The celebration marks the completion of a four-year restoration of her historic figurehead, a famous relic of the days of sail. After spending more than a century and a half in the churchyard as the grave marker for the crew who are buried there, it was almost lost to the ravages of time and the harsh Atlantic weather until a conservation programme was undertaken.

Sunday 7th September 2008
The service of dedication and celebration to mark completion of the restoration programme and the figurehead’s return to Morwenstow will take place in the Parish Church of St. Morwenna and St. John the Baptist, at 3.00pm. The Vicar will be joined by the Ven. Clive Cohen, Archdeacon of Bodmin, who will dedicate both figureheads and deliver the sermon. The church bells will be rung and the service will include rousing hymns and prayers appropriate to the occasion, as well as readings of the works of the Rev. R.S. Hawker and other poets.
Prior to the service at 2.30pm (weather permitting), a brief act of remembrance will take place on the cliff-top near Hawker’s Hut, above the spot where the Caledonia foundered and where the lone survivor clambered to safety. Then, in honour of the Scottish sailors who lost their lives - as well as the survivor - a piper will accompany the group as they walk across the field to the Church, pausing en route to bless the sailors’ graves and the new grave marker, and to inspect a commemorative brass plaque donated by a well-wisher.

Dr Angus MacDonald will play the bagpipes, while Mr Malcolm Topham will play the organ at the church service.

For further information or photos, please contact Bob Pirie on 01288 331245; mobile 07973 202095; e-mail robpirie@aol.com 
 

Camelford Agricultural Show washed out.

The weather as not been kind this summer and the Camelford Show suffered badly. The high winds and heavy rainfall, on already wet ground, made the going underfoot reminiscent of a Glastonbury Festival. Vehicles were being towed out by tractors and mud was the order of the day and although some aspects of the show were able to continue, the majority of exhibitors and visitors stayed away. The show will not be rescheduled in 2008 but the 103rd Camelford Show will be held on Wednesday the 12th of August 2009, weather permitting.

North Cornwall Accommodation are winners.

Internet advertising has come a long way since its start and the market place is saturated with misinformation. Isn't it refreshing to know that, in an age when every one is being charged thru the nose, there are still those to be found who offering outstanding value. The accommodation portal that is www.north-cornwall-accommodation.com as been voted best overall web portal for locating accommodation in the north of the county of Cornwall. An independent survey of web users who were polled for there views, voted it tops for ease of use and accurate, up to date accommodation information. Local accommodation advertisers also voted it tops for low cost advertising. See quotes.

North Cornwall Events.

There have been many new events taking place in the area this summer and we have found a resource that is absolutely free to use to help promote such events in north Cornwall. So if you have any upcoming event, whether it is Theatrical, Musical, Horticultural or whatever ! and it is happening in North Cornwall then e-mail the details to www.thisisnorthcornwall.co.uk and they will post it on their site absolutely free.

Marshgate's hall is falling down!
Marshgate, partly in the parish of Otterham and partly in the parish of St Juliot, is a small village in a sparsely populated area of North Cornwall. There is neither a Church nor a Pub, just a Village Store and Post Office, a few farms and a number of houses. However, the focal point of the village is the Village Hall - "The Otterham & St Juliot Hall" to give it its full title. Although Marshgate may be small, the Hall caters for people living in the surrounding areas, mainly (as the name suggests) in the parishes of Otterham and St Juliot but also from a wider area as far away as Bude, Camelford and Boscastle. Used by many local groups, the Hall also plays host to dinners for the local population, is used by a play group and the local school and regularly hosts auctions. To lose the use of it would be nothing short of a disaster.
However the fabric of the building is frail and the time has come when the building needs to be replaced. For this a large sum of money, approximately £250,000, needs to be raised, which is where you can help by giving a donation or supporting one of the fund-raising events.

Please click here to visit the website and to make donations.

St Piran's Day 5th March