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Alien spaceship? Or new Coastguard helicopter?
 For
somewhere where nothing ever happens, sometimes quite a lot happens.
As on Sunday 11 December when, after a day wreathed in mist, the sun
had managed to break through not long before dusk and then once properly
black the bay was visited by what could easily be mistaken for an
alien spacecraft, hovering absolutely motionless above the beach with
a whole collection of searchlights facing down and some sideways.
After perhaps 10 minutes or so the alien craft climbed up and resumed
its motionless stance not far from the church tower and then moved
further up the cliff land to the plateau not far from Hendersick -
and there actually came to earth. The red and blue lights of H.M.
Coastguard vehicles and an ambulance finally revealed that the alien
craft was in fact one of the new huge rescue helicopters operated
out of Newquay airport by Bristow Aviation for the Coastguard and
no doubt it is their sophisticated technology which enables them to
hover absolutely motionless like a drone. The reason for its presence
was found to be that a local lady, a retired teacher, had suffered
a fall and a particularly nasty ankle breakage on the coast path on
Sunday afternoon and the reason for the repeated hoverings was the
helicopter's pilot endeavouring to find somewhere large and level
enough to land, no mean feat in the dark and given the local topography.
By about 18:45 hrs,the patient was on her aerial way to Derriford
hospital, Plymouth. The unsung heroes of the day? The able volunteers
of HM Coastguard from Looe and Polperro. And where was the landing
ground? See our slide show above - it's in the winter photo of sheep
grazing - and note the light bursting through the cloud: could that
have been an actual alien craft descending?
news - talland.org - 11 December 2016
The bell comes home - after nearly a century
 The
owners of the Old Vicarage at Talland returned home one day to find
a bell hanging on their front door knob. A label tied to the bell
simply said that the bell was to be returned to the vicarage. A call
to the telephone number on the label revealed all - Mrs Desiree
Campbell of Torpoint, who had frequently stayed in the vicarage
as a child, wanted the bell to return home on her death - the bell
had probably been removed as a keep-sake when her family moved out
of the vicarage in 1920.
The bell's return led to the discovery that Muriel Jerram, who lived
in the vicarage as a child (from 1891), had written recollections
of her time there not long before she died in 1975 - she was Desiree
Campbell's aunt. Frances Impey, Desiree's daughter, who brought the
bell back home, has kindly agreed to allow her great aunt's recollections
(which amount to 25 pages) to be published on this webite - see our
Memories page - click here.
Click on image of bell for larger version.
See also stories about a wayward
vicar and a bogus curate
Looking for Sclerder Abbey? The Abbey now has its own webpage
on the Saltash parish website - see our Links
page for more information |
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| The only road running through
the Talland Bay area is a single track lane (which leaves the A387
Looe to Polperro road about 1 mile out of Looe and rejoins it at Barcelona,
about 2 miles from Polperro). The lane is narrow with occasional passing
places - it is also very steep in places - please drive slowly and
carefully and be prepared to back up, maybe several times in summertime.
Don't rely on your sat-nav in the Talland Bay & Polperro area
- you may well end up in a steadily narrowing lane with nowhere to
turn round and which doesn't actually go where you want anyway - be
warned! (in particular Bridals Lane and Sand Hill are likely to display
wrongly as through and connecting roads - they are not!) |
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| Talland
Bay lies between Looe and Polperro in south-east Cornwall.
It has two small beaches, one of which has sand even at low tide,
and there are rocks to scramble over and rock pools for children (and
adults) to explore. The South West Coastal Path passes through Talland.
Eastwards, between Talland Bay and Hannafore, near Looe (3 miles)
the coastline is unspoilt. Similarly, westwards, between Talland Bay
and Polperro (1.5 miles) the coast path passes through unspoilt cliff/downland.
Talland itself, where the ancient church of St. Tallanus is situated,
is hardly even a hamlet but Porthallow, close to the beaches, has
more houses and a fashionable hotel. There are a number of nice self-catering
cottages in easy reach of the sea and just very slightly inland, several
caravan and camping sites, such as Tencreek. There is also a recently
built holiday village (The Bay) which has 46 upmarket holiday homes,
some of which can be rented for holidays. |
| The main attractions
are undoubtedly the beaches and coastal scenery and walking the coastal
path to Looe and Polperro as well as other local footpaths with fine
views are popular. The coastal path and footpaths such as the one
to Tencreek not only have fine views but are good places to see wildlife
- from skylarks, buzzards and butterflies, wild flowers including
orchids and mammals such as deer and foxes - and hear crickets and
see glow worms. As elsewhere on the Cornish peninsula, the weather
varies between idyllic perfection and wild and stormy - sometimes
even on the same day - so be prepared for sun, wind and rain! |
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The
Old Vicarage at Talland is on the market. The house is part Georgian, part
Victorian and has much earlier origins. It sits in a naturally sheltered
fold of the cliff land close to Talland's ancient church and has sea views
from its upper windows. This old vicarage has 5 reception rooms, 8 bedrooms
and more than 4,000 square feet of space and comes with nearly 2 acres of
gardens and grounds which afford stunning views of Talland Bay and Talland's
beaches are just a short walk down the lane or along the coast path. The
Old Vicarage is currently arranged as a 6 bedroom main house and a 2 bedroom
annexe. There are various outbuildings which, subject to planning consent,
could be converted for staff or holiday accommodation. 
