Bodmin, Cornwall - Day 5

Wednesday, June 4
This morning looked promising weather-wise with more blue sky than we've seen for days! We still had a few touristy things to do in Bodmin so we set off on foot to catch the steam train to visit Lanhydrock House. As we walked through town a stream of school and kindergarten kids were assembling in the square in front of the Shire Hall so, being sticky beaks, we hung about to see what it was all about.

Performance by school kids in front of the Shire Hall in Bodmin

It turned out to be the anniversary of St. Petroc's death in 564 AD, so all the kids from St. Petroc's school came and performed then went back to have a party with Cornish pasties and cake. By staying to watch them sing along to a band accompaniment (I've only included a photo and not the video - it was that good!) we missed the train, so we changed order and visited the Town Museum first.
The museum focused on the local area and included exhibits on fossils, geology, mining, religion, railways, archaeological artefacts, agriculture, the wars, and a display of a local lad, James Finn, who won a VC and had a street named after him. It was very interesting and well presented so we got a good overview of Bodmin and the local area.

James Finn display in Bodmin Town Museum

Inside the Shire Hall the Tourist Information Centre is located in one of the old courtrooms of the County Assize Court, while the other courtroom is all original and set up to recreate a famous murder trial. After seeing the recreation of the court proceedings we tourists got to vote on whether the accused was guilty or not. The recreation used film, lighting, models and audio, with the courtroom set up as it would have been in 1844. It was very well done and most of us voted not guilty as there was no hard evidence to convict the accused, but in real life he was found guilty and hanged within 2 days of the verdict - poor guy.
We bought a pasty for lunch and headed for the Bodmin and Wenford Railway where we took a steam train to Bodmin Parkway (which connects to British Rail). The Great Western Railway station at Bodmin General has several locomotives that are operational, and the carriages were part of the "time travel" experience. It was a lot of fun, and you can't beat the sights, sounds and smells associated with a steam train journey.

Al enjoying his pasty on the train

Our locomotive for the day, #4612

From the Parkway we walked along an old carriageway through woods and parkland beside the Fowey River to Lanhydrock House. This was the family home of Thomas Charles, 2nd Lord Robartes, his wife Mary and their 10 children! It's a magnificent Victorian house set in 900 acres and gifted to the National Trust in 1966. Despite having 10 children, the family ran out of heirs and the house remains as it was when they lived in it for over 100 years. Now all can see how the other half lived in Victorian times as well as the downstairs world of the kitchen staff and other servants.

The beautiful walk to Lanhydrock

Looking back at the Gatehouse

Amazing "BBQ" in the kitchen of Lanhydrock

Unfortunately the weather had changed and it was raining quite heavily as we finished touring the house. We also had the time constraint of catching the last train back to Bodmin (also allowing for the 3km walk back to the station) so we had to give a tour of the gardens a miss! After all this walking we thought we'd eat in Bodmin before heading back to our B&B, as it involves a short steep walk to reach it, so we headed to our favourite pub and enjoyed another great meal before heading home after another great day.

Posted with Blogsy