Veryan Day 6 - Wild Life

We had passed Melinsey Mill the other day, it looked like a good place to visit. One of the walks in our new book has a different route to the beach which also goes past the Mill.  That is the walk to do.  We started out at a reasonable time, the route took us passed Churchtown Farm, then we were in new territory.  Walking down a steep bank and along a stream to the impossible stile at Carne beach car park. Fortunately the locked gate was broken enough for Brody to squeeze through, we had to go up the hill and over the stile.  There is no way a dog was getting over that stile, it is a wire fence with high wooden steps leading over the fence.   The dog situation is very unsatisfactory, so I have emailed Cornwall County Council:

Dear Sir,
I am a responsible dog owner visiting Cornwall.  I have found only one Dog Waste bin near Veryan, it is at carno beach car park, and is very full.  I contact you like this because I have no idea of the name of the road, which your form requires.
You have plenty of notices about cleaning up after your dog, but no-one (certainly not the staff in the Veryan post office) seems to have any idea where you should then dispose of the bag of waste - please put instructions on your notices, as most locations do - and provide some bins to put the waste in.
We have also come across a number of stiles that are very unfriendly to dogs, the one at carno car park is a prime example - there is no way of getting a Labrador Retriever across it at all - fortunately the nearby gate is broken and we persuaded our dog to go through the gap.  Most of the stiles on the Coastal path have dog access built in, but there are lots of other paths in the Veryan area, and most of them are very difficult for walkers with dogs.

Once on Carne beach we walked along to Pendower beach (the tide was just low enough).  Leaving the car park we walked up the valley to the mill, at the end of the path there is a steep decline and a handrail - very helpful, but it blocks the exit onto the road and you must duck underneath to continue your journey.

The mill has tables around the edge of the pond with a bird feeder hung just over the pond.  Watching the birds and drinking a very generous pot of tea made the half hour until lunch was available pass quickly.  Lunch was good to - a Millers lunch - like a ploughmans really. 

The birds do not differentiate between the bird feeder and the human feeder, eating from either as the opportunity arises.

After lunch we completed the short walk back to the cottage.

Distance: 8.07km

After a rest and time spent reading and dozing we had tea - the Chicken Tikka we had bought the other day.  Then we walked to Portloe and had a drink at the Ship Inn, we sat in the garden for a while.  We followed the path, but missed a turn and had to return a little way, still it was a lovely night for a walk.

There and back including unintended diversions and a look at the harbour: 4.52 km

Total distance today: 12.59km (7.82 miles)