8 am after the breakfast continuation of the journey from Chippemham to Falmouth

Between Bristol and Bodmin very strong holiday traffic in the direction of the Cornwall
Stopover inTrurowith inspection of the cathedral and following lunch in the restaurant of the cathedral. Clive and Sigrid had a delicious vegetable soup; Coffee with cake and then an ice cream unite me.

Truro Cathedral

St. Mary's Aisle

This "church within a church" is still parish church for the city centre and the Dean is its Rector. Consecrated in 1259, the old St. Mary's was largely rebuilt just before the Reformation in the mid-16th century, and the present aisle is all that remains. Had Bishop Benson had his way, it would have been completely demolished to make way for the new cathedral. Pearson, though, wanted to keep it and it was the architect who had his way in the end. However, it was never intended that Truro should have a parish-church cathedral: rather, it is a cathedral with a parish church sheltering in its lee.
Typical of so many Cornish churches if has a barrel roof, the medieval wood-work of which has been coloured in recent years and further beautified by a fascinating collection of carved bosses, the work of John Harvey, craftsman and priest, to the designs of John Phillips.
The Caen stone font was made in 1845. Im the tower above, surmounted by its green Cornish copper spire, are six clock bells, two of which date from 1770 - 71 and four from 1904.
Further into the aisle the pulpit of John Bone of Truro, the remains of an 18th-century three-decker, has inlaid scenes of the Crucifixion and Ascension together with the dove (symbol of the Holy Spirit). The excellent 17th-century organ by John Byfield was restored in 1862 and completely overhauled in 1984. Behind the altar is a Frank Pearson triptych with paintings of the Holy Family. The glass of the east window is by Kempe and shows Jesus with his motehr in the centre, the Adoration of the Magi on the left, and the Presentation in the Temple on the right.
The outside of St. Mary's Aisle has a richly adorned 16th-century plinth below the five lines of windows, buttresses and battlements.

The North Side

The space immediately below the west gallery was enclosed on 1991 by screens of wood and glass to from a narthex, from which you can enter the Chapel of Unity and Peace. Here a large alabster memorial bears the busts of three leading Cornish champion of Parlamnetary loíberties; Sidney, Earl of Godolphin, 18th.century Lorg High Treasurer; and Sir William Molesworth, 19th-century Secretary for the Colonies.

The coloured screen nearby commemorates the epistopate of Bishop Frere, the first Anglican monk since the Reformation to become a diocesan bishop. Behind the chapel's altar is Ann Walke's picture of Christ blessing the Cornish industries of farming, market gardening, mining and fishing.
High above this chapel, in the northwest tower, is the peal of ten bells cast in 1909 by Taylor's of Loughborough . The heaviest, the tenor, weights 33 cwt (1,7 tonnes).
The cathedral shop, designed by Peter Rookley , was completed in 1987 and uses local building materials, notably Cornish granite and slate. The pulpit of intricately carved out of Hopton Wood stone from quarries in Derbyshire, with a moulded plinth of Frostrerly marble. It portrays six "preachers of righteousness", three from the Old Testament (Noah, Moses and Elijah) and three from the New Testament (John the Baptist, Our Lord and St. Paul).
High above the north transept, the multi-coloured rose window shows the genealogy of Jesus. The carving in the spandrel of the arches which support the gallery depicts the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
In the left-hand corner of the transept, John Miller's painting "Cornubia-Land of the Saint's" was unveiled by Prince Charles, in his role as Duke of Cornwall, at the cathedral's cenetary celebration in 1980.
Various memorials were moved here when the parish church was demolished to make way for the cathedral. chief among them being a huge one of alabaster and marble to the Robartes family.

Here also is the diocesan banner, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework, with the diocesan arms and those of the ancient monastic foundations at Bodmin and St Germans, Henry Martyn, King Athelstan and Archbishop Benson.
A door in the corner of the north transept leads to the other major modern addition to the cathedral, the Chapter House, built in 1967. Its low-pitched roof is of Delabole slate and the massive piers are faced with Cornish granite. The building as designed by John Taylor of Truro and given by two grandchildren of the fourth Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , (the fourth)a Cornish nobleman who played a leading part in the original plan to build a new cathedral.

The Choir and Sanctuary

The high altar is a work of art in rich mahagony, ornamented in gold and other colours, with figures of angels and enblems of the Christian Faith , though these may be covered at times by one of the embroidered frontals.
There are seven altars in the cathedral, each one being used in a different day of the week for celebration of Holy Communion, the high altar taking its turn for the Sung Eucharist, the principal act of worship on Sundays.
The steps and paving here of marble from Italy and elsewhere, and the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The window of the south-east transept, high up to the right of the altar, depicts incidents in the life of Christ.
The windows throughout the cathedral form one of the country's leading collections of stained glass, depicting scenes from the Bible and from the history of the church, right down to the building of this cathedral.
Behind the altar is the Bath stone reredos, carved by Nathaniel Hitch of Kennington , and exhibiting as its theme the concept of sacrifice. In the centre panel, Christ is shown as both cricifed and exalted , with tiers of worshipping angels. To the sides are the foreshadowings of our Lord's sacrifice, among them Abel, Noah, Isaac and the Paschal Lamb, together with tiers of prophets and martyrs, apostles and evangelists.
On the wall of the north choir aisle are some examples of the beautiful needlework of the original altar frontals. A series of outstanding wrought-iron screens, seperates this aisle from the choir. The retrochoir, a part of the cathedral set aside for private prayer, contains chapels dedicated to St Monica. mother of St Augustine. All Saints (where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved) and St Margaret of Scotland.
The mosaic-patterned floor of the choir is made of lapis lazuli and many different kinds of marble. The Bishop's throne, or "cathedra", on the south side is that which gives a cathedral its name, since this is the symbol both of his authority and of his pastoral care for the diocese. This extremly ornate teak carving, incorporating the heraldic arms of early bishops of Truro, statues of the archangels and teachers of the Church, is a memorial to the noted 19th-century Bishop of Exeter, Henry Phillpotts , who helped to prepare the ground for the reestablishment of the Cornish see.

The stalls on either side of the chancel, with their canopies of Burmese teak, are the special seats of the Dean (who is the head of the cathedral) and his colleagues, the canons. Each stall has a small figure in limed oak of its patron saint, including many of those who brought the Gospel to Cornwall in the early days. High upon the north side are the pipes of the famous "Father" Willis organ of 1887, one of the finest in the country. Its four manuals and pedals boast only 45 speaking stops, but the whole instrument is one of great power and brilliance. A new console (1963) is situated above the stalls on the south side. The organ was completely rebuilt in 1991 by N.P. Mander Ltd . at a cost of £250,000.


The South Side

Beyond the steps on the south side of the choir is the south choir aisle, on the floor of which is an outstanding brass to Bishop Frere , executed by Alan Wyon . One of the most difficult problems that faced the architect of the cathedral was to join together the old parish church and the new cathedral, two buildings of contrasting height, strength and architctural style. The line of small arches here shows how brilliantly he overcame it, with the massive weight of the cathedral linked to the relative frailty of the older edifice, which stands before you at the lower level, behind another fine iron screen.
The stone figure of St Nicholas ("Santa Claus") at the entrance to St Mary's Aisle comes from Brittany, is about six centuries old and shows the saint with three children in a tub at his feet.
The south transept to its founder, Edward White Benson. Just above the doorway is a sculpture of the Transfiguration of Christ. Above, the rose window representing Pentecost portrays the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, together with scenes showing how the Spirit has subsequently guided the Church throughout its history. Nowhere in the country is there a better example of Victorian glass than in this window.
To the right, on the floor before the small altar, is Benson's memorial brass. The figures on the reredos behind this altar are four missinaries, St Paul, St Boniface, St Sampson (to whom the chapel is dedicaz´ted) and Truro-born Henry Martyn (1781 - 1812)who served as a missionry in India, Persia and Turkey. The adjacent circular baptistry,with the windows showing scenes from Martyn's life, is one of Pearson's greatest achievements.

Westwards down the south aisle, as part of the fourth pillar on the right, is one of the two granite foundation stones which were laid in 1880 by the then Duke of Cornwall , later to become King Edward VII. and great-great-grandfather of the present Duke, Prince Charles. On the left, Books of Remembrance record names of the men and women of Cornwall who gave their lives in two world wars. At the end of this aisle are the South African war memorial, the memorial to King Edward VII and a window showing the Newlyn fishing fleet.
Among the standards overhead is one from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, hanging from a staff made from wreckage of the Solomon Browne, the Penlee lifeboat lost so disastrously in 1981.
Another fine rose window, its seven sections representing the story of the Creation, is to be seen above the west gallery. In the spandrels of the two arches which support the gallery are figures of Christ, the four Evangelists, Moses and David.

We reached Falmouthand therefore our house toward 4 pm.
The house (Two Castles Cottages)has exceeded our expectations, it was fitted out greatly and well.
The view of the port of Falmouth of the terrace particularly imposingly was out. The look of our bedroom was but even more imposing.
We could overlook the complete port from the bed.

Temperature approx. 30°C - marvellous sunshine

Driven miles: 206 = 322 km