Walking the Luxulyan Valley

Part of this first part of the pilgrimage was learning to let go of what was happening at home, and to be available to where I was. And I was in Luxulyan because it was close to the Eden Project. But it was even closer to the Luxulyan Valley. I found out about this from the Airbnb I was staying in. Cornwall has a long and rich history, and some of the history is clay mining for china - already encountered in the story of the Eden Project.

Just a few miles away from Lostwithiel is a wooded valley filled with industrial remains which forms part of the UNESCO Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.
Luxulyan Valley is a tranquil and beautiful walk It is also teaming with the remains of industrial history of Cornwall. Mineral and China clay mining, railway, and ingenious ways of transporting heavy material up a steep incline. You can read more of all this here.

I don't think this is a big tourist attraction. But I was trying to be open to place and the surprising invitations as I ventured out on this pilgrimage. And it was a delightful morning spent in Cornish countryside free from crowds and breathing the healthy air that all good forests have.

But I was also tripped up my my ongoing inability to pay attention and to plan ahead. I had downloaded an app with some information, but needed to pay money for the map. There was a map at the beginning, which on other occasions I would have photographed on my phone to refer to. I did not. That would have helped. Part of the track, and important part, was closed. So I spent alot of time just wandering. And occasionally wondering how I was going to get over the little ditch back to where I needed to be to get to the car.

As I wandered and wondered there was a sense of standing in other peoples lives. The people who built the viaducts and the incline rail, the miners and those who worked on hauling, sluicing and making all this work. The ordinary people whose names are lost to history. We know the "important" people. But those people whose cottages I photographed are gone.

It was a rich morning which opened out into an equally rich afternoon of exploring. You can find my original Facebook post with more photos here.