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Newsletters will
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December 2006
As your new chairman Alex Hogg is currently undertaking an environmental study abroad I am filling the gap so to speak in his absence. He will be returning in February.
Firstly we would like to thank the retiring Chairman Kerry Glasier for his hard work and efforts over the past three years and as Vice Chairman prior to that. Our thanks also to John Travis who has helped so much and who decided not to stand for re-election this year.
As we now approach our 21st year many things have changed since our inauguration. The threat of having Carn Marth blasted away may have gone but the pressures on the countryside are just as great, be it from different directions. The use of green field sites and the lack of provision of recreational facilities have increased the pressure on the countryside and areas such as Carn Marth to fill the gap is even greater. We can no longer be reactive but must become proactive. With the onset of new legislation, legal requirements and obligations to landowners such as ourselves, we have to now look for the way forward for Carn Marth Trust so that it can fulfil not only its social and community functions but its legal requirements.
To this end the Committee will have to undertake a fundamental review over the next six months and set forth its proposals and structure for the way forward. We will be seeking input from our members, local authority, parish councils and other organisations.
We can no longer continue being just a small number of people wishing to have an open piece of land for the benefit of all. We have these new obligations and requirements we must fulfil. We especially need our membership – a vibrant and growing number to assist with the ongoing management of Carn Marth as their goal. We look forward to your input for the way ahead.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Graham
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This newsletter is turning out to be a bumper edition, here is the second of three articles I am happy to be able to include:-
The Rural Beat. By PC 5357 Rob Denton
It is a pleasure to write this short article as I am not only the Police Neighbourhood Beat Manager (local bobby) for the villages of Lanner, Carharrack, and St Day, but I am also a resident of Lanner.
Having lived in the heart of this semi-rural community for the last 18 years, I feel I have earned the right to wander its common land and make full use of its local natural resources. Its most glorious asset must surely be the wondrous acres of Carn Marth and its enviable geography. The fact that on good days, most of our fair county can be seen from the top makes it unique, and this frequently leads to a summer migration of local families who observe the landscape from the very top before deciding upon which coast seems to be the sunniest.
I have become familiar with its crags and crannies, and this has helped me greatly when trying to police this vast expanse of space, thoroughly webbed by footpaths (known in my trade as rat runs or escape routes) Although there seems to be an endless supply of motor cyclists who zoom to the top, my efforts, and those of PCSO Paul Ferris, in partnership with officers of the trust, have been rewarded with lots of successes. We have recovered stolen property, found missing persons, brought the law to bear on many unauthorised vehicle users, found stolen cars, chased packs of frenzied dogs, and caught wanted criminals. All in a days work! Well more accurately, all in just over a year’s work. It is impossible to do the Carn any real justice as far as the misuse of motor cycles is concerned. Sadly the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary have a ‘no pursuit’ policy on bikes, so we cannot chase them, and the pure geography makes it challenging to be in the right place at the right time to simply catch them, however we keep trying.
One thing that will happen, and I am proud to say I have had some part in it, will be the removal of a car currently submerged in the top lake. The helicopter lift, which will in all probability have to wait until Spring, promises to be an exciting event, and all partners involved should feel a sense of self-congratulation for taking positive action. The benefits to the environment are too many to mention, however for my part, I feel I honoured that I have been able to ‘put something back’.
I am always seeking the assistance of members of the public who might note registration numbers of disruptive motorcycles, or see some suspicious activity. My voicemail contact number is
01209-202324, and I will always try to make return contact. However I stress the point that this number is NOT to be used for the purposes of seeking urgent or non-urgent police attendance, and for these one must always use good old 999 (emergencies only) or 08452-777444.
I thank all the volunteers who help to preserve Carn Marth and make it such a wonderful and diverse place for me to visit, whether alone, or on the beat, or with my family, and I hope that in some small way, my work assists them in their thankless tasks.
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Here now is a contribution from Cllr. Mark Kaczmarek:-
Living along Pennance Road on the southern side of Carn Marth I enjoy walking the Carn every day I find the many lanes, footpaths and bridleways ideal for long or short walks with my wife and two little Jack Russell terriers.
Every year I promote the area by leading a number of historic walks and talks free of charge and I am always learning more with every walk when joined by locals who share their own family experiences of living in the villages when mining and quarrying took place on and all around the foot of Carn Marth. Those who have never walked Carn Marth are really taken back by the views from the top every one you meet when walking are always friendly. The buzzard hawks around the Carn are amazing and soar with ease on the thermal breezes. The ravens and magpies often mob them. Gwennap Pit is always a pleasant stop when walking a perfect place to relax and eat a packed lunch or even read a book, the visitors shop is very welcoming offering refreshments it also stocks a variety of local interest books and access to the chapel.
Carn Marth is a real asset to our villages as the County and District councillor for the area I have enjoyed working closely with the Carn Marth Trust helping to get fly tipping and abandoned cars cleared often within 24 hours of being reported.
If you need to report any problems encountered when in the area please don't hesitate to contact me on 01209 211366 the County Council on 01872 222000 or Kerrier District Council on 01209 614000.
Mark Kaczmarek
And so to a look back at the summer performance in the Open Air Theatre Quarry
A perfect evening. Miracle Theatre performed ‘The Government Inspector’ on Tuesday August 22nd before an audience of several hundred in Carn Marth Theatre Quarry. With decent weather and a reliable forecast people began arriving early for ‘The Government Inspector’ armed with cushions, blankets and hampers. They weren’t to be disappointed, Miracle has always been very professional and polished with their productions and this was no exception. A slightly more ‘grown up’ plot than ‘The Case of the Frightened Lady’ last year which gave us something to get our teeth into. The players themselves expressed their enjoyment at coming to the Carn and have promising to be back in summer 2007. My usual, but sincere nevertheless, thanks to all concerned in getting the site ready, servicing the power supply, managing the catering, car parking and the Company themselves. Thank you.
More good news. Lanner Methodist Church has made a donation of £50 to our funds in recognition of our efforts over the last twenty years. This came out of the blue, a total surprise and most welcome, our grateful thanks to them.
It’s still there! I looked out of my bedroom window this morning and there was Carn Marth lit by warm, mellow late Autumnal sun. I suppose if the Cornish Alps really were Alps, thousands of feet high and Bodmin Moor was a vast Andean plateau, the Carn wouldn’t rate even a second glance. But, they aren’t, it isn’t and it does. It is our hill, just that bit higher than Carn Brea, our reminder of the power of landscape and all things natural to recharge our resources and keep us grounded. In summer we can walk up with the calls of warblers and Cuckoos to accompany us, sit at the top as Swallows and Swifts line up to run in and drink on the wing from the top pool. When it’s really quiet you can hear the little rip as they scoop through the water. Recent years have seen an exciting rise in the numbers of orchids flowering up there and Royal ferns, the most elegant of British ferns, have also steadily multiplied. Now we are into the back end of the year and to be up on top on one of those windless and frosty days at the beginning of Winter and look all the way up the north coast to Trevose head and then look round all the way, south to the Channel and then west, Stithians reservoir, Carnmenellis, the Great Flat Lode and Carn Brea is pure magic. There is a wonderful sense of detachment from the eternal rush and stress down below.
The view of the Carn from our top field, to remind us of a super summer and looking forward to a hopefully mild winter. Thanks to all the contributions to this newsletter. We are always open to letters or articles to include in the future. As with all enquiries, simply contact our indefatigable secretary.
Your new Committee is comprised of: Alex Hogg – Chairman; Graham Davis – Acting Vice Chairman; Chris Gladwell – Treasurer; Raymonde Reeve – Secretary; Hugo Glasier; Lulu Ladd; Miranda Parry and Kerry Glasier.
Secretary. Ms R Reeve. 01209 820717.
CARN MARTH TRUST
‘caring for land on Carn Marth’
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