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Friday, 17 August 2012

Families who headed down to Lizard Point on Tuesday this week were treated to a whole wealth of free wildlife activities courtesy of the National Trust Ranger team and our friends at Natural England.  For those who were feeling brave, there was the chance to dissect owl pellets, piecing together the bones of voles and mice, and unravelling the mystery of the owl's last meal.  Ever popular were a range of craft activities including swirly snakes, balancing butterflies, badge making and learning to make string out of nothing more than leaves. 

It was brilliant to see kids take such an interest in their natural environment, especially in such a fantastic setting as Lizard Point.  We even had choughs fly overhead on cue! 

Everyone had great fun.  We parked the tractor up so kids could climb inside and inevitably it was the most popular thing all day! 
Rachel

Friday, 10 August 2012

The National Trust kids area was bursting with a whole load of natural colour and music at this years Holifair! 

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Throughout this 3 day family festival children showed off their creative sides making beautiful headresses and eye masks using natural hedgerow materials as well as fairy wands and rainbow sticks.  The rainbow sticks certainly brought out the rainbows as we were treated to all 4 seasons in a day! 

In the tipi, workshops enabled families to make musical insturments such as shell shakers, bamboo maracas and can guitars.  We formed the first 'chicken soup band' on Friday as some guitar enthusiats played slide guitar on thier instruments made out of recycled food cans.  There were also workshops in felting and making natural cordage from flax leaves or wool where colourful bracelets and felt shapes were carefully designed and woven into place. 

Turning a piece of sycamore on the pole lathe

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Inside the woodland glade families were able to try their hand at wood turning on a traditional pole lathe or make a gypsy flower by pairing down a hazel rod on a shave horse.  All the wood was sustainably sourced from local Trust woodland and the lathes powered by foot!  Meanwhile the glade was decorated as children painted the trees in an aboriginal style with paints they had made from natural materials such as beetroot and charcoal. 

The Trust team thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Holifair again.  The festival is environmentally friendly and raises funds to support the Holifield Farm Project at Gweek. 

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

For the third summer running an excavation organised by the National Trust and funded as part of the Unlocking our Coastal Heritage Project is enabling archaeologists, local communities and visitors a unique opportunity to discover more about the history of this fascinating site. 

The project kicked off with a guided walk led by Dr Imogen Wood, an expert in the ancient history of Gunwalloe.  We were lucky enough to see some of the artefacts she found during the previous years digs. 

Dr Wood also showed us an artist's impression of what the area and the round houses might have looked like in the Bronze age. 

The dig this year will focus on the promontory fort between St Winwalloe's Church and the open sea.  The excavation began this week and so far a cow's tooth has been uncovered as well as some interesting charcoal layers in the soil.  Students from Exeter University and local volunteers are carrying out the work on the fort which has captured people's imagination for hundreds of years but has never been investigated before. 

You are welcom to talk to the people involved in the work and we warmly invite you to the Time Travellers open day event on Sunday 12th August from 11am-5pm.  There will be children's activities, you can help to sift the soil and see the artefacts already uncovered.  See you there. 

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Welcome to The Lizard and Penrose National Trust Blog! 
Keep up to date with the latest information on events, community and conservation across the Lizard and Penrose.  For any more information on what’s going on give us a call on 01326 222170 or go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lizard