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Thursday 17 March 2011

A Mystery Tour? - Sepia Saturday

It may seem strange that a tour with a nautical flavour starts at a pub in the village where I was born.

The Railway Inn at Ketton, Rutland

Suitable refreshed our next stop is on the North Yorkshire Moors to get directions from a sailor who knew his way around the world.
Captain Cook's Monument

Before we go too far I want us to stop in the town of Fowey on Cornwall's south coast for a pint or two with the King of Prussia.


But we don't want to arrive on a day like this.


While we are there you may want to take a trip across the river to see the house in which Daphne du Maurier wrote her first novel, The Loving Spirit.

Ferryside
Look closely at the right-hand edge of the house, almost touching the trees. You should be able to see the figurehead  from the schooner Jane Slade; Daphne was inspired to write her book after discovering the wreck of the schooner in the nearby Pont Creek.

If you are inspired by figureheads then you might want to travel on to the Scilly Isles and check out the maritime museum in Tresco Abbey Gardens.


Now it's time for us to go further afield and call at Copenhagen and see what sailors fantasised about.

The Little Mermaid

However it is Stavanger in  Norway that is our final port of call.

The Square in Stavanger in 1913 leading to the quayside (source - unknown)

Of course it looked different in the 1980s when SS Norway was in town.


Follow this link for more Sepia Saturday fanatics.

[King of Prussia photos by courtesy of  Ade; the rest excluding the sepia of Stavanger are down to me.]

22 comments:

David Robinson said...

Love the pictures, Bob, as usual, and the links between them, but why the Railway Inn in Rutland?

Tess Kincaid said...

I enjoyed this little tour, thank you!

21 Wits said...

I love a good mystery Bob! ...and who doesn't love a great old English Pub! These photos are great, and especially the King of Prussia, it looks out on the water too? The one photo had dry land and parking and the other water! It must be a lovely spot! What a splendid journey and seeing your beginnings too! Nicely done!

Bob Scotney said...

David, just because it's there and I had a photo.

Karen, no mystery about the King of Prussia. It sits on the quayside at Fowey, 20 yards from the river. The second picture was during floods one year.

tony said...

I Worry About Pub's With Lots Of Steep Steps Outside!
Great Photos Bob.

21 Wits said...

The King of Prussia looks very interesting and it makes sense that was flood water, wasn't sure that's why I asked....great photos...I have to get going on my post too! Saturday will soon be here!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Bob ... hey, thank you so much for the wonderful tour today. These places were unknown to me, and I never would have visited them if you had not shown us all around.

Happy SS and have a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for looking at our old family photos.

Unknown said...

Ya I was thinking after 2 pints I could never carry on. I had not thought of that name Daphne du Maurier in years. Used to devour her stories as a young girl. Got to look them up again.
QMM

Betsy Brock said...

Those figure heads are wonderful!

And that mermaid statue...there is a very similar one in the Bahamas!

I love the stone on the Inn in the first picture!

Alan Burnett said...

That is the kind of pub crawl I like. Full of images, full of things to explore. Now if only Blogger could manage to serve a decent pint to refresh us as we read, that would be perfection.

Martin said...

I worked for St Austell Brewery for nine years, and I'm no stranger to the King of Prussia. The landlord was a good tipper in my day, as I remember.

Postcardy said...

I love the photo of the figureheads. They look like they are all trying to take a unified stand against something.

Howard said...

Great pictures Bob. Fowey is a beautiful place. Anyone fancy a pint?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tour - the Railway Inn is particularly picturesque and I am intrigued by the figureheads. If I ever get down that way... Jo

MuseSwings said...

What a wonderful tour! I loved it. The first picture of your home town is so lovely and inviting - and not just because of the pub. Thanks for the REALLY great pictues

North County Film Club said...

The village where you were born looks beautiful.
How come we ended up in Norway? I'm curious about Norway. I've never been there but that's where my ancestors are from(on my father's side).
It was a fun tour.
Barbara

Nancy said...

What a nice tour. It looks like you've traveled a lot to have taken all the photos. I can't say I'm inspired by figureheads but since I've never seen one in person, they are very interesting to me. I am surprised that the ones shown are all white! Is that unusual?

Christine H. said...

The pubs and taverns near me are not nearly so inviting. I might just have to take up drinking if I lived near these, particularly the Railway Inn. Once again, you have hit the theme spot on.

Bruno Laliberté said...

quite frankly, you had me at the RAILWAY INN. i wouldn't mind settling there for a few hours, like i'm known to do that, with my friends, of course... we have a couple of spots we favor, depending on the season, and we get a newbie to serve us, we always feel compelled to say we intend to be there for a long, long time...
so, go on without me and send me a postcard. i'll be sitting at that inn in the meantime...
:)~
HUGZ

Bob Scotney said...

Barbara, the tour ended in Norway because that's where my photos took me. I worked in Stavanger for almost 10 years (1980s)

Nancy, the figureheads all come from ships wrecked around the Scilly Isles.There are many coloured ones as well, I just chose this one to post.

North County Film Club said...

I love the photos of the figureheads. A great shot. I couldn't spot the one at daphne's home even when I enlarged the photo. Thanks for the fun tour.
Nancy

L. D. said...

That is amazing to see the old town square and the one of the present day. I could of sworn you photoshoped in the boat.