Category Archives: Health & Wellbeing

September Walking Festival


www.visitcornwall.com/whats-on/sports/south-coast/looe/south-east-cornwall-walking-festival

Now in its 17th year, the South East Cornwall Walking Festival celebrates the wonderful countryside in and around south east Cornwall. Join local guides who know the area inside out, who will lead you to hidden viewpoints, deserted beaches and picturesque villages.

Saturday 16th September  … Up the hill to fetch a pint of..

Start: Sandplace Station 10.40 (coincides with train from Looe and No 73 bus from Liskeard)Starting the festival off with a walk up the river then through the woods and the orchards to the Duloe Beer & Cider Festival. The walk will take about one and a half hours, depending on your thirst.. ….Once at the festival you are free to imbibe and leave when ready, there are busses back to Looe or Liskeard.

Sunday 17th September  … A Quethiock Quest

Start: 10.30am Outside the Church gate (please note, parking near the church is limited, please park on the top road near the school.)

We wanted to lead a walk somewhere different this year, in a part of South East Cornwall we have never explored before. The parish of Quethiock is one of those places few people go to unless they live there, or are lost. So, we intend to go there and not get lost and hopefully learn something about a traditional farming parish. The walk is a mixture of quiet lanes and footpaths covering around eight miles. Some hills and may be muddy in places. Please bring a packed lunch and snacks.

 

Monday 18th September

Antony Passage Walk

Start: 10.30am, St Stephens Church, Saltash,  (SX417584) Walk lasts approx two hours.

Join Saltash Walk & Talk Group for a gentle stroll down along this fascinating creek, part of the Forder Conservation Area. Meet. Walk alongside Forder Lake from Forder village to Antony Passage, up steps through woods and fields to Trematon Castle. One steep downhill at start, some hills with an alternative to St. Stephens Hill on the return.

Lostwithiel Town Walk

Start: Lostwithiel Community Centre (SX105599) at 11:00 am. Walk is about 90 minutes. Cost £3.50 per person.

Join the Lostwithiel Museum Guides for a fascinating walk around the former capital of Cornwall.

Tuesday 19th   T.B.C

Wednesday 20th …. An Introduction to Bodmin Moor

Start: 10.30am Heritage Centre Carpark Minions.(SX263713)  Walk lasts approx two hours.

Join the Tamar Valley Walk & Talk group for an easy walk along moorland paths from the village of Minions.  A great introduction to Bodmin Moor if you don’t know the area.

Thursday 21st …. The Great Looe Guided Pub Crawl

Start: The Rose Garden, Fore St, East Looe, 7.30pm

Back by popular demand! An evening walk around Looe looking at the role the various pubs, inns and bars have played in the town’s history.

Friday 22nd … Rediscovering a Parish

Start: 10.40am Outside Looe Library

The parish of Talland no longer exists, though the church sits proud on the coast between Looe and Polperro. Join festival organiser Mark Camp to explore the surrounding countryside and coastline, much loved by smugglers in the past.  Walk is around seven miles in length. Some hills and may be muddy in places. Lunch stop will be at Talland beach where there is a cafe but feel free to bring a packed lunch and snacks if preferred.

Saturday 23rd ….

FORAGING with Andy Pearson

Start:  St. Stephens Church, Saltash  1.30pm- 3.30pm (SX417584)

Join the friends of Churchtown Farm Community Nature Reserve for a walk looking for edible plants. A fun afternoon suitable for families. Please bring a mug and a spoon to enjoy soup cooked on the foreshore.

Wear suitable clothes and footwear. Any queries contact : Mary Langworth on 01752 843852 or Bob Austin on 01752 844666

Caradon Explorer

Start: 10.30am, Tokenbury Corner, on the B3254 between Liskeard and Upton Cross.  (SX280696)

We finish the festival with a circular walk of 7/8 miles along disused mineral railways, footpaths and lanes visiting some of the industrial heritage of the mining and quarrying activity of South East Bodmin Moor. Leader will be Brian Oldham of Liskeard’s Walkers are Welcome and volunteer at Liskeard & District Museum. Sturdy footwear and a packed lunch are recommended.

A free event, but donations to the Museum’s acquisition fund would be very welcome.

Most walks are free. However walks leaders may ask for a donation (suggested £4/£5) to go towards costs of putting the festival on or towards a charity of their choice.

The festival receives no funding and all walks leaders volunteer their time.

3 1/2 miles, Golberdon Down, Penwarden, Bicton, Kerney, Berrio, Trewoodloe loop


From Golberdon crossroads, take the Trevigro Rd, (pass 2 turns on the right) just after FAIRVIEW kennels take the “hidden” path on your right. At the end (Trenavin House) turn right through a picket fence into a 50 acre field and head straight across, this will bring you out, onto the road to Woodcockwell. Turn right and then left signposted to Penwarden. Through the metal gate, keep the hedge on your left to another metal gate, through this one and keep the hedge on your right, around to another metal gate. There are horses here. Keep going straight on and this metal gate leads you into a track, often wet after rain, and through another metal gate into the stable yard and on out through the last metal gate in this serious onto the road at Penwarden cottage.

Keep left, following the road down to Bicton Bridge. Work starts here on strengthening the bridge, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens here. After looking at the river retrace your steps and continue around the corner, you’re on the road to Tregonnet and can continue back to Golberdon, but for this walk, follow the footpath sign to Kerney bridge, over the stile into the grass field and follow alongside the river.

This will bring you into Tregonnet wood, pass the swing tyre, up the granite steps, by the handrail and follow the path coming out to a gate with stile beside, over this and follow the path to the road. Be careful here as this is the main Golberdon to Pensilva road at Kerney Bridge. Cross the road and take the road towards Mornick. Pass 3 properties and spot the footpath sign on your right, leading up a driveway to Berrio Farm House. Enter thru the pedestrian gate and go straight ahead, up the drive, the path goes around to the top right to a metal gate into a grass field. Through this you’ll spot a post directing you left, straight to the top hedge of a steep field. There are direction markers at the metal gate, continue through this gate and keep the hedge on your left. Keep going to the end, where you’ll see a large drinking trough, go through the gate, into a track, keep straight on pass the post and rail fence and see the pedestrian gate on your right.

Follow this path which brings you out into the driveway of Trewoodloe House, and then into the road. Keep straight/left and pass Trewoodloe Cottage, and Trewoodloe Farm House and then Trewoodloe Castle. Stay on the road and you’ll come to a Footpath sign on your right, directing you along a path and then passing houses at Moorland View. At the end, keep left and stay in tight left, avoiding the road, and you’ll pass behind the Old Post Office and walk up “back lane”, into “The Square”. Take care coming out onto the road, and cross over diagonally passing through the pedestrian gate, by the footpath sign, into the recreational field with the popular children’s play area.

There are picnic tables here, and a public toilet on the side of the hall and wonderful views, and beyond the hall, you’re back at the crossroads.

South West Water Money Saving Schemes


Money saving schemes from South West water and are really great for families on low incomes /family tax credit / benefits.
One policy particularly benefits those on low incomes with 3 or more children or a household with someone who has a medical condition that requires more water to be used.

Watercare http://www.southwestwater.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=10776 

You may qualify for a social tariff to help reduce your bill if you are on a very low income. You may qualify if:

1.     You are on a water meter or on assessed charges

2.     The person who pays the water bill or someone in your household receives one or more of the following means tested benefits:
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
• Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit (guaranteed element)

3.     Your ‘equivalised’ weekly income, after housing costs, is less than £295 

Watershare http://www.southwestwater.co.uk/watersure

Help with metered bills – the WaterSure Tariff

You may qualify for a lower bill if you receive a means-tested benefit or tax credit.

WaterSure can help you if you have a low-income and your water is measured by a meter. We can put a limit on your charges for water and sewerage services, if you meet the following conditions.

1.  Your supply is metered

2. The person who pays the water bill or someone else in your household receives benefit  or tax credit

3. There are either:

  • three or more children under the age of 19 living in the household for whom the person receiving the above benefit also claims Child Benefit; or
  • you or someone living in your household has a medical condition which causes  extra water to be used.

FREE Money Saving Products savewatersavemoney.co.uk/southwest/free-water-saving-products  

Info sourced by SHARE South Hill Association for Renewable Energy www.south-hill.co.uk/share

Trebartha Open Gardens n Hydro System


Trebartha  open the file for more info on Trebartha.

The Hydro system has been operational since December 2015. Water is taken off at the in take area on the Withey Brook, just below Hawks Tor, through a 1.2 kilometre stretch of pipe, dropping 90 metres down to the Turbine House. The turbine is a 4 jet vertical shafted pelton wheel, with a 350 kw generator. The power is fed to a high voltage transformer in the adjoining enclosure before being exported to the local WPD grid. The scheme is estimated to generate some 1,000 MWhs of energy a year – enough for some 2000 domestic properties – this could vary +/- 30% depending on rainfall.

tvhPPG Feb update


The Future of the Health & Social Care in Cornwall by Fred Shotter, tvhPPG Secretary

You are probably aware there are serious difficulties with the provision of Health & Social Care throughout England. That is not a new problem.
When the Health Service was set up some 60+ years ago the situation was substantially different. Our life span was not many years after our retirement, we had limited knowledge about ailments which are now major problems. We did not have the technology and equipment to deal with/cure people of these ailments.

Now
We live into our 80’s. We succumb to ailments which can be dealt with, with increasingly positive outcomes, and our families have moved away. This obviously puts a great burden on the health and social services. In many parts of England these are still separate organisations. With devolved powers allocated to Cornwall they have the opportunity of co-ordinating these services so they work together and hopefully more efficiently. Cornwall Council are in the process of developing a Sustainability and Transformation Plan for the next five years.

By the time you read this they would have published various documents and held public
(www.cornwall.gov.uk/shaping-the-future) meetings to present their draft proposals. Currently they show that if they continue the operation as it currently exists there will be a deficit of £277m by 2020/21.

They have a plan that will eliminate this deficit and this plan has some major changes to the way services are provided.
1) Do we want to pay more for the services?
2) Do we want services on our ‘door step’?
I guess the answer to 1 is NO and to 2 is YES.
There has to be give and take on both sides.
They can’t afford to provide every specialist system in every hospital – which would not be fully utilised. A bit inconvenient but do we want treatment NOW but 100 miles away or in 6 months’ time but 10 miles away??
It’s now up to the specialists in the health and social care to come up with a solution.
YOUR INPUT COUNTS – But don’t forget, unless you have a deep pocket they cannot provide a utopian solution.

Also Tamar Valley Health Patients Group, with the assistance of Tamar Valley Health Centres, participated in the successful Calstock Christmas Tree Festival, held in December 2016 in Harrowbarrow Church.  It’s estimated that around 450 visitors came during the five days the 26 trees were on display, with many very appreciative comments being made. Hot drinks and cakes were also available, giving visitors the opportunity to sit to peruse the trees whilst listening to organ music. The aim of the festival is to add to the pre-Christmas atmosphere in the parish and encourage visitors to the three churches in the Calstock Parish. Visitors were very generous with donations of approximately £660, which will go towards making improvements to church facilities. The organisers wish to make it known how grateful they are to both the entrants and visitors for their contribution to making this a very special event.

The tvhPPG tree was decorated with all medical items.

Breathlessness and keeping your lungs healthy


Hi, my name is Rachel Williams, I am a clinical specialist respiratory physiotherapist and the team lead of the Integrated Community Respiratory Team based in Liskeard Hospital. My team help manage patients with chronic respiratory conditions and provide pulmonary rehabilitation. I live in the Parish; I’m out in all weather walking my 2 dogs!

Everyone feels out of breath at some time. You might get out of breath after heavy physical activity or exertion such as walking briskly up a steep hill or cycling fast. This is the sort of breathlessness you might expect and you can control. Whether it comes out of the blue or is there every day, breathlessness can be very frightening. Sometimes people don’t tell their doctor or nurse about feeling out of breath as they feel responsible and don’t realise there is help available.

If you are breathless doing everyday activities, taking longer to do things or even avoiding doing things because you get out of breath, it’s time to see your doctor. Continue reading →

The Silverline Charity


The Silver Line Helpline for older people.

Dame Esther Rantzen described her feelings as a widow living alone for the first time at the age of 71. As a result Ellen wrote to her to describe her own feelings of loneliness.

“I can’t get out on my own due to health problems, so it can be as much as 3 days I go without talking to anyone… I dread the winter nights when everything seems to close in around me and I feel so isolated. I am an optimist by nature and sometimes I need that to get through another pointless day where I feel as if I am a waste of space.”

The reality is that older people should be valued as a tremendous asset to society. If, like Ellen, they become isolated and vulnerable, it is the nation’s responsibility to make older people feel valued, to include them, empower them, and connect them back to their communities. And that is what we hope The Silver Line Helpline will achieve.

Some vulnerable older people are so isolated they are extremely hard to reach. And there is a huge unmet demand for advice and friendship.

In the first year of operation, The Silver Line Helpline received 275,000 calls, 53% of callers saying they had literally no-one else to speak to.  We now receive almost 1500 calls every day from lonely and isolated older people.  Continue reading →

Bodmin Moor International Dark Sky Park


Our unique dark rural setting on the fringe of Bodmin Moor has an opportunity to make an historic mark, which will enhance our lifestyle, protect our community and last for generations to come.

Cornwall Council and Caradon Observatory have proposed a bid to have Bodmin Moor recognised as a Gold standard International Dark Sky Park, arguably comparable to World Heritage Site status. The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Unit and the Campaign to Protect Rural England support the proposal and with public backing, the council will submit the decision this summer.

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for planning, said: “I’m thrilled with this initiative. It mixes the ageless fascination and romance of the stars with real science and learning, and it has tangible opportunities for tourism too.

“Recent observatory data shows that the quality of the night sky over Bodmin Moor is amongst the best in the world. Achieving recognition of this through an International Dark Sky Park designation would help protect the night sky from light pollution and bring other benefits, including providing a focus for awareness and learning about the stars and solar systems, a further draw for visitors to the area and a starrier sky for local residents.”

International Dark Sky Parks must be a protected landscape, and Bodmin Moor is already known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Continue reading →