Come-To-Good

"Be still and cool in thine own mind and spirit."
George Fox
As soon as the Airbus office was shown as open on the website I phoned through to ask about getting a flight to the Isles of Scilly - success; they'll accept our ID with backup cards etc for the internal flight from Newquay to St Mary. Flights booked for tomorrow it's time to enjoy today, a planned visit to St Michael's mount and then to Truro area and across to Newquay area for the night.
It's been about 45 years since I was last in Marazion and on that occasion I didn't quite get onto the island. The tide is in, covering the causeway, so we get the first boat across; there's no wait because they are operating a shuttle service every few minutes. According to Wikipedia the Cornish name for the island is the "grey rock in a wood" and there are remains of submerged trees about a mile away in the bay which have been dated to about 1700 BC - so the 'island' was once set in woodland when the local sea level was lower. The castle and chapel are part-managed by the National Trust and the guides share plenty of anecdotes and stories about the family who have lived there since about 1650, although earlier buildings on the summit date to the 12th century when the island was in the ownership of the monks of Mont St Michel off the coast of Normandy. It's been a place of pilgrimage - still is, a Royalist stronghold in the civil war and a perimeter defence against the threat of invasion from the Spanish Armada and Napoleon. K1 is keen to explore the steep terraced gardens, so I take time out for a meditation on the sun-drenched south flank of the island. All this effort builds up an appetite of course so it's soon time for crab sandwiches in the sail loft, an excellent cafe off the harbour.
By the time we've finished the tide has turned and the causeway is clear, so we walked back to the mainland to resume our journey towards Truro area, to Trelissick for another stopover en route to Newquay. The SatNav seemed to be doing its' job ok, guiding me along A roads and making good progress, then it seemed to throw a bit of a wobbly and directed us through narrow country lanes? l was intent on the road ahead when K1 exclaims "what a lovely building, did you see that?" It wasn't on the road ahead so no, I didn't. A quick U turn courtesy of a field entrance and we were soon back at Come-to-Good community which, according to Wikipedia, " ...consists of a farm, seven residential houses and a Quaker Meeting House, built in 1710." It was the thatched meeting house which was so striking, so we stopped for an unscheduled visit. I wasn't aware of Quakers this far south, but it seems George Fox was a 'guest' at Launceston castle, imprisoned for his 'revolutionary' preaching. His followers visited him, bringing their message with them which seems to have appealed to the locals who embraced it enthusiastically.
Next stop Trelisseck, a country house and garden overlooking the Fal estuary for a brief stop to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine before heading off to Newquay for an overnight stop.