Virgin Orbit’s Start Me Up mission heralded as start of new space era as Boeing 747 to deliver rocket carrying satellites into orbit
A historic rocket mission has set off from Cornwall as a specially converted Boeing 747 heads out over the Atlantic carrying a payload of nine satellites that it will propel into orbit.
Virgin Orbit’s Start Me Up mission is the first launch of satellites from European soil and is being heralded as the start of a new space era for the UK.
Continue reading...Start Me Up mission will send nine civil and defence satellites into orbit from Newquay spaceport on Monday
Thousands of people are expected to descend on Cornwall to witness the first orbital rocket launch from UK soil in what is being heralded as the start of a “new era” for the British space industry.
As long as there are no last-minute technical hitches – and the Cornish weather does not spoil the party – the historic Start Me Up mission will take off on Monday night from Spaceport Cornwall, blasting nine satellites into orbit.
Continue reading...Traffic blocked after vintage vehicle carrying several Santas gets wedged in narrow lane
A vintage armoured vehicle filled with Santas had to be freed by police after getting stuck in a Cornish lane.
The Santas, who were believed to be on a pub crawl, got wedged in a hedge at Marsh Lane, near Hayle.
Continue reading...Capital now top location by some distance after Cornwall led for several months during pandemic
The lockdown dream of leaving the city behind and owning a spacious house in the countryside or by the sea faded in 2022 as homebuyers picked up where they left off before the pandemic: house hunting in London.
Rightmove said the capital was 2022’s top location by some distance with searches 9% higher than last year. Meanwhile the number of searches for homes in Cornwall and Devon fell sharply although the counties, famous for their spectacular coastlines, hung on to second and third place on the property website’s annual list of most searched for locations.
Continue reading...Open Spaces Society secures re-registration of 116 hectares of ‘splendid’ moorland’ for common use
More than 100 hectares of some of the most stunning landscape in west Cornwall has finally been recognised as common land, protecting it for the public 140 years after it was threatened with enclosure.
Lizard Downs was authorised for enclosure – the act of taking ownership of common land – in 1880 but the proposed fencing off never happened.
Continue reading...Producers believe this is the first time a film has used both English and Kernewek on its posters
The new film from the director Mark Jenkin, who has won plaudits for his gritty takes of life in the far south-west of England, is being promoted with Cornish-language posters.
Producers of the film, a folk horror called Enys Men, believe it is the first time posters in Cornish (Kernewek) as well as English are being used to market a major feature film.
Continue reading...Rising sea temperatures caused by climate crisis create unusual phenomenon in St Ives
Thousands of venomous crabs converged on the beaches of Cornwall due to rising sea temperatures caused by the climate crisis.The migratory creatures swarmed in the shallow water in St Ives, shedding their shells before returning to depths of up to 300ft.
The crustaceans are instantly recognisable for their long legs and pincers and have a venomous bite that is poisonous to their prey but harmless to humans.
Continue reading...Slow-driving convoy caused long delays to those heading to Devon and Cornwall on the first day of the school holidays
Protesters campaigning against high fuel prices have disrupted holiday getaways to the south-west of England by driving in convoy slowly up and down a motorway before blockading a petrol station.
The convoy drove at 30mph on three lanes of the M5 north and south in Somerset and the Bristol area on Friday morning as tens of thousands of people headed to Devon and Cornwall to begin summer breaks.
Continue reading...Team admit Gillyflower is not the first but hope it encourages a more sustainable approach to golfing
The views are spectacular, taking in a lovely Cornish river, a ruined castle and the rooftops of an ancient town while the golf is pleasantly challenging, with tight fairways and undulating greens.
But what makes Gillyflower golf course in Lostwithiel different is that every square metre of non-playing surface will be used to grow fruit and vegetables or encourage flora and fauna.
Continue reading...Lloyds is to close the Isles’ last branch meaning the nearest bank will be 44 miles and a ferry ride away
For many, the ferry ride between Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly marks the beginning of a relaxing weekend away. For residents of the islands wanting to visit their nearest bank, it’s about to become an expensive necessity.
Lloyds, which ran the Isles’ last remaining branch, is about to close the site on the island of St Mary’s because of a persistent fall in customer numbers.
Continue reading...Patrols suggested as residents say foragers collecting large bags of wild garlic are ruining annual supply
Usually in the springtime, Millham Lane in the Cornish town of Lostwithiel is flanked by thick, unbroken banks of strongly scented wild garlic.
But this year ugly gaps have appeared in the bright green swathe after they were stripped by foragers – apparently professionals – intent on sourcing a fresh, free ingredient for fashionable dishes such as wild garlic pesto.
Continue reading...Hospitals in southern England worst affected, with Devon recording highest ever numbers of Covid patients
Rising numbers of people entering hospital with Covid are leading to other patients becoming infected, staff absences, delayed operations and long waits in emergency departments, experts have said.
In recent weeks, Covid infection levels have been rising in the UK and hospitalisations are also increasing.
Continue reading...Cornish pub used in Daphne du Maurier novel says there are no pluses, just minuses to hunt visits
A pub that was the setting for a novel by Daphne du Maurier has banned hunts from meeting on its land after 100 years of the practice.
The Jamaica Inn in Cornwall – immortalised in the 1936 novel of the same name about smuggling – announced the decision after the East Cornwall Hunt invited the Beaufort Hunt to meet there on Saturday, a move the pub called “extremely ill-advised”.
Continue reading...In Saltash, Cornwall, drivers were astonished to see parking bays half the size of a normal car – but elsewhere the problem may well be that cars are being supersized
Name: Parking spaces.
Age: Los Angeles got its first car park – possibly the first car park – in 1922.
Continue reading...Major bridges closing and millions told to batten down and not go outside as authorities warn of ‘significant disruption’
The east of England including London has been added to the red weather warning for wind issued by the Met Office because of Storm Eunice, which has prompted rare danger-to-life warnings, with millions of people told to stay indoors at home to avoid 90mph winds.
The rare highest alert – meaning a major impact is very likely – was widened just before 4am, to run from 10am until 3pm on Friday, due to fears of the storm “causing significant disruption and dangerous conditions due to extremely strong winds”, the Met Office said.
Continue reading...Marazion, opposite St Michael’s Mount, faces stiff opposition from larger areas in contest for city status
It may not boast a cathedral, a university or a major sports team – the sort of features often associated with a typical British metropolis. But the town of Marazion (population 1,440), perched prettily on the south coast of Cornwall, has nevertheless launched a bold campaign for city status.
Marazion, which does have a couple of churches, a primary school and rowing and sailing clubs, would become the smallest and most southerly city if its proposal is accepted.
Continue reading...Lawrence Casey went into Bude canal in Cornwall after daughter Jessica lost control of mobility scooter
An 86-year-old man has died while attempting to rescue his disabled daughter from a canal.
Lawrence Casey went into Bude canal in north Cornwall to rescue his daughter Jessica after she suddenly lost control of her mobility scooter and plunged into the water.
Continue reading...North Cornwall town reeling and people urged not to visit as thousands of cases linked to festival
At first glance it looked like a pretty perfect day in the self-styled surfing capital of the UK. The sandy beaches were packed, the pubs, cafes and shops humming.
Look at little closer, though, and it became clear all was not quite right. A tapas bar was closed because a team member had tested positive; a surf shop shut its doors at lunchtime because of staff shortages; a scribbled note stuck on the window of a fudge shop summed up the problem – “Covid in Newquay is on the increase” – and urged customers to wear a mask and socially distance.
Continue reading...Unsettled weather forecast across England and Wales with ‘torrential thundery downpours’ in the east
The Met Office has issued weather and flood warnings as Storm Evert moved eastwards across Britain with thunderstorms forecast for the weekend.
Yellow wind warnings are in place for coastal areas in south-east England and East Anglia, and thunderstorm warnings for a swath of England from Nottingham to Norwich and north as far as Hull.
Continue reading...Warning of possible infrastructure damage and travel disruption, with gusts of up to 75mph in Cornwall
Winds of up to 75mph (120km/h) will lash parts of south-west England as Storm Evert hits the UK on Thursday and Friday.
The Met Office said the newly named storm would bring “unseasonably strong winds and heavy rain”.
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