WELCOME TO THE CHICHESTER • Accommodation & Prices • Walking;Cornish Allsorts;Best of Cornwall • Mineral Collecting;Archaeology • Interest Holiday Programme • News and Highlights • More News • Links and Views • PLAIN TEXT PAGE

PLAIN TEXT PAGES WELCOME TO THE CHICHESTER ACCOMMODATION AND INTEREST HOLIDAYS LINKS BACK TO MAIN PAGES WELCOME TO THE CHICHESTER Accommodation & Prices Walking;Cornish Allsorts;Best of Cornwall Mineral Collecting;Archaeology Interest Holiday Programme & Vacancies News and Highlights More News Links and Views PLAIN TEXT PAGE SEND E-MAIL ORGANISED AND RUN BY: SHEILA HARPER AND STEVE HEBDIGE ADDRESS Chichester 14 Bay View Terrace Newquay Cornwall TR7 2LR Phone: 01637 874216 Access Statement For Chichester Guest House 2007 Introduction Please note - an unsolicited advert on the 'IKnow Cornwall' web site infers we have wheel chair access - I am sorry but we do not. The Chichester is a large ordinary terraced house with seven UPSTAIRS bedrooms providing accommodation and breakfast in the summer and specialist activity holidays in spring and autumn for small groups of adults. It is run by Steve Hebdige and Sheila Harper. There are no other staff. Pre-Arrival • We need to be told before you arrive if you have any special needs as there are just the two off us running our guest house. This includes food preferences, extra pillows, special needs etc • We can be contacted by email, phone using BT's specialist services and snail mail. We have a large print brochure and a section on our web site which is in large print and can be enlarged • Newquay is a cliff top town overlooking the beaches which mostly have steep access via slopes or stairs • Porth Beach and Fistral Beach are the only ones with car parking facilities and fairly easy flattish access and are a ten minute drive from our house • Our house is on the ridge that backs the town so is up a hill. The nearest bus stop is 5 minutes away and there are bus and railway stations down the hill about 7 minutes away from us • Most local people with problems walking use local taxis - some taxi phone numbers - 01637 851234, 01637 855000, 01637 830637. • There is a doctors surgery in the street - 01637 878383 below our house and a cottage hospital at the end of the same road - St. Thomas's Road • Newquay *has a variety of places to eat out with varying levels of access. • In summer Newquay gets very busy and parking in town by shops etc can be difficult. We do not provide collection services for guests. Some mobility equipment can be hired from the British Red Cross but has to be collected - phone 0845 3315000. Newquay does not operate the Radar Key Scheme we are told. Information for the disabled visiting Newquay can also be accessed from the Newquay Tourist Information Centre on 01637 854020. •Dogs - we only accept a dog which is guiding the blind as we have no facilities for animals Accessibility to the Chichester • There are no ground floor bedrooms - we are sorry about this but our house is not big enough • Access to bedrooms is via a flight 12 of stairs with a handrail on both sides then either 2 or 4 stairs depending upon bedroom allocation. There is a further flight of stairs to our top floor • None of our bedrooms have toilets • 5 bedrooms have showers in the room • One bedroom has easy to use taps • There is a hearing loop in the lounge and a payphone in the hall has an inductive coupler • In case of fire etc we provide a buddy service to help people from their rooms • We provide a personal service so will be aware of your needs if you tell us. We will try to be as helpful as possible • We cannot provide nursing services OUR SPECIAL INTEREST HOLIDAYS • These are all based in the countryside. This means being able to walk certain distances, being able to cope with steep hills up and down, narrow rocky paths and paths near vertical drops, walking in single file, wet and slippery conditions underfoot and overhead, getting cold and wet or too hot • It means having to carry wet weather gear and equipment if required. • It means being able to get in and out of our vehicle if used. • As we are supervising our groups if you are able but have a disability that requires help you should have a buddy with you • Our Interest Holiday brochure has details of minimum ability levels required. Arrival & Car Parking Facilities • Bay View Terrace is situated on top of a hill • There is car parking for four cars with narrow bays at the front of our house. The surface is level tarmac. • We are happy to help with luggage • Facilities for dogs with blind people - please advise us if you have a dog. We will do our best to accommodate you. We do not have facilities for other dogs. Main Entrance & Reception • We have a front door reached up two steps - a wide step then a narrow step. There is an inner door. • There is no reception desk. We take you into the lounge so you can relax after your journey and ask if you would like tea or coffee then deal with the registration there. We can provide a pad and pen if required. • There is a narrow hallway leading up to stairs to the bedrooms • On the left through the inner door is the lounge and next to that passed a mirror is the dining room Public Areas - General (Internal) • The 2 metre hallway leads to the stairs. There is a public telephone on the right. • There are hand rails both sides of the stairs. At the top of the stairs consisting of 12 treads is a small landing. To the right is a single stair up which is a passage where our public toilets are. To the left is a flight of three stairs and 3 bedrooms with doors to the right. • To the left of those bedrooms is a rail leading to further stairs and another two flights of stairs and the top floor bedrooms. • There is no room for a lift. • All doors in the guest house are manual • All floors are carpeted Public Areas - WC • All toilets are on the first floor up 12 stairs then up one more stair. They are on the left. We will be pleased to escort you the first time so you know where the toilets are. Dining Room, Bar & Lounge • The Dining Room is equipped with tables and chairs you could find in your home. We do have a chair with arms if you have trouble rising. • The Bar has bench seating and dining chairs and is through the Dining Room • The Lounge has a chair with raised arms and a hearing loop - we will always ask what you would like and provide waiter service Laundry • We can provide a minimal laundry service. We can dry wet clothes for you. Bedrooms • Our accommodation is basically a large house built about 100 years ago. • There are five bedrooms with showers in the rooms which we will show you how to use. One of our bedrooms has twin beds, flip taps and a shower. 3 of our double bedrooms have access from only one side of the bed to the bed. • There are no facilities for people confined to wheelchairs as we do not have a lift. • In the event of an emergency we will provide a buddy for you to assist you. There are signs provided in each room that can be hung outside your door stating that you need help in an emergency. • Please do not lock your bedroom door at night if this is the case • All rooms have radiators which can be individually controlled Public Bathroom & WC • Both public toilets are on the first floor. Access to the nearest from the bedrooms on the middle floor is down two steps, across a landing and up one step. There is one bedroom on this floor which is next to the bathroom with bath and toilet. Grounds and Gardens • We do not have a garden Additional Information • If there are any reasonable suggestions you can make to help us make your stay more enjoyable please let us know. CONTACT INFORMATION • Chichester 14 BAY VIEW TERRACE NEWQUAY CORNWALL TR7 2LR • Telephone: 01637 874216 • Email: sheila.harper@virgin.net • Website: http://freespace.virgin.net/sheila.harper • Grid reference: Map ref: 200/813614 • Local equipment hire companies including wheel chairs: British Red Cross 0845 3315000 • Local public transport numbers: Travel Line - 0871 200 22 23 - choose 'Local travel' from the options listed and the operator wil give you arrival and departure times for any journey within Cornwall. Railway - 08457 484950 •If bus travel in Cornwall information is required in Braille, large print etc please contact The Corporate Equality and Diversity Team, Room 203, New County Hall, Truro TR1 3AY YOUR FEEDBACK • We welcome your feedback. If you have any comments please phone 01637 874216 or email sheila.harper@virgin.net Created on: 9/02/2008 ACCOMMODATION AND SPECIAL INTEREST HOLIDAYS Welcome to 2009 and our - Steve and Sheila's 28th year in Cornwall. As I have printed on our headed note paper - 'We are still enjoying ourselves'. The good company, the mild climate and lovely scenery and the ability to follow all our interests - what more could we want? Well there is more - discovery. It still amazes me after living here in Cornwall for over twenty seven years that we and our guests are still not only learning about the County but we also make finds new to everybody. 2008 was no exception - see news and views for more details. The ’Chichester Experience’ is a reflection of our own interests and hopefully yours. Why? We enjoy the great outdoors, being active and doing interesting things with like minded people. With this in mind we organise and run Chichester Interest Holidays in the Spring and Autumn. Many of you reading these pages regularly join us in our activities sharing our lives and adventures and importantly we share yours so in the end what we do reflects what you like to do as well. We began this venture in 1981 and many of you are now good friends and frequent visitors. We have some great times with lots of laughs and learn from each other. Thanks! For those of you who have never been to Cornwall it has wonderful heritage, natural history, varied geology and great scenery from rugged cliffs to quiet lanes and scenic coves. A long way from ‘civilisation’ thousands of archaeological sites, mining sites, industrial heritage and untamed coast and countryside remain and where development has occurred much of this still reflects the underlying history. Off the coast we can be lucky and see dolphins, seals and sunfish and marine birds. The mild climate means inland there are plants and trees and many interesting birds and insects. Cornwall is a place where you can still feel free and follow your own dreams so it attracts people like Tim Smit who created the Eden project. What a County! Also much of what we do with you is part of longer term projects that we are involved with. We try to put back ‘what we take out’ and we do this by giving you a good holiday with an educative content, research, conserving and recording Cornish heritage, writing and publishing, running walks, classes and giving local talks. ACCOMMODATION DETAILS Large comfortable centrally heated town house Quiet central position in Newquay within easy reach of coach and railway stations, the best beaches in Europe, gardens, Newquay Zoo, shops and entertainment. About 7 miles from Newquay Airport. Parking for five cars in our car parks and parking in the road behind our house and safe keeping for bicycles Lounge with TV and Video, hearing loop and excellent library, maps and tourist information Bar with drinks at reasonable prices Dining Room with Mineral Collection Vegetarian and Diabetic diets available - please ask when booking GOOD COFFEE Seven upstairs guest bedrooms with controllable heating, most with own showers and sea views. Many extra facilities to make your stay comfortable including tea and coffee making, towels etc. Own key and free access at all times There is no smoking in the house. in the house except for some bedrooms and the Dining Room Modern fire detection system Our unique ROCK SHED equipped with microscopes and other equipment useful for mineral collectors, botanists, conchologists etc. 2009 TERMS For all Summer vacancies and Interest Holiday dates please see 'Interest Holiday Programme' link. PLEASE NOTE THAT IN JULY AND AUGUST WE ONLY PROVIDE BED AND BREAKFAST BED AND BREAKFAST Per night £24.00, per week £150.00 DINNER, BED AND BREAKFAST(not July and August) Per night £32.00, per week £195.00 Children's Terms (Not Interest Holidays) Youngest Child Aged 7 or under FREE all year Additional Children - Aged 0 - 2:- 25% Aged 3 - 7:- 50%, Aged 8 -14:- 75% INTEREST HOLIDAYS per week - £300.00 (excluding entrance fees) We are closed at Christmas and when we are redecorating in January and February NEW YEAR - December 30th to January 3rd Bed and Breakfast only - £27 per night (Minimum two nights stay)

Our Green Pricing Policy

We try to be as ‘green’ as possible. One of the ways that we do this is by keeping our prices reasonable yet still giving good value and quality service. The less you pay the less resources used in the beginning to produce that money.

We are very happy to send you our Summer Brochure and/or our Interest Holiday Brochure and Newsletter if required. WE CAN SUPPLY A LARGE PRINT VERSION.

WALKING

Once you have walked in Cornwall you won’t want to walk anywhere else. Cornwall has about 265 miles of challenging varied coastline to choose from and that is where most of our walks are taken. There is nothing to match coastal walking with the views, the clean air, the sea, the wild flowers, rugged cliffs or golden sanded beaches and heritage, history and stories of smuggling, fishing and folk. Our vehicle transports you to the start of your walk which is expertly guided by our walks leader Steve Hebdige. His wide local knowledge from the stories and history of the area to the names of the wild flowers makes your day really interesting. You could find yourself walking down Lands End way with its prehistoric landscape, wild cliffs and rugged terrain, the Lizard coast with rare plants, scenic harbours and the best pasty shop in the County, the North coast jewelled by battered cliffs and glorious beaches, the South coast pierced by peaceful river estuaries home to kingfisher and otter. All is within easy distance of Newquay. When possible our vehicle meets you with lunch. At the end of the day it is there to carry you home. Our maximum length of walk is about 10 miles per day.

CORNISH ALLSORTS

This week is for active people who enjoy mostly being out of doors doing something interesting but don't want to walk miles and miles. Spending an afternoon at a slate quarry or exploring a rare natural habitat contrasts well with visiting a plantsman’s garden or an old mining area. Rock pooling, bird or badger watching, discovering Holy Wells, eating roast chestnuts back home collected on a walk, peaceful in a church or eating warm scones piled with jam and silky Cornish clotted cream could be your forte. Meeting giants and ghosts and jelly fish or seeing seals from the coast or dolphins from the a boat might take your fancy. Backdrops to our days out could be rugged cliffs, the wide stretches of Bodmin Moor, miles of golden sands or tiny old cottages in a pretty fishing village. These are just some of the activities you might find yourself involved with - real Cornish ‘Allsorts’. (LOTS OF CLOSE-UP PHOTOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES ON THIS WEEK)

BEST OF CORNWALL

For the less active - a coach tour with a difference. Our vehicle also takes you to places where the big coaches cannot go. We do include some of the better tourist attractions such as the Eden Project and National Trust properties like Lanhydrock. We might arrange a day on the Isle of Scilly or take a walk around an interesting hamlet or enjoy the beauty of Cornwall's magic coast. There are special gardens we share with you or you could find yourself standing atop Carn Brea and enjoying the views across the County then take a stroll to look at the Basset Memorial and huge weather shaped granite tors in a Neolithic setting, lunch that day a picnic eaten in the low walled remains of an Iron Age house.

MINERAL COLLECTING

Cornwall is unique geologically and world famous for its minerals. Many can still be found today including new species for sites, the County, Britain and the world, especially as micro minerals. The mineral collecting weeks held at the Chichester are unique in Britain. We spend from Sunday to Friday out in the field with one half day free and evenings can be spent in our famous Rock Shed to study and identify material collected.The Rock Shed is equipped with microscopes, reference collection, rock trimmer etc. We visit one or two sites daily. Lists of minerals for each site visited are supplied beforehand. When possible we visit working quarries. Sites come and go and at the moment we have over 40 collecting venues to choose from. In 2008 we had a new venue - West of England Quarry, St. keverne on the Lizard (formerly Porthoustock) and courtesy of the manager had some interesting trips in there. This is a zeolite quarry. The best finds have been the prehnite some with water clear analcimes sprinkled on the specimens like diamonds. I also have an unknown from there that needs checking out - possibly heulandite. Hingston Downs Quarry is still coming up trumps. We also have a site where we found paratacamite. You need to be fairly active for this week. The terrain is difficult under foot and you should be able to use a hammer and carry your own equipment. We can also get very mucky. Complete beginners as well as more experienced collectors are all welcome.

ARCHAEOLOGY

Cornwall is the ideal place to discover our past. Over 10,000 sites and features from the Late Mesolithic onwards still exist. Flint scatters, Neolithic chamber tombs, Bronze Age and Iron Age villages and stone circles, barrows, menhirs and rows, fogous, industrial sites, and medieval long-houses, Romano - British salt evaporation site etc can still be found. Further there are man made rock features still awaiting discovery. The County Museum at Truro houses many of the finds from excavation. Steve has taken part in Bronze and Iron Age digs and is the Cornwall Archaeological Society representative for our area. We have been responsible for local projects that are used as background by archaeologists for reviewing sites as to their importance and I am a published author. In 2008 we spent time up on Leskernick, Bodmin Moor. A lot of work has been done here by archaeologists on how to tell if stones have been moved in the past or not. Two Bronze Age villages are found here plus an earlier quoit through which the rising sun could be seen at the right time of the year, stone circles and a stone row. And we have to pass through medieval and later tin stream works to get there!
Using our knowledge we provide a week where we dip into the past visiting ancient sites all over Cornwall building up a picture of what life and ritual was like in the past. We look at structures, how parts of a site relate to each other and the wider relationship of a site in an area. There are many practical aspects to the week including exploring. Prehistoric features previously unrecorded and flint and stone implements have been discovered by members of our groups.
You need to be fairly active for this week. To visit some of the sites we must walk over uneven, hilly and sometimes very muddy terrain, distances up to 5 miles.

INTEREST HOLIDAYS PROGRAMME 2009

March 14 - 21        NORFOLK MICROBITEITES
March 21 - 28       RECOVERY WEEK
Mar 28 - April 4     ARCHAEOLOGY & ALLSORTS
April 4 - 11            ORGANISING WEEK
April 11 - 18          EASTER MINERAL COLLECTING
April 18 - 25          CORNISH ALLSORTS
Apr 25 - May 2      WALKING WEEK
May 2 - 9               SUSSEX MINERAL & LAPIDARY SOC.
May 9 - 16             JUNE CHATFIELD'S BOTANY WEEK
May 16 - 23           JUNE CHATFIELD'S BOTANY WEEK
May 23 - 30            MINERAL COLLECTING
May 30 - June 6    WALKING
June 6 - 13            ORGANISING WEEK
June 13 - 20          BEST OF CORNWALL
June 20 - 27          CORNISH ALLSORTS
June 27 - July 4     WALKING

July 4 - August 29      BED AND BREAKFAST ONLY.

Aug 29 - Sept 5      MINERAL COLLECTING
Sept 5 - 12              CORNISH ALLSORTS
Sept 12 - 19            WALKING COAST AND COUNTRY
Sept 19 - 26           ORGANISNG WEEK
Sept 26 - Oct 3      ORGANISING WEEK
October 3 - 10        WALKING COAST AND COUNTRY
October 10 - 17      ARCHAEOLOGY
October 17 - 24     MINERAL COLLECTING

VACANCIES ARE SHOWN ON OUR PROGRAMME PAGE - or please telephone us for vacancies

PLEASE NOTE -
ALL HOLIDAYS ARE AT YOUR OWN RISK

Please send for our Brochure and Newsletter for more details.

To book a week it is best to telephone or e-mail us first.

This is in case you have any special needs, diet etc.

A deposit of £50 secures your booking and we will confirm in writing.

TERMS

All interest holidays cost £300 per week. This includes full board and use of our transport around Cornwall if required during the week. Other than ’Walking’ there may be additional entrance fees up to a maximum of £50. If we go to the Isle of Scilly there will be extra for the boat trip. Orca Sea-Faris charged £50 in 2007. I am sorry we don't take credit cards - this is because the banks charge to much for the service!

PLEASE NOTE ALL HOLIDAYS ARE AT YOUR OWN RISK

NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS 2008(BY SHEILA)

I'll start with a bit of Sheila wisdom. As you get older it's not more time to get things done that you need - it's more energy and that comes from being fit. And that's where our holidays come in - they are active and stimulating so even our brains get a bit of excercise. So for 2009 I wish everybody good health and a bit of 'zap'. Well I have started getting energetic and have a new screen saver on my computer - the 'Energiser' battery rabbit - it whizzes about like I'd like to do more often. So what have we all been up to this year? The biggest decision I made at the beginning was to get a new bus for carrying you all about. So we ended up in March with a Renault Trafic. Steve chose the colour and how near the vehicle dealership was to Newquay chose the make. This van has received favourable resposes from all who have travelled in her. It has more leg room than the old charabanc, the seats are more comfy and from the driver's perspective it has more 'zoom'. Nice. The next most important thing was last years dire weather or was it? If it put any of you reading this from taking a break shame - I have lots of lovely pictures of our groups and friends on gorgeous sunny days doing interesting things. So next bit of Sheila wisdom 'Don't listen to the weather forecast'.
HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR YEAR
(In any order) The baby adder that tried to crawl up Robbie Selley's leg. Janet and Phil Sharpe, Steve and I and Robbie Selley were coming back from looking at the Late Mesolithic flint site on Newlyn Downs when I espied a 'doggy poo'. It was a young adder basking in the sun in the middle of the path and it was April 1st - so the adder instead of nipping off into the undergrowth tried crawling up Robbies leg. Was this it's 'April Fools' joke for the day. Robbie of course was non plussed - he takes wonderful photo's of adders by getting in the middle of colonies of them - this requiring much patience and calmness - and often has snakes slithering over his boots. At the end of May an American - Carl Muendel (Delaware Mineralogical Society) arranged with me to take him to Ting Tang mine dumps at Caharrack for a half day of mineral collecting. We did really well, no enormous specimens but a good variety including I found cassiterite which isn't listed for the site and a nice little chalcophyllite. I got a lovely surprise sometime later when I received a book from Carl - all the way from the USA - a signed copy of 'The Pegmatite Mines Known as Palermo'. Obviously a labour of love by its producers and what struck me is that perhaps there is space in the mineral circuit for more books on British single sites like this. Earlier in the year I had some good news about a specimen I had collected from Ting Tang the previous year and identified as parnuite. The lads at our Russell Society meeting had said it must be meta- zeunerite and because I must have looked so crestfallen and I wouldn't believe them our Chairman took the sample away for analysis. It came back as parnauite. Yes yes yes. Steve and I got sent another book - this time by one of our own - Ron Linfield who is a long time visitor to the Chichester. Ron photographs dragonflies and this book was of his work. How about that (Still waiting for him to sign it). I was very impressed.
Then the picture of Patricia Hewitt laughing - from our first group the Norfolk Mineral and Lapidary Society in March through to our last group at the end of October we have fun, always there is a lot of laughter. Pat was on a walking week in October with her hubby and I think they laughed their way round the Cornish coast. Lovely.
Graham Bell won a first prize at his club - the Sidcup Lapidary and Mineral Society with a chalcotricite he collected from Hingston Downs Quarry on our September 2008 mineral collecting week. I rang him up to ask about it and he said he was breaking rock coated with poor scorodite and it was inside. I've also been chatting to Martin Stolworthy and had a look at the web sites he runs - the British Micromount Society and the Norfolk Mineral and Lapidary Society web pages. He has given them a revamp and the sites are very clean looking and easy to use (see links).
On the natural history front in October we were at Wheal Drea near St. Just for mineral collecting, courtesy of the National Trust when Hazel Ramsey noticed a flower growing in the Cornish stone hedge by the road near the dump. Steve identified it as Wall Germander - a Red Data Book species. We have been visiting Windmill farm on the Lizard. This site is managed for dragonflies and damsel flies. There appears to be a semi-resident Marsh Harrier as well. Our best sighting there I think was early in the year when on a lovely sunny day we saw a female Broad Bodied Chaser egg laying - she glowed golden in the sun as she constantly dipped her rear end into the water laying her eggs on weed. Needless to say this was a challenging time for the phtotgraphers as she moved very quickly. Breney Common had its fair share of dragons and damsels as well. On the pond dipping front there this year we had a lot of newts in various stages of growth from young to easily identifiable mature males. Steve and Sue and Tom Walker saw a grass snake at Ellenglaze on the September walking week. it was also a good year for bush crickets including a couple of sightings of the Dark Bush Cricket. And then there was the kingfisher at the Wadebridge car park by the Camel trail which follows the old railway line between Bodmin and Padstow. This was on our October walking week with Pat and Peter Hewitt. We had been watching a kingfisher on the river while we had lunch. I got some rubbish photos. Then I nipped off down the railway track and just beyond a bridge is a wooded incline - a nice private place for a call of nature. So I crept down this bank - I had my camera with me - well you never know - so I am relieving nature - when in the bushes in front of me appear some long tailed tits. I aiming at them with the camera still in the crouched position as I didn't want to stand up and frighten them away. Somewhat hampered by my trousers which I hadn't had time to pull up I sort of wobbled sideways and out of the corner of my eye saw the kingfisher not six feet away from me perching on a stick in a little meander of the river. I jumped - it flew. And I nearly fell down the bank.
Finally just to say from myself and Steve 'Wishing you all what you would wish for yourselves in 2009'.

LINKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

http://norfolkminandlapsoc.homestead.com Hosted by Martin Stolworthy - My favourite mineral club who have helped keep us in business for years!Hardworking, fun, knowledgeable group.

http://britishmicromountsociety.homestead.com
BRITISH MICROMOUNT SOCIETY - If you are a serious mineral collector you should be a member of this society (Sheila is). They have an annual symposium with advice, swaps, talks,microscope meetings and a newsletter.

Http://www.strahlen.org Includes pictures by Jos Hens of his week with us in September 2003. Impressive European site run by Frank de Wit.
Http://www.mineral-paradise.net We saw him first! Quality site web-mastered by an excellent collector with cracking photo's, swaps, for sale Run by Richard Bell.
http://rockhounds.com Bobs Rock Shop - run by Bob Keller - big USA site with loads of links. Everything and anything to do with minerals on here. Been around years.
http://www.minerant.org Belgium site and very comprehensive
Http;//interestholidayscornwall.co.uk Cornwall Connect - site I pay to advertise on which shows extracts from our Brochure (can be out of date but gives you a general idea) and links to other accommodation and lots info on Cornwall
http://www.cornwalldevonmineralspecimens.co.uk Mike Merry's site. Cornwall and Devon Minerals. The best site to find Cornish mineral specimens for sale including old timers and some you won't find anywhere else; interesting photographs
http://www.geolithos.be Geologische Vereniging Limburg - Belgium Mineral Club site - Very friendly and knowledgeable hard working collectors. Their Chairman is Stefan Kempeneers. If you are in Belgium these lads are worth looking up
http://www.thecrystalman.co.uk Mike Jackson's site - If you ever get to Glastonbury pay his shop a visit. He and Jenny are lovely 'down to earth' people. The shop sells all sorts of minerals including unusual carved pieces, crystals, polished stones etc. Mike deserves great success with this business.
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/slm.s2 SIDCUP LAPIDARY AND MINERAL SOCIETY - very friendly active club with field trips, weekly meetings, their own lapidary workshop, extensive library and an annual show
http://www.visitnewquaycornwall.co.ukThe new web site for the Newquay Guide now organised by VisitCornwall. Contains lots of information about Cornwall plus accommodation etc. and we advertise in it.

NOT LINKED/RECOMMENDED/READING/SERVICES

http://www.mindat.org Comprehensive Award winning British site hosted by Jolyon Ralph. Impressive amount of information on UK and some foreign minerals and sites. Includes pictures of obscure minerals not found elsewhere
UK JOURNAL OF MINES & MINERALS - wonderful photographs. Edited by mineral collectors. British answer to Mineralogical Record
PERRAN OPTICAL REPAIRS
Microscope Service and Sales, Binoculars repaired and serviced
Contact Nigel Hoppe Tel: 01872 571137
www.www.mikon-online.com - I found this company when looking at the Munich Mineral Club site on their links page. Really comprehensive site for everything you need to collect and understand minerals - including a portable geiger counter! I haven't bought anything off them yet but prices look very reasonable for a foreign company. ://www.www.mikon-online.com">www.www.mikon-online.com - I found this company when looking at the Munich Mineral Club site on their links page. Really comprehensive site for everything you need to collect and understand minerals - including a portable geiger counter! I haven't bought anything off them yet but prices look very reasonable for a foreign company.