Lake and Falls

Beside Siblyback Lake

With the fine weather having arrived in Cornwall, Lynn and I decided to take our bikes up to Siblyback Lake, which is just a ten minute drive from Cider Cottage.  The path around the lake is nicely surfaced for walking, cycling, or even hiring a Segway.  The path leaves the car park (where your ticket will give you £1 off a cup of tea in the cafe!) in either direction around the lake.  We decided to head for the dam, with its sheer drop and views of the open countryside down below. 

---

Wakeboarding

Going in this direction took us past the wakeboarding circuit.  This is the equivalent of a ski lift, above the lake with a continuous cable winding around a circuit.  Water skiers, or more properly wakeboarders, hold onto a pulley attached to the moving cable and are pulled round the circuit, without needing a speedboat.  To make it more challenging, a few ramps have been installed around the circuit to enable the more accomplished wakeboarders to have a go at the jumps.

---

Cycle path through the woods

Not for us this time, we had bikes to ride.  The course is varied, leaving the lakeside for a bit and twisting through woods.  But, because of the dry spell, the water level in the lake was down, revealing a sandy beach all round the edge.  Siblyback Lake was created in the late 1960s, when the stream - a tributary of the Fowey River - was dammed and the valley flooded.

---

Golitha Falls

Below Siblyback, the water flows into the main Fowey River that tumbles down from high on Bodmin Moor, between Brown Willy and Bray Down.  Just a short ride from Siblyback is Golitha Falls, a spectacular cascade through a steeply sided wooded valley.  A favourite with visitors to Cider Cottage, the beautiful Golitha Falls is home to a wide variety of wildflowers and butterflies. Fish are easily visible in the clear water and dippers flitting between the rocks, nuthatches and treecreepers in the woods, with buzzards flying high above.

---