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The
villagers of Lanreath are celebrating after being named as Cornwall's
Best Kept Village.
Lanreath
can be reached by travelling along the main road to Looe (turning
off to the right between West and East Taphouse)
The
pretty village receives tender loving care from street cleaners
and garden maintenance workers. These are paid for by the local
parish council.
"With
the parish council we have spent a lot of time and effort improving
the village," says Andrew Facey, chairman of the parish council
and lifelong Lanreath villager."
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| The
Millennium Green is based on land where the old village hall
used to be. |
We
have a play area for the children. We worked for grants to build
our Millennium Village Green and our successful village hall."
When
the villagers heard they lived in Cornwall's 'Best Kept Village'
they were over the moon.
"Absolutely
elated, everybody within the parish feels very proud to belong,"
says Andrew.
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| The
village pub is popular with locals and holidaymakers |
"It
is a very pretty village. As chairman of the parish council its
nice to follow in my father's footsteps. He was the chairman when
the award was last won."
The
villagers never knew when the judges would be coming along and made
a team effort to ensure the village always looked at its best.
"To
be honest we never saw the judges," smiles Andrew.
"They
come around the village twice between June and August. They come
un-announced so it could be anytime during the day, you have to
keep yourself on the ball. We are very pleased because I had one
person asking how are we going to advertise our Best Kept Village
Award and so far we have been in three Cornish Newspapers and now
on the BBC Cornwall website which is excellent publicity."
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| Churchtown
where Andrew grew up in the 1960s |
Andrew
is proud of the village he grew up in. He spent his childhood years
living near the top of the village at a farm house called 'Churchtown'.
"I
spent many happy years here back in the 1960s. My mother would do
bed and breakfast as most farmers wives in the area would.We would
all enjoy cricket and games on the front lawn."
Andrew
is married to Rachel and it is their children who now enjoy village
life.
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| There
is always plenty for people of all ages in the village hall |
"A
lot of people say there is nothing to do in a village but personally
I've found lots to do," says Andrew. "My children always
long for the school holidays because they always have plenty to
keep them busy."
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| The
Cob Cottages on Fore Street in Lanreath |
Walking
around the village you can enjoy the old 'cob cottages' on Fore
Street. They were built using material from the earth. Many originally
would have sported a thatched roof.
"The
cottages are some 300-years-old," says Andrew. "A lot
of the original homes in the village were one up and one down dwellings."
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| The
village well and pump can be found in Basin Street |
Take
a walk into Basin Street and you will see the old village pump and
well which are based below one of the cottages. The pump has not
been used for many years.
Each
year the village holds a Flower Show, this year there were some
unusual exhibits, namely scarecrows!
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| King
Charles has returned after his trip to the pub! |
"We
have a roundhead, Queen Elizabeth and King Charles I," smiles
Rachel Facey. "
"The
villagers loved them, the King Charles scarecrow ended up in the
pub. I wouldn't know if the real King Charles had ended up in our
pub all those years ago."
The
pretty village always looks spotless. The villagers are now keeping
their fingers crossed for the national final which Lanreath has
gone through to.
The
prize, should they win is £6,000, and no doubt Lanreath has
many ideas as to how the money could be spent on their special village.
Pay
a visit to Lanreath's fascinating Farm and Folk Museum
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