The Derek and Jeannie Tangye Minack Chronicles Nature Reserve

24/12/2025

This year is an extract from A Cat Affair.
'All life', I said, 'except this instant, is a dream'
'Why do you suddenly say that?'
I was standing in a tiny meadow...Jeannie beside me, and Lama was squat at our feet, black tail round her paws,swaying her head, utterly at peace.
'Well, I answered, 'what do you remember of this morning?'
'I got your breakfast, the post came,I wrote a letter to my sister, I wrote half a page of my book...'
'All hazy now in your mind'
'I suppose so'
That's what I mean. Half one's life is spent dreaming of the future, the other half dreaming of the past'
'I understand'
'Our sophisticated lives are now a dream, all the times at The Savoy, a bottle of champagne on ice in our room, Cholmondeley House, Thames Bank Cottage, glamorous parties in your office with Danny Kaye... Only the instant in permanent.'
'Like now'
'Yes....you and I and Lama, and that robin, and the gull sailing down in the bay, and that wave moving in to smack the rocks...this is that instant which is real'
Jeannie Laughed.
'And now it's over! she said.....
All I was meaning' I finished by saying, ' is that one mustn't take these instants for granted'

Time now for you to spend an instant in Oliver land and 'remembering times past'
Merry Christmas to you all and I wish you the happiest of 'instants' with a future bright and healthy.

19/12/2025

Forty-four years ago today
You can also view https://youtu.be/TjghZLQKdro?si=RMtRyH4CVeW8VlcH

10/09/2025

Are you searching for a particular book? Are you wanting to complete your collection of The Minack Chronicles?
Do you want to start reading the books but cannot find a copy?
We have several copies of books listed below. If you want to obtain one or more please message for details about condition and price. I can assure you the price will not be silly and is in aid of a Hospice so it is likely to be up to you! Please message privately.

A Cat in the Window
The Way to Minack
A Cornish Summer
The Winding Lane
When the Wind Blows
The Ambrose Rock
A Quiet Year
The Cherry Tree
Jeannie - A Love story
The Evening Gull
Monty's Leap
The Confusion Room

The memorial anthology by the then Trustees compilation of quotations from The Minack Chronicles
The World of Forever

There are also many paperbacks

There is also 'Tangye' by David Power.

04/08/2025

Having spent most of today going through, finally, the huge collection of Minack memorabilia I found this and decided to put it on display today and its especially for Rod after our chat today. I have been promising to collate and index and organise this lot for years..its all over the house in boxes, folders, cabinets so this is one box partially done! Its no set me off on more research as I came across names of contacts with Derek and need to set the story in context.
Oliver land is a place for solitude. To contemplate anything and everything; a place to feel a sense of calm and balance once more. Even in today's storm it would be a place where the wind would blow all the cobwebs away clear the mind and where you could breathe!
Thank you Derek and Jeannie for giving us this small respite from the world... ❤

17/05/2025

Springtime in Oliver Land.

23/03/2025

Jeannie’s Birthday and Memorial

Happy Birthday, Jeannie!

Today, you would have been 106. Though you are no longer with us, your legacy lives on through Oliver Land. Your heartfelt wish to create a sanctuary where nature could thrive has become a lasting reality. The land you protected remains a home to countless species—grasses, hawthorn, violets, ivy, honeysuckle, bluebells, foxgloves, and an array of insects, from ants to butterflies. Birds such as sparrows, blackbirds, swallows, linnets, song thrushes, willow warblers, dunnocks, and kestrels find refuge there, along with voles, moles, badgers, foxes, adders, and slow worms.

Visitors can experience its beauty, finding moments of solitude, reflection, and renewal in nature. It is a place to simply be—to think, to watch, and to leave feeling restored.

The photos shared today have been taken over the past few days, capturing the timeless essence of this special place. They bring Oliver Land to those who have yet to visit, those who cannot, and—just as Derek always said—allow you to see it in your mind’s eye. Imagine yourself wandering the meadows, sitting on Ambrose Rock to make a wish, walking through Clover Downs, and from Jeannie’s Shelter, turning to take in the vast, breathtaking view of the sea.

Thank you, Jeannie (and Derek, of course!), for this extraordinary gift. We are privileged to share in its beauty because of you.

21/02/2025

Most visitors to Oliver Land will have come in the spring and summer months, when blue skies stretch overhead, warm sunshine bathes the landscape, and daffodils sway in a gentle breeze while the heavenly scent of bluebells fills the air.

A walk at this time of year may feel less idyllic. Yet, for me, it holds a quiet beauty—a time of hope and anticipation for the brighter days ahead. The moody sky casts a somber hue, and the crisp wind carries a bite that urges a brisk walk, followed by the comfort of a warm mug in hand back home.

No matter the season, Oliver Land remains a sanctuary for wildlife, and to me, its beauty never fades.

Each walk here stirs memories—of times when they were alive, of conversations on the porch over a glass of wine, of everyday discussions, and of peaceful strolls watching the donkeys while the distant chatter of fishermen drifts from the boats nearby.

Oliver Land must always be preserved as it is—a place of solitude, reflection, and dreams. A place to cherish, in gratitude to those who created it and left it for us to enjoy.

24/12/2024

05/10/2024

Walking along the rugged coast path, this time heading for Carn Barges. The world feels peaceful here—just the steady rhythm of waves rolling in, their gentle hiss as they meet the rocks below. The air is alive with the distant calls of seabirds soaring overhead, their songs blending with the soft murmur of the sea. The briny scent of salt fills the air, mingling with the earthy perfume of bracken clinging to the cliffsides. The path twists ahead, leading me further into this tranquil world where land and sea embrace in perfect harmony, timeless and unspoiled.

03/10/2024

What a glorious autumn day at Carn Barges, with sweeping views across to Tater Du and Minack. The coastal path weaves gracefully along the cliffs, guiding the eye toward both destinations."

05/09/2024

In choosing a piece for today’s photos I selected Sun on the Lintel as I felt guided to this book. As I turned the pages they rested on this paragraph which is somewhat coincidental as it relates to a current issue with Derek’s old Home Glendorgal.

What is happening at Glendorgal currently?
There is a planning proposal for the original part of Glendorgal to be demolished to make way for a number of holiday homes to be built on the headland.

From ‘Sun on the Lintel’.
…’bureaucratic and commercial forces are determined to eliminate the elusive quality of gold worth. Why, for instance, should a desolate moorland home of foxes, Badgers, rabbits, and wild birds be treated as sacred when a housing estate on the site would provide hundreds of homes? Why should the caravan on a headland be considered unsightly when the farming community are allowed to erect vast hangars of barns wherever they wish without official consent? Why shouldn't there be chalets close to a beach providing holidays to factory workers and others? Why shouldn't it be allowed to build a house on the coast? Logical answers to such questions are a problem to find. Anything to do with subtlety, sensitivity and taste is difficult to explain to those who are conditioned into believing. ……And it is made more difficult when one realises that in this age of mania of equality, the comparative few appreciate beauty. ‘…..

When you look across Oliver land and to the headland, Carn Barges this was exactly one of the things Derek was fearful of and why they went to such lengths to purchase ‘Oliver Land’.
It is accepted that there is always a need for suitable housing but sometimes we must also look to balance those needs with nature.
These views have no price for they are without monetary value and are thus ‘priceless’.

26/05/2024

I came up the lane one April morning at the time of our first new black cat alarm, and saw Walter bending down, fi*****ng the leaf of Hart's Tongue fern which was growing in the bank. This fern is named after the tongue of a fully grown deer, and it is pale green, delicate in texture, with slender tongue shaped leaves.
'Lovely,' he said, without looking up, 'man couldn't make anything as lovely as this,' then added, 'never, never take nature for granted'...........
'When I was young' said Walter, ' we went looking for plants like these, and wild flowers, and there was excitment in finding them. it wasn't just a few who did this; most of us felt the same way.'
'You don't have the advanatages, Walter, of television and cars and motorcycles.'
'What advantages? Are they happier racing back to watch a progamme than I was finding a patch of wild violets mixed with primroses? '
Extract ' A Cat Affair' - Derek Tangye