Cornwall Wanderings

John and I just spent a lovely week in Cornwall.  We drove to the southern tip and stayed in the town of Marazion in a little cottage just across from St. Michael's Mount.

The Mount is a great granite crag which rises from the waters of the Bay and is surmounted by an embattled castle, that was originally a Benedict Priory built in the twelfth century

It is known as the sister house of the famous Mont St. Michel in Normandy. The Mount is accessible by a Causeway 2-5 hours each day depending on the state of the tide. 

The castle and former priory is still inhabited b James and Mary St Aubyn who live a 21st century lifestyle within its medieval walls. James is the twelfth generation of the St Aubyn family, who have occupied the castle since the 17th Century.

We arrived in Marazion on a rainy day but shortly before the day ended, the sun peaked out from behind the clouds and from then on we had fairly good weather. 

We spent most of the week exploring the Southwestern coast of Cornwall that is known for it's rugged coves, beautiful beaches, shipwrecks, and a history of smugglers and pirates. 

The one rainy day we had we spent at the Eden Project, a former China clay quarry that has been reclaimed as a spectacular garden with two huge biomes.  It claims to have the worlds largest conservatories, and the biggest indoor rainforest.  

It is also living example of regeneration, community building, and sustainable living. It was impressive.

Most days we spent walking parts of the cornish coastal path.  This cove is called Logan Rock.

The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest marked  footpath and national trail -- it stretches for 630 miles.

Beginning at Minehead in Somerset, the path follows the route of the Coastguards who once patrolled the rugged coastline for smugglers and and pirates. The route curls around the entire peninsula of Devon and Cornwall and around the south-western tip of England, following through Dorset to the trail’s end at Poole Harbour.

This photo is for my parents who live near Marconi Beach on Cape Cod. The Cape Cod  beach is named for Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi. In 1903, the first transatlantic wireless communication originating in the U.S. was successfully transmitted to nearby Marconi Station, a message from U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to King Edward VII of the the United Kingdom.  Above is the Marconi Station in Cornwall where that first telegraph was received. 

There were some coves and beaches we saw where the water was such a crystal clear blue, it looked like it could be somewhere in the Caribbean.

On day, while hiking, we watched the coast guard do sea rescue training

This is the open-air Minack theatre, constructed on a rocky granite outcrop jutting into the sea. The theatre was created by Rowena Cade, who lived at Minack House overlooking Porthcurno Bay. In 1932 Miss Cade and her gardener made a terrace and rough seating, hauling materials down from the house or up via the winding path from the beach below and The Tempest was performed with the sea as a dramatic backdrop, to great success. Today it is used as a theatre for summer stock production.  

We saw a fun, modern production of Die Fledermaus with the Surrey Opera Co. 

This was the only ship wreck we saw.  

We did see a map that showed 36 shipwrecks in the water within 5 miles of Land's end.  

Land's End

My favorite wizard watching two sharks we saw in this cove

They were basking sharks, which are really whales that look like sharks (they eat krill).  These two were full grown and were roughly 20-25 feet long

It's hard to capture the sense of size of these sharks -- they were BIG!

This was the only photo I could get that showed the size of the shark (or it's fin) in relation to something else.  Even though I know Basking sharks eat krill, they are too big for me to want to share the water with them.

On our last day in Cornwall we toured St Michael's Mount.  We knew the town's choir would be singing a concert on the common that afternoon.  This is the Marazion Apollo Men's Choir.  It was formed in 1904 and reputedly the oldest male choir in Cornwall.  Fishermen by day, singer's by night.  They were great!  http://www.apollo-choir.co.uk or check them out on You Tube.

I loved how the St Michael's Mount causeway appeared and  disappeared with the tide.  I loved the rugged beauty of the coast and the gentle beauty of the farmland and gardens.  I loved the interesting cornish people we met. I loved everything about Cornwall.  Kernow Bys Vyken!  Cornwall Forever!