Another mixed day of adventuring. We had planned on going to Lands End, but my doubts about it were confirmed by our BnB hosts, it has been over commercialised and for all purposes essentially turned into an amusement park. So we decided to take in Lizard Point instead, but I get ahead of myself.
We got away a bit after 9am, after organising for our laundry to be done by our BnB hosts. That takes a lot of pressure off our exploration time. ? Once on the road we drove to Penzance. With the summer Solstice just past on 21st June, Penzance was at the start of its annual Mevagissey Feast Week. It is the longest surviving celebration in Cornwall with its origins going back to 1754. It started as a celebration of The Feast of St Peter, but has evolved over the years. The weeklong event now features exhibitions, demonstrations, live music and lots of fish dishes to eat. Along with choirs and bands, flora dances, children’s entertainment and competitions, plus colourful parades, boat and raft races, a fete and a huge firework display. We stumbled across the start of the procession from the Town Hall to the St John the Baptist Church near the railway station. Which signals the start of the celebrations, a mix of old world traditions, religious figures, a town crier, a marching band, local service clubs and local politicians. It was drizzling a bit but it seems a bit of rain never stops anyone around here. It was fun to watch. There were a couple of galleries we wanted to have a look in, but they were closed on Sundays! Instead we took a short walk to see one of the many Celtic Crosses that are scattered around Cornwall, a reminder of their heritage.
From there we took a drive to Marazion to visit St Michael’s Mount. It is a small tidal island in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall. The Mount is part Castle, harbour, gardens, stately home and more. It is linked to the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway of granite setts, that is passable only between mid-tide and low water, at other times a boat trip is required to reach the Mount. We got there some time after high tide and had to get a boat ride out to the Mount. It was drizzling rain and very grey skies, we thought it might end up being a quick visit. We had an early lunch in the cafe near the entrance, hoping the rain might go while we ate. Lunch was delicious (a ploughman’s platter), but the rain persisted. On the Mound all the paths are cobblestone and all the steps are rough cut stone. To get to the top of the Mound you first have to climb “The Pilgrim Steps”, a set of rockier, uneven, worn and dishevelled steps you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else. We made it to the top unscathed and set about exploring the house, or more likely “Grand Manor”. The buildings on the site date back to 1135, when the church was built on top of the island by monks from its sister isle, Mont St Michel in Normandy. The Mount was seized in 1193 by Henry La Pomeray, through to the 1473 War of the Roses, when the Earl of Oxford took possession. During the English Civil War the Royalists defended the Mount against the forces of Oliver Cromwell, its’ cannons helped drive a Napoleonic ship onto the beaches of Marazion. All its colourful history is on display throughout the Castle, from the old chapel, to canons, paintings, weapons, and so much more.
We were ready to leave by around 1:40pm, and were left with a choice, catch one of the last boats back, or wait until about 2:10pm and walk back over the causeway. So we sat back, relaxed and waited for the tide to recede so we could walk the famous causeway. It was lots of fun walking back across the causeway, quite a few people had walked over a bit early and had soaking wet shoes and clothes.
From there we set off to Lizard Point, the southern most point on mainland Britain. It was still bleak outside, lots of mist and the ever present chance of rain. We drove to the lighthouse and had a look around, and then drove to Britain’s most southerly cafe, Polpeor Cafe, and had a serve of Cornish Cream Tea each (that’s Tea, scones, jam and clotted cream). And as a sign in the shop pointed out “This Isn’t Devon” the correct order for assembling your Cornish Cream Tea is
1/ Cut your scone in half
2/ Jam first, then cream (this is important, in Devon it is cream first then jam)
3/ admire
4/ enjoy
The views from the cafe were magnificent, looking down over the old lifeboat station and along the coast.. It was calm today, but this area is open to the fury of the Atlantic Ocean and the waters we could see are some of the most used shipping lanes in the world. It would be interesting to see what it looked like in wild weather.
This is our last day in Falmouth, and also our last day on the south coast of Britain, tomorrow we head to Padstow on the west coast.
Howdy!
Had a good chuckle over your description of climbing the “Pilgrim Steps” at St. Michael’s Mount. They are challenging enough on a dry day let alone on a day drizzling with rain. Mom and I climbed them in ’02 when we visited. Nearly lost her on a few occasions but she/we made it to the top. Came back down through the gardens – much easier – although we saw the gardener’s weeding the cliff side gardens. Scary job that is….
Also, glad you made it to the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. We thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the many glorious gardens in Cornwall. I can still see the riot of colour and smell the perfume in the air from the many blossoms. Got out my photos and took a trip back down memory lane…..
When you leave Padstow is Tintagel on your hit list?
Thanks for sharing your wonderful holiday.
Thank you for your lovely message Carolyn. It is certainly a beautiful part if the world down here. Yes, we are going to Tintagel on a day trip from Padstow. There is lots to do there, although the castle is unfortunately closed, they are building a bridge, which should have been completed by now but isn’t. Sending you our love x
Good to know you’re going to Tintagel. Give a shout out to Arthur and Merlin for me….. Look forward to hearing about your day.