2014 England and Scandinavia - Week 3 - Penzance, Cornwall, England

Saturday 7 June - Moving Day!

Root Farm Cottage - Dunsop Bridge

Dunsop Bridge accommodation, location and the general  area were wonderful.  We could easily have stayed another week but, we had run out of firewood, so we took that as a sign to move on.

Our next accommodation was in Penzance (as in the Pirates) 6 hours and 40 minutes driving time south.  To make the trip a little more interesting the weather turned on some extra entertainment in the form of several storms, torrential rain and strong winds - we even drove over a rainbow.  Thank heavens for the wonderful motorway system in England which delivered us safely to our door. We left Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire at 6:30am and arrived in Penzance, Cornwall  at 2:50pm.

St Michaels Mount (through binoculars)

We have a lovely apartment overlooking the Penzance Harbour & Mount Bay with views over to St Michael's Mount island and beyond.  

We settled in easily and enjoyed the 'arrival pack' of scones, jam and cream, biscuits, chocolates and wine provided by the owner.  
The rest of the day was spent learning how everything works, dieting and sobering up, reading about the area and putting together a draft itinerary for the week - all of which is subject to "English" weather.

Ocean Blue Apartment, Penzance

Sunday 8 June - the weather was kind so we decided to walk along the coast to Mousehole (pronounced "Mowzal") and back then around Penzance.  Mousehole is a very quaint fishing village further west on this very south-western tip of England. The walk took us along the Penzance boardwalk with its now closed Jubilee Pool (Lido) as a result of a ferocious storm in February this year see link: YouTube

Penzance boardwalk with Newlyn in distance

We walked around Mousehole, down its narrow side streets and around its harbour.  Before heading for home we had morning tea at a coffee shop on the edge of the village and the edge of the sea and rock pool. 

We had the place to ourselves sitting in the sun with views out to sea.

World's oldest Cornish Pastry Shop

Morning tea spot- Mousehole

Looking for Mouseholes

Mousehole Harbour

The afternoon was spent wandering the backstreets of Penzance just behind where we were staying. We couldn't believe it when we came out of our apartment block and nearly stumbled over a couple sunbaking, in swimmers - ON THE FOOTPATH!  An hour later we arrived home and they were packing & covering up.  I was able to get this photo by shooting backwards without looking.  They were sunbaking under the kitchen exhaust fan of the restaurant we dined at last night.

Monday 9 June - fully recovered from our long drive on Saturday and seeing people sunbake on a footpath outside our place, we set off into the middle of the tongue at the bottom of England to a village called Madron.  We came across a map (very vague) and instructions (very good, we initially thought) of a 13 klm walk to some ancient (neolithic & early bronze age) and other old landmarks.  

The first thing we came across was the Trengwainton Cross near  ancient crossroads on top of a hill. These crosses originate from 400 AD onwards and are believed to be both waymarkers and a reminder of christianity. The cross was tucked away behind some bushes and without our trusty guide we would have walked right past it.

We then walked for a few more kilometres eventually arriving at Lanyon Quoit.  This is again an ancient thing from megalithic times and not fully understood.  With a 12 tonne capstone the Quoit currently stands 1.5 metres high.  Before it was blown over in a storm in 1815 and later resurrected 9 years later with only 3 legs, it had four legs and was high enough for a man on horseback to shelter under-not in a storm hopefully.  

Lanyon Quoit  - with Ding Dong Mine in right background

Nearby are long destroyed Long Barrows (burial chambers). We unwittingly sat on the entry boulders to a barrow while we looked at the Quoit.  In the distance of the photograph above you can see the Ding Dong Mine which we visited later in the walk.

Getting off our quoits and leaving the Quoit we next found our way to Men-an-tol - yep that's what we thought too - another Neolithic thing in another farmer's paddock.  

The Mên-an-Tol is thought to date to either the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The holed stone could originally have been a natural occurrence rather than being deliberately sculpted.

Local legend claims that if at full moon a woman passes through the holed stone seven times backwards (while I'm standing in this spot?) she will soon become pregnant. I wonder if she then tries to do the same thing 9 months later and gets stuck, she is pregnant.

Another legend is that passage through the stone will cure a child of rickets (osteomalacia - thank you Doctor). For centuries, children with rickets were passed naked through the hole in the middle stone nine times.  Apparently several became pregnant, but I digress.

The distribution of the stones around the site has led to the suggestion that the monument is actually part of a stone circle. If so, then it is likely that the stones have been rearranged at some point, and the two standing stones either side of the holed stone may have been moved from their original positions - believed to be in 1815. It has also been suggested that the holed stone could have been a capstone for the nearby cairn before being moved to its present position.  Either way it was very impressive.

Ding Dong Mine

Next on today's agenda was Ding Dong Mine, an imposing abandoned tin mine dating back to the start of the 1700's (think Captain Cook and Australia - this building has been up longer) This was the location for our morning tea today. High up in the moorlands with 360 degree views we sat on our hiker's mats and had a muesli bar and water - doesn't get much better, except if you like sunbaking on a footpath but there isn't one for miles.

Rested and well into our walk, Julie looked at me and me at her as we both realised that we hadn't been lost at all for the whole walk.  We then packed everything up put it in the backpack, put the backpack on my back, as usual, and headed off in the wrong direction.  We initially thought we could become unlost so we tried harder but in the end became fully lost - aah back to our old ways.

Using our now finely honed skills we eventually stumbled across a road we walked along earlier in the day and decided to retrace our steps back to the car because we knew where those steps had come from.  Overshooting the final granite stile by 10 metres we turned into a wooded path and discovered an overgrown sign to the Madron Wishing Well and Celtic Chapel.  

The Well is the most famous in west Cornwall with it first being referenced in 1640 AD. Tradition is to tie rags (clouties) to trees around the Well for good luck.

Madron Holy Wishing Well with clouties hanging on trees

Celtic Chapel

Next was the 6th century Celtic Chapel tucked away deep in the forest under a Yew tree.









































Finally we returned to our car in Madron having done 17.4 klm (10.8 miles) - a little bit further than the 13 klm we had planned.  But at least we saved having to cross 21 stiles that were on the original walk part of the walk that we missed.

We then headed over to the northern side of the peninsula to Gunnard Head Pub for a beautiful lunch before doing the very scenic coastal drive from St Ives to Pendeen then back to Penzance.

Great day.

PS, car parking in the UK is always at a premium.   We had very specific instructions as to where we were park in our apartment block in Penzance - number 6 between 2 columns under the main building and be careful not to block the door behind it.   Well we can "just" fit the (medium sized) rental car into the space, sticking out a bit to leave the door unblocked. However to then get out of the car I have to climb over the passenger seat and squeeze through the passenger door while Julie holds the door 1/4 open so it doesn't scrape the column.  I can't drive in forwards because I can't get the correct angles. The mirrors have to be folded in to allow the car to get between the columns.  It's amazing the tight spaces people park their cars in, often sticking out onto the road and virtually never under cover.   It's fortunate that my supple limbs and torso allow me, after a day of walking, to easily contort myself from the drivers seat to the passenger seat (I've very intimate with the gear stick on several occasions) and out of the car.

Wednesday 11 June - yesterday (Tuesday) was wet, windy and cold so we decided to have the day off and spent our time relaxing and doing a bit of shopping between the showers.  

Today the weather was almost perfect - the wind had dropped, the clouds had disappeared and it was quite a temperate day.  From our apartment balcony the imposing St Michaels Mount fills our view so we felt we just had to visit it.  The island castle and its community of 30 can only be accessed on foot two hours either side of the low tide via a stone causeway.  

The causeway opened at 8:10am and we arrived at about 8:20am after walking along the coast just over 5klm. Being so early there were very few visitors around, in fact we saw none.  The only people accessing the causeway were workers and maintenance people like plumbers and electricians.  

If you come here be very careful ...

Ready for a castle visit and a coffee we enquired at the information office only to be told nothing opens until 10:30am. So we decided we didn't like castles and the coffee at home was probably better. After a stroll through the ancient market village of Marazion at the other end of the causeway, which confirmed to us that no one in this part of the world needs a coffee at this time of the day, we headed back home.  The day was warm and clear with only a light breeze so the walk was very comfortable.

After an early lunch we set off again, this time in the car to a nearby coastal village of Lamorna for a clifftop walk followed by a couple of 5000 year old relics. Lamorna is an ancient fishing village perched on the sides of a rugged cove - similar to the Cinque Terre in Italy.  As earlier described, carparks are at a premium and here we had to pay 7 pounds for the privilege of leaving the car for the afternoon. The carpark even had its own carpark nazi all dressed in black with binoculars to survey his two carparks.

The 'walking track' and a thingy washed up from a recent storm

The walk was spectacular following the South West Coastal Walk over steep and dangerous cliffs, along boulder strewn beaches and over babbling streams into thick beech and oak forests.  Only farm houses interrupted the dry-stone walled lush fields flowing down to where we walked.  

Boskenna Cross (right)

After leaving the coast we then came across Boskenna Cross on the side of the road.  The Cross dates from the 11th or 12th century and is a dressed granite wheel-headed monolithic cross with a short integral shaft set over a later round shaft and socketed into a stepped round base made of two granite monoliths - just look at the picture. 

The face of the cross displays a figure of Christ with his arms outstretched and feet pointing outwards. The reverse shows a four-limbed cross with expanded ends formed by cutting away at each end four triangular areas.  It hasn't fared very well in recent times being  hit by a truck in the war and during thick fog in 1991.  They keep moving it to a new location each time it is hit, presumably so no one knows where it is so it gets hit again. 

Next was the Tregiffian Burial Chamber located a couple of 100 metres down the road and, in fact, partly under the road.  This is a 5000 year old rare passage grave.  It is believed to have been very sacred and probably used for up to 1000 years.  All the more reason to put a busy road over the top of it.

Next were the Merry Maidens Stone Circle - again just a 100 metres or so down the road but safely away from the road in a paddock.  This, thought to be a complete 5000 year old or more stone circle, is 24 metres in diameter with 19 stones around 1.2 to 1.4 meters high.  Two more taller single standing stones appear in farm paddocks over the other side of the road.  These are somehow related to the Merry Maidens but how or why is lost in time.

Merry Maidens

During our visit to this remarkable site we gave a German lady and then an Alaskan couple some directions and we were on our way.  If you read in the papers about a missing German lady or an Alaskan couple please don't mention this Blog.  

Easily finding our way back to the car we soon realized that we had done two walks for the day totalling 22klm and hadn't been lost. Getting ready to leave the 7 pound carpark we noticed the carpark nazi was leaving too - the Pay and Display ticket machine was out of order so it looks like he is out of a job for a while.

Thursday 12 June - the weather gods remain kind with an even better day today.  

Our target was the village of Pendeen in the heart of the Cornwall tin mining area.  Since 2150 BC and up until 1998 AD, for 4000 years this area has been mined for tin and copper.  One mine even travels 2.5klm under the sea bed.  Talking to a local who knows an old miner, he tells the story of when he started his shifts during storms and before the digging began that they listened to the boulders on the seabed above them rumbling back and forth as the giant waves headed towards the cliffs 2.5 klm away.  

The landscape is littered with old mine shafts, tailings, smelters and out buildings making this part of the South West Coastal Walk fascinating.

Crown Mine

Many of the mines are perched right on the edge of the high rugged cliffs that form this part of the coastline.  Our walk took us for 6klm each way through the old mining area.  The weather was just stunning and we decided to amend our walk map and directions from a circuit along the coast and up into the hills behind, to a longer return walk along the cliffs as there are coastal tracks everywhere making for a diverse range of things to see and visit.

We walked past numerous abandoned stone smelters and engine buildings as well as along steep cliff paths and picturesque coves.  One of the best relics was the Crown mine built down on the waters edge in a craggy cove.  We climbed down and around the two engine houses here.

On the way to Crown Mine

The old mine extends for about 400 metres out under the Atlantic ocean; the deepest shaft is 250 fathoms (about 500m) below sea level. The mine opened in 1715 - again think Captain Cook and what Australia was doing at the same time.

Our day's outing was completed by having a Cornish pastie and Julie a crab sandwich for lunch on boulders on the edge of a white sandy beach at Sennen Cove.

local specialties - crab sandwiches and Cornish pastie

 I now realise why the English wear bathing costumes - so they can been seen on a white sandy beach.  Late afternoon they wouldn't need a costume as the sunburn would make them stand out. Realizing this latter fact we quickly finished our lunch and drove to and straight out of Lands End - England's most westerly point. The place is so commercial with buses, cars and people everywhere and did I mention the fun (?) park to boot.  

There are 1000's of Poms on this beach but you have to wait for the sunburn to see them all

Today was a great day and the weather had lot to do with enhancing a fascinating experience in the Cornwall coastal tin mining area.

Friday 13 June - to the most southerly point of Britain.

Yesterday's weather was perfect and todays was even better.  

Setting off at 7:15am and arriving in The Lizard village (that's right The Lizard) we parked our car in the huge but empty carpark in the centre of the town.  We set off on today's walk to visit the most southern point in Britain, or England, or the United Kingdom, or the Commonwealth - anyway we were going for a walk down the bottom of Britain, or England, or the United Kingdom...... who cares!

Largely a coastal walk along rugged cliffs and headlands, the walk was breathtaking.  Basking Sharks and seals are said to frequent the shores of this storm and windswept coastline. They don't - it's all a con.  Our photos best show the beauty of this place so the following are just some:

The most southerly point, was most surprisingly non-touristy, unlike the most westerly point at Lands End.  It was unsigned but well supported by little shacks selling drinks and food.  

Most southerly point in Britain - Lizard Point

Fog horns at Lizard Lighthouse

We passed Marconi's Wireless Station where over 100 years ago he spent months fiddling with dials and things to eventually send a wireless signal to one other person in the world who could receive it.  Interestingly the message read "Am I at the bottom of Britain, England, The United Kingdom or what!?".

Mrs Marconi

The coast here is riddled with rocks and reefs and many a ship has come to grief. The National Coastwatch Institution Lookout has a building and a volunteer in it 365 days a year.  As we were passing the little building in which the volunteer is housed, we struck up an interesting conversation with the volunteer.  This is how we know know Basking Sharks and seals are a myth in these waters as he has never seen one in his four years perched on the best spot to see them.

Towards the end of the walk

We returned to our car in the now totally chockers huge carpark in the middle of The Lizard, with a slight detour to its "famous'' Fudge Shop.  Lunch was held in Porthleven at the Seadrift Cafe. 

With our fill of delightful local crab on a Bap (bread roll) we headed off in search of ancient Chun Coight and Fort - in a farm somewhere.  We couldn't find them!  Later at home we worked out we were only a couple of hundred meters away.  

So near yet so far

So needing our final fix of something ancient we found the 100 BC to 300 AD Chysauster Ancient Roman Village.  Managed by English Heritage, we wandered this remarkable snapshot in history.  About six houses (out of 10) remain wonderfully preserved high up on a hill behind Penzance.  

Looking for the microwave

Our favourite bungalow - large with beautiful seaviews (if there were windows!)

underground cellar

Each of the houses had a courtyard (for animals) and separate rooms off a main round room and obvious kitchen space.  Two metre thick walls make up the main outer walls and obvious garden space behind the houses are well, obvious.









So that's it for the south-western tip of Britain or England or UK or whatever.  The weather has been just great the last couple of days really enhancing our experience.

Tomorrow is moving day and we are heading to Charmouth, near Bridport (closer to London) still on the coast of southern England.  Who knows what type of internet reception we might have as the Cottage is quite remote.  Hope you enjoy the Blog, if not please email Julie with your suggestions.

Bye for now,


Jeff and Julie.