I went to Cornwall a while ago, and it's time to blog about it again.
Mousehole
Mousehole has a curious name, and its origins are uncertain. Perhaps it's simply due to where it's located, in the middle of a bay, a charming little Cornish village. This is where the last traditional Cornish speaker, Dolly Pentreath, lived; her tombstone can be found in Mousehole, though we didn't visit, likely because we didn't know this. Reassuringly, though, Cornish is being revived, though it's not as major a language here as English is, in fact I was surprised to see there's no Cornish on many road signs in Cornwall.
Mousehole has a lengthy history as a fishing port, indeed it still is that way. A cluster of streets surround a beach by which the boats lay, and when we arrived some people were fishing too, late into the day. This may be why, in 1595, a Spanish army raided Mousehole, causing extensive damage. Only one building went unharmed, and it still stands to this day. It's Keigwin Arms, yet I didn't know this, so I didn't photograph it.
The village has a high communal spirit, with children playing rounders in the street - a rare sight in London, I imagine - and when we arrived, it was hard to not notice the large gathering around the port. It turns out that the Mousehole Male Voice Choir were holding a concert, and most came to support them. A large notice asked for donations, whilst they sang standards quite impressively. The choir has been around since 1909, and have recently released a new CD, and if you like Christmas music, they have a few of them too.
If you peer over the coastal wall, you'll see the unassuming St Clement's Isle, apparently once home to a hermit, though I can't find much information about it. You can vaguely see a Celtic cross on the island, though, and on a good day, the southernmost point in Great Britain, Lizard Point, is also visible.
Lizard Point's name could be derived from the Cornish for "headland" or "high court", and both etymologies describe it well. It's the property of the National Trust, as with the rest of the Cornish coastline, and is decked out with various small cafes. The first time I visited Lizard Point, two years ago, I bought a scone from one of them, probably went jam first, and couldn't understand the hype surrounding them.
Otherwise, this is a lovely bit of coast. Seals swim about in the Channel, this time less visible than before, and seemingly dolphins and sharks often appear here too. It has naval history as well, this being the first place the Spanish Armada was sighted. 130 Spanish ships made it all the way here, though only 64 returned, and the armada was resoundly defeated in the coming years. Sadly, four Falmouth fishermen went missing in this skirmish, as this blogpost describes - it's worth a read.
Out in the distance lies the lighthouse, and a promenade-like structure leads out into the sea by Polpeor Cove. Much further down the coast is Lizard Wireless Station, which was one of the first used by Gugliemo Marconi which led to the first radiowave transmissions - unfortunately, I didn't visit. Beyond lie a series of rocks, and France obviously. The more northern Lizard village has various gift shops, all seemingly selling Cornish ice cream, souvenirs, and other tat.
Porthcurno
To the west of Mousehole lies the village of Porthcurno, which similarly to Lizard has a history in telecommunications. It has a Museum of Global Communications, and is the first location where transatlantic telegraph cables meet Great Britain, and as you walk from the car park towards the beach, you can see a row of telegraph poles and cables starting their route. Initially Falmouth was to take this accolade but the ships at Falmouth's port posed a risk to the cables.
Porthcurno, on the other hand, is hidden in a bay and has an impressive beach to boost. Cliffs surround it entirely, as my photos reveal, and many basked in the lukewarm sunshine. A storm in 2001 exposed the old telegraph poles on the beach, and it's funny to think they lie beneath your feet.
If I opted to walk up a lengthy staircase, I could have seen the Minack Theatre, located at the top of one of these cliffs and hosting a Shakespeare production that day, though I didn't. Looking at images, though, I'm disappointed I didn't, it looks magnificent. It was built by one woman in the 1930s, too, and the coastal views are great as well.
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| Minack Theatre on cliffs |
By the Porthcurno museum car park lies an octopus installation called Morgy. It's intended as a communication tool, but signs suggested you couldn't come near it. But over all, Porthcurno is a wonderful beach, and I regret not visiting more of it.
If you want to read more about Porthcurno, read this curious post. If you prefer to listen to audio, Radio 4 visited the museum.
Distant Days Out in:
Super!!!!
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