Cornwall 2011 - 2015

Greenbank Cove, North Cliffs, Cornwall. View past Basset Cove to Porthcadjack, including Crane Islands, Samphire and Asparagus Islands and St Agnes Beacon in the distance! Yes, there is a path to the beach! (In fact there are two). But you need to be a local to know where to find them!

Above Basset Cove, North Cliffs, Cornwall

South West Peninsula Coast Path

The port for St Agnes, Trevaunance Cove has had a number of attempts at building and maintaining a harbour for ships loading tin and unloading coal for the local tin mine engine houses. Unfortunately, great storms destroyed every one!

Penzance, Cornwall, August 2012. St Michael's Mount in the distance.

Southwest Peninsula Coastpath, Porthtowan, Cornwall

The day started out foggy and ended up in brilliant sunshine. This was early on but there were signs of the fog lifting. Sea carrot is in the same family (the parsley family) as carrots but I have no idea if any part of it is edible.

These are Samphire and Asparagus Islands. I have never been sure which is which. I asked a local fisherman who had lived in Portreath all his life and he had no idea what I was talking about. He didn't know they had names! The unsentimentality of practical local people! Mid distance, Crane Islands and North Cliffs, Far distance, Godrevy lighthouse and Reskajeage. I used to enjoy walking between Portreath (a mile behind me) and Godrevy. 5 hours including a walk into Hayle to get the bus back, or 7 hours if I did half the walk at low tide, rock-hopping along the shoreline!

North Cliffs, Cornish coast

Samphire and Asparagus Islands. from the coast path, Carvannel Downs.

Pure granite coastline. Gurnard; a fish - and very tasty too, In French: triglidae, In Spanish, rubio. sounds wrong, Word Reference often is! The far headland is supposed to resemble the strange angular shape of the head of a gurnard.

The tin mines extended far out under the sea. Descent and ascent was by ladder or primitive rope cable cars. The accidents and deaths were many.

From above St Agnes Head. The islands are named Bawden Rocks on Ordnance Survey maps but traditionally known as Man and His Man, a much better name I feel! Good on black and full screen.

Prehistoric and brilliant. Unfortunately there are no contents now - tomb robbers very soon after and wild weather down the centuries cleaned this out but still ... What a terrific site for a tomb! Obviously someone much loved (or feared?)

South West Peninsula Coast Path, Cornwall

Granite and coastal platform. Bosigran and Rosemergy Farm. Cornwall - West Penwith typicity. Below is Carn Galver engine house. Tin was mined here between approx 1850 and 70. Rather late - Cornish tin was already being out-competed on price from East Asia. It was the end of Cornish tin mining to any meaningful extent. Also, the stone walls seen mid-distance here ('fences' in Cornish dialect) are thought to be the oldest extant man-made stone constructions - still used for their original purpose - of any in the world, at up to 8,000 years old.

Granite wall and stile.

This tunnel was dug to enable access between two small coves, each of which is used for fishing boats. Very near Land's End, West Penwith, Cornwall. For Pam.