Cornwall

Cornwall is a beautiful and rugged County which enjoys a sub-tropical climate courtesy of the Gulf Stream which bathes its South Western coastline. As a result it rarely has frosts in Winter and is ideal agricultural land for crops benefiting from these milder conditions. The downside is that its weather can be quite changeable and windy - the latter fact used to advantage by electricity companies who have hundreds of wind turbines across the county.

Also worth a look for tides, surf and sea temperature. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/coast_sea/

The best way to discover Cornwall is to follow this link which will take you to an interactive map of the county with brief information on over 60 towns and villages.          www.cornwall-online.co.uk/resindex.htm

Perranporth is on the North coast not far from Newquay. In keeping with Newquay and some other places on this coast it benefits from long beautiful flat beaches which as they face the Atlantic are ideal for Surfers; indeed Newquay's Fistral Beach is the UK equivalent of Australia's Bondi beach! Perranporth itself is in the parish of Perranzabuloe (St. Piran in the Sand) . In the sand dunes North of the Town is St. Piran's Oratory, said  to be the oldest place of Christian worship in the country. The remaining walls were buried in the sand for hundreds of years before being rediscovered in 1835. Today the remains have been encased in a concrete shell and reburied. St. Piran, by the way, was supposedly of Irish decent, banished from Ireland he came across the Celtic Sea on a millstone! and became the patron saint of miners; well that's the legend. The Western part of the dunes or Penhale Sands are owned by the Military and access prohibited, however there are still plenty of areas that can be explored including the cliff path and the Beach itself which is some 3 miles long and for much of its length deserted. The Dunes and coastline are designated as an area of special scientific interest and are home to many rare species of plant, insect and wildlife.

www.perraninfo.co.uk                  www.truro.cornwall.net             www.cornwall.gov.uk

 

Mining has been a part of Cornwall's history from as early as 1000BC. Up until about 1700 tin was really the only metal sought for in Cornwall but this quickly changed to include Copper, lead and Arsenic and indeed Gold. The general geology of the area is such that mining was to say the least a challenge; a challenge the Cornish rose to and to this day the expertise, inventions and technology they created are in use all over the world. Unfortunately whilst in the early 1800's Cornwall was the most intensively mined area in Europe the collapse of this long established industry was very quick with only one Tin mine still working today - and that at a very diminished level. Today this Heritage is being honoured by a bid to obtain status as a World Heritage Site placing it on a par with the Pyramids.

www.cornish-mining.org.uk

 

 

The following pictures are of Blue Hills Minining community near St. Agnes.	A view down the valley towards the sea.	One of the remaining chimneys and spoil heap.	One of the capped mine shafts - the grid allows bats to enter and roost.	The view around the headland towards St. Agnes.
The view towards NE	This typical engine house is at Pool near Camborne	Another chimney near Camborne.
		The Crowns at Bottallack.
These assorted views of "The Crowns" show the extremes miners went to. The shafts from these mines extended out under the sea bed.

 

The Eden Project, what can one say. It really is quite unique and a project that somehow caught the imagination of the public before it was even complete. It is probably true to say that it attracted more visitors who came to watch its construction than ever went to the Millenium Dome in London. Today it attracts thousands of visitors and is in the process of expanding further. The picture we have included below give an insight, the weblink will take you to the projects site where you can learn about the story, what they do and indeed use the webcams in the domes to see what is going on.

http://www.edenproject.com/

The Lizard has a distictive quality about it which makes it feel quite different to other parts of Cornwall. The geology is quite unusual and if you are interested worth reading up - to the layman though it is the end result which is of interest; a result which is quite beautiful. At its centre is a bleak plateau of uncultivated heathland punctuated by the Satellite Dishes at Goonhilly - the largest and busiest Earth Satellite Station. This area has long association with communications, pioneered by Marconi and the establishment of the maritime telegraph station at Bass Point and the transatlantic radio station at Poldhu. Further West near Lands End at Porthcurno many of the countries undersea communication cables come ashore. To the East is the Helford Passage an unspoilt wooded river estuary winding inland with many secluded Creeks. (The best known perhaps immortalised by Daphne Dumaurier - "Frenchmans Creek"). To the West the high rugged cliffs of the Lizard create the most perfect cove and beach at Kynance before gradually dropping away at Mullion. This rugged coastline is also the resting place of many shipwrecks which today are put to good use by scuba diving enthusiasts.

www.lizard-peninsula.co.uk

Tintagel - well you all know about King Arthur don't you? This was supposed to be his Castle. Whether or not any King with the name "Arthur" ever resided here is a matter of debate but for sure whoever lived here did not get many unwanted visitors.

 

 

Fishing

Padstow Harbour	Trawler at low tide at Padstow.	Padstow trawler.

 

Crantock looking out to sea.	Crantock - looking up the estuary
		Mevagissey harbour.
A misty day on Perransands.	More mist at Perranporth.	In the surf at Perranporth.
Lifeguard flag and surfers.
		Looking down on beech from dunes at Perranporth.

General link for all things to do with Cornwall.      www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall

Links to Scilly Isles.    www.simplyscilly.co.uk                 www.tresco.co.uk

Live web cam courtesy of Cliff Hotel, Penzance overlooking railway station and Mounts Bay. http://62.49.17.87:8000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last edited on the 11 May 2008 20:03:21