The Ham Nomads

2 Sep 2014. <GB-ENG> Mount's Bay, & Lizard Point, Corn —

Today was our chance to go over to St Michael's Mount. The day dawned beautifully, sunny and pleasant. We drove across to Marazion, a little east of Penzance, off which lies the island of St Michael's Mount.

The Gardens, from above

St Michael, in the chapel

A room in the castle

We parked in the carpark, walked along the waterfront to one of the docks where little boats put out for the Mount. (At low tide, you can walk out there on a causeway, but our timing was just not right for that — anyway, the boats are fun!) By the way, St Michael's Mount is very similar to Mont-St-Michel off the coast of France, and with good reason — in about 1080 the island was granted to Mont-St-Michel, so the two have a close history. In 1135 the building of the Church on St Michael's Mount was begun under the authority of Abbot Bernard Le Bec of Mont-St-Michel. With the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII the island began a long period of secular ownership (and is still in the hands of the St Aubyn family and the National Trust today). In 1588 the lookouts here were the first to spot the Spanish Armada, and the beacon lit here became the first of a long line of signal fires which ultimately alerted London of the Armada's arrival. We went through the castle and then through the church, both of which are in use to this day.

The causeway, underwater

Then we decided to go in a different direction, literally. Land's End was the complement of John o' Groats, one being the furthest southwest, the other the furthest northeast, on the British Mainland. But we had also been to Dunnet Head, the furthest north, so the furthest south is — wait for it — Lizard Point, just a little south-east of Penzance. So we drove down there, to a very pleasant surprise.

It is not commercialized like Land's End, and there is a lighthouse here, one of the most important in the UK, being the main light at the eastern end of the English Channel. It has an intensity of 8 million candle power, and a range of 26 miles. It's also used as a major ground station for the world's GPS grid.

We went on a tour of the light with its current attendant — this is one of the few operational lighthouses that you can go into. While we were looking over the lighthouse,

we were overflown by a couple of helicopters from the nearby RNAS Culdrose, which operates the search and rescue service in this area, but also operates antisubmarine surveillance. The helicopters had slung beneath them pods with sophisticated surveillance equipment. We also watched a navy vessel powering its way past.

We then left Lizard Point and drove towards Falmouth. Perhaps we will drop in and look at Pendennis Castle there tomorrow, but in the meantime we've found a good layby off the A394 on the way, and are spending the night here.

Distance driven — today, 47 miles ( 76 km ); to date, 6,893 miles ( 11,094 km )