Cornwall III.

5-4-18 PENZANCE, CORNWALL, UNITED KINGDOM: After breakfast at Chapel House, we drove to Marazion on the Lizard peninsula, south east of Penzance. St. Michaels Mount is a rocky island at high tide, but connected to Marazion at low tide by a causeway. The tide was in so we boated out to the island. We were there for a couple hours and could almost walk back, but took the boat, which had to stop much further away from the pier.


St. Michaels Mount at high tide. It has been a pilgrimage site, a fortress and a tin trading post.

Steps begin the long climb to the castle. Pilgrims climbed the steps on their knees.

Wild flowers on the hillside.

Almost there.

The flag of Cornwall.

The site belongs to the National Trust at present, but the family is still in residence. There are great views from the castle. The tour includes several furnished rooms and the chapel.


A terrace with the flagpole.

The causeway beginning to emerge from the water.

The chapel, I assume that's St. Michael on the right.

The room to which the ladies retired after dinner.

The dining room itself.

After the castle proper, we walked down and did part of the gardens, which meant walking back up a different part of the hill. It is a very rocky rock garden. They had snow last winter for the first time in 30 years during a severe cold snap. There are photos of the snow. Many tender plants died from the unusual chill.


Garden plants and stones.

The garden  tour involves many steps.

Big succulent almost looks like a snail.

Onward to The Lizard at the end of the Lizard peninsula, the southern most point in Britain. The attraction there is Annie’s Pasty Shop for a meat and veggie combo wrapped in dough, a much-touted Cornish treat. We thought it was so-so at best, a drab calzone.


Pasty place.

We did a drive-by at Kynance Cove and then went on to Cadgewith. Cadgewith is a coastal town down steep road, we parked at car park at the top and walked down to the town, which was becoming a familiar MO. There are two harbor beaches separated by a rocky headland, thatched roofs, white houses, sheep on top of the hill, and a corrugated metal, blue church. We talked to a couple from Boston who were renovating an old house for a vacation get away. It’s a very long, long way from Beacon Hill.


Approaching Cadgewith from the hill, a tiny fishing village.

The harbor/beach on the right side. The other one had the boats.

Renovation on the left, thatched roof on the right, slate roof in the middle.

Thatched roof. Sheep pasture at the top.

Back in Penzance, we had dinner at the Cornish Barn and explored a bit more.


Here's a couple birds, Eurasian jackdaws and...

Eurasian blackbird with an orange eye ring.

Another pub on Chapel St. in Penzance.

Also a Chapel St. hotel.

Maybe there are pirates here.