LOCATION: Penzance
What's happening?
Love when the unexpected happens. We have had an itinerary in place, but @Nigel is now tuning into the highlights that really hit home for us and has made adjustmemts to the programme. The two major changes today, were absolute gold.
Had our breakfast leftover fruit in the "little" room and were collected by @Nigel at 8.30 for a big day with plenty to see and of course continued our story telling and folk songs analysis along hedged country roads now interspersed regularly with sweeping coastline views.
These drives are amazing. They are so narrow - but trucks, farm machinery, bikes, walkers and cars all share. Our journey is often punctuated with pull overs, stops and reversing. Have to be patient and gracious - everyone has to take turns. Mind you - im over the hedges! They are a constant interruption to my view.
The Adventure
A few highlights of the day:
St Ives: our welcome to the morning stop was this village on the coast which is a tourist hotspot. Needed to navigate a narrow roadway - already lined woth parked cars, to make our way to the harbour. The @McPhees made this a base for a couple of days and absolutely adored the community atmosphere, the hustle and bustle, the food choices and the beach views. For us - not so much. We were in for a flying 45 minute visit at 9 am in the morning. Not much open - really just the pasty shops, amd there were sooo many. Our visit was at low tide and under cloudy skies. Didn't really put the groove in our cockles!
It is home to five fabulous beaches, soft sand all exposed at low tide and turquoise waters. And yes, it is on the south west coastal path - the subject of the book is read "The Salt Path." And @Julie made me a series of three paintings based on the cover of this book - so I am very interested in any location where that the path can be seen.
Mousehole - pronounced mosel (like the wine!) - another beach town with a harbour viewed at low tide. Lots of little shops and still low tide under clouds.
The fascinating story here was about a shipwrecks. A cargo ship, the MV Union Star, lost engine power in hurricane‑force winds and was drifting toward the rocks. The Penlee lifeboat Solomon Browne launched into 60‑ft seas and 90‑knot winds to rescue the crew. They managed to save four people, radioing “we’ve got four off” — but moments later, all contact was lost. Both vessels were later found wrecked; no one survived.
Added a bit of a dampener to the morning.
The Botalack Tin Mine: This industrial landscape of engine houses, chimneys, and cliff‑edge shafts (the ascent to the mine, and then tunnelling undercover ocean... um, noway) define the scenery in this part of Cornwall.
Tin was the metal that built Cornwall’s identity, shaping its economy, landscape, culture, and global influence for more than 4,000 years. Combined with the mining of copper and even the production of arsenic, these incredible working conditions for men, women and children deep in the mines and then relentlessly on the surface, combined to the make the Cirnish people fiercely patriotic treating others (especially those from Devon) as foreigners.
The conditions for working in the mines - wow
The late eighteen hundreds collapse and closure of the tin mines meant that the majority of Cornwall's sons had to relocate overseas for employment. Their short life expectancy, poor working conditions and their intense longing for hone and family was the theme of the folk songs we shared today with @Nigel. "Mrs Chapman's Sons" tells the story of her loss of her nine boys- it was a tear jerker!
Towns we visited today like Camborne, Redruth, and St Just grew around the mines, developing a distinct working culture, legal system and traditions.
These traditions included the pasty which became the miner’s portable lunch, crimped so workers could hold it with dirty hands and throw away the edge.
The Minark Theatre: Didn't event know this place existed but so glad that @Nigel had recommended and that we had been successful in obtaining tickets online while we were driving around yesterday. This place was spectacular. Not just in what it presented as a reality- but the fact that someone had the foresight and vision to create this place.
In simplest terms, it is an outdoor theatre carved into the Cornish Coastline, just kilometres from Lands End, overlooking Porthcurno Bay. Sheer cliffs, smoothed boulder outcrops, turquoise water and golden beach. It is a working theatre - the stage is at the base of the cliff and the tiered seating is a series of grassed terraces surrounded by beautiful gardens and endless winding steps.
We had tickets to the last entry at 12 noon today. At 3 pm and 7 pm the theatre was host to two sold out shows with a house capacity of 550 each of "The Girl on the Train."
This unique open air arena was created by the vision, detrmination and labour of one extraordinary woman, Rowena Cade. The exhibition centre highlighted her struggle, genius and commitment to build the theatre. Still coming to terms with the fact that Rowena hand built the arena - hauling granite blocks herself up the cliff face!
Can only image how stunning a nightime show would be here - especially knowing how crazy the weather can be!!
As we were leaving on the narrow - and i mean NARROW- road, the matinee crowd was starting to enter. It was a one by one you go, no I'll go, someone has to back up little creep down the hill. Thank goodness for twilight - that little stretch of 80 metres would be part of the show time drama in the dark.
St Michael’s Mount: This was a race against time and tide - and we know they don't wait for anyone! We had to be at the ticket box by 3 to ensure we had time to cross the causeway in Mount's Bay before the rush of the turning tide at 3:30. Of course @Nigel had us in Marazion right on time and we comfortably made our way across this cobbled causeway for our stroll and obligatory CLIMB, up into the medieval castle.
St Michael’s Mount is a tidal island with a medieval castle and church perched on top. Once a monastery, later a fortress, it’s still home to the St Aubyn family. @Mac had a chat to the staff here and apparently the "elder" family members have recently vacated and it is now home to the youngest son amd his family. Access is of course by a steep cobbled path - one step at a time higging the railings got me to the top slowly while @Mac did a mountain goat climb at speed.
Twelve rooms were open (each woth a staff member to give details) and plenty of armour, chapels, sea views from balconiesand windows, gardens amd beautifully decorated rooms. All while marvelling at the speed of the rising tide and the magic act of the disappearing act of the causeway vanishing under the tide.
With the causeway now covered in water, needed to find a seat in the ferry boat for the short return ride to the beach.
Another unscheduled addition but so glad we had the chance to add.
More meandering through country lanes to get us back home to our "little" room. Decided to splurge at a restaurant this evening and scored the alcove at Hotel Penzance on The Promenade. A simple concept for the menu here- a set price for two or three course meal option and you choose from the half dozen offerings made for each course. Had the bonus of a fabulous staff member who kept us entertained and thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful.
It is what it is - but acknowledging again, that the prices in AUD are hitting hard on the wallet. We deiced a week ago to just "go with the flow" and make it part of the experience. But our two block walk home was a little rant by @Mac about the cost of the coke addition to his rums. He had a double rum, served in a small spirit tumbler with ice at £7 and the addition of his coke (which had to have been the equivalent of a quarter of cup) was £4. That was almost $8AUD for a dash of coke. He was on a roll, recalling The Anchor Inn had only charged him 20p for his coke.
Oh well, that worry all disappeared when we got back into our little room and he dropped the soap in the shower and had to open the sliding door so he could bend over to pick it back up! Seriously, I washed my hair and had to open the door so I could raise my arms. Getting so many laughs out of our room, the cost of coke quickly forgotten.
A moment 💋 for our vicarious adventurers the @Littlens
Survival Barometer
Steps: 14 605 - everything today was up amd diwn stairs!
Weather: 18 with some spots of rain
Can you believe that?
A little background from Co-Pilot.
🌊 The cliff for the Minack Theatre was carved by one woman… with a hand trowel
Rowena Cade didn’t just design the theatre — she physically carved it out of the granite cliff herself.She hauled sand up from the beach in sacks, mixed concrete in wheelbarrows, and etched Celtic‑style patterns into the wet cement with a butter knife.She kept building well into her 80s.
⚡ The archangel Michael supposedly appeared on St Michael's Mount… twice
The mount is one of Europe’s “Michael sites,” aligned in a straight line with Mont‑Saint‑Michel and other shrines.Medieval pilgrims believed the archangel appeared on the rock, glowing above the sea.Modern visitors sometimes report strange lights at dusk — probably atmospheric refraction, but still spooky.
"I've changed my hat for the theatre too!"
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