Along the promenade

Sunday 4 November, 2018

The sun has gone missing and I’m not hopeful of seeing it again this week, the breeze was light and the going good. Today, thanks the lunacy of yesterday, was a short 11 kilometres from the gorgeous Mousehole to Marazion, all in sight of St Michael’s Mount.

I definitely strolled this day: yesterday left me pretty sore and I had a rather restless night, even though my B and B was fantastic. I would come back to Mousehole for a few days just to wander around the district and enjoy the fantastic food in this part of Cornwall – even the pubs talk about local produce and fresh caught seafood, and you can believe it when you see the fleets at Newlyn and Penzance.

This is real seafaring country with a long history, as bits of history along the way testified. The plaque on the pub, and the lifeboat station that is now a memorial, are a constant reminder of the Solomon Butler disaster – the loss of the Penlee lifeboat crewed by volunteers from Mousehole while attempting a rescue in 1981. The story is really worth reading, and I was particularly moved by the part of the story where, after the loss of eight men, eight volunteers stepped forward to reform the crew. It is still called the Penlee lifeboat even though it is now moored at Newlyn and I was lucky enough to see it speed past.

Penzance and Newlyn are still working fishing ports, but the real charm is the stone buildings and narrow streets in the old towns along Mounts Bay. I’m sure the place is quite spoiled in summer, but it was a very pleasant stroll along the sea front, even if many of the cafes and ice cream shops were closed. Out on the bay, dinghies were racing in the light breeze, but it was all over by mid afternoon because the rain rolled in. Even though the castle is closed on weekends in winter, I could still have taken the amphib boat across to the island (the tide was in so the causeway was covered), but it really started to set in so I retreated to my digs and did some reading and writing.

Discovery of the day: crab sandwiches, locally caught!

There are so many interesting references in the area that I keep forgetting to write them down! I neglected to note that you can see the Scilly Islands from Geevor and from Lands End – easy to spot because there were rain clouds over them! The lighthouses and marks remind be of the explanation of “Spanish Ladies” in Peter Duck.

I haven’t really talked about the amazing number of lights and lighthouses along this treacherous coast. I could see the lights of Wolf Rock from Sennen and photographed Longships just off Lands End. I couldn’t see the amazing Bishops Rock, which has five thousand tons of granite to keep it from being washed away (and it needs it, if you have seen this picture). You needed to be tough to work the lights!

In response to Mum’s question about the relationship of Penberth Cove to Penberthy, it seems not. According to Wikipedia, Penberthy is a locational surname of Cornish origin, which meant a person from Penberthy Cross in Cornwall.^[1] Notable people with the surname include:

• Blake Penberthy (born 1969), U.S. Army Ranger
• Bob Penberthy (born 1943), British rugby player
• Beverly Penberthy (born 1949), American actress
• Bryan Penberthy (born 1976), American poet
• David Penberthy (born 1969), Australian journalist
• James Penberthy (1917–1999), Australian musician
• Joanna Penberthy (born 1960), Welsh Anglican bishop
• Larry Penberthy (1916–2001), American businessman
• Mike Penberthy (born 1974), American basketball player
• Stan Penberthy (1906–1989), Australian football player
• Tony Penberthy (born 1969), British cricket player

Penberthy Cross is midway between here and St Erth and has Penberthy graves. The local tin seam was worked out by 1840, according to Minedat, but is known as the Penberthy seam.

Tomorrow is potentially a good day if weather is not to bad, because I reach the Lizard, the southern most point of the English mainland.