Cornwall 2

The following day we set off walking from our house, up the half-mile farm road to the "main" road in the area.

The Penwith Peninsula has many artifacts from prehistoric times, and we saw quite a few during our stay. Our first artifact was newer, a wayside cross, probably Norman, beside the road near the farm track.

Then just down the road we came to the Tregiffian Barrow. This is a neolithic chambered tomb, from around 4000 BC. It was uncovered during road-widening. An urn and cremated remains were found, making it possible to date it. The road now goes over it!

Soon after that, we came to the field with the Merry Maidens stone circle. The story is that 19 young women from Lamorna and St. Buryan came and danced instead of going to church on a Sunday. A lightning bolt struck, turning them all to stone.

After the Merry Maidens, we were walking through fields and over stiles, till we came to the road down to the coast at Lamorna Cove.

The pub in Lamorna is the "Lamorna Wink." The "wink" was the signal that contraband spirits were available. (Palm trees are common in south Cornwall.) Lamorna Cove is a small, quiet harbor.

Next came several very enjoyable miles along the coast. We were sometimes up scrambling over the granite boulders, and sometimes down at sea level on rocky beaches.

We passed above Tater Du lighthouse. The book had warned us not to be near it in fog, because the blast is ear-shattering.

We found a shelf of granite to sit on to eat lunch, with a view back to Tater Du lighthouse.

We turned inland at Penberth Cove. The road led past a pretty cottage. In front of it was a tall flower that we saw many times but never identified. It's odd-looking -- very striking. It grows at least 10 feet tall.

After stopping for much needed liquid refreshment in Treen, we went on, down to the beach at Porthcurno, and then up a very steep, little-used path to the Minack Theatre. We ended up bushwhacking through tall bracken. We didn't see the theater, because it had closed for viewing at 5 o'clock. People were already lined up for the evening performance. We headed back home at that point, rushing the four or five miles in order to clean up and get back to the pub in Treen (by car) for dinner. (We had checked that they served dinner till 9:30.) It was a great day!