The tip of Cornwall’s Lizard Peninsula is the most southerly
point of England. The cliffs rise to 70 metres (200 feet), broken by small
rocky coves, some of which house harbours and tiny fishing villages.
The rocks that form the Lizard are of great interest to geologists.
Serpentine is predominantly green in colour and can be worked into attractive
ornaments, which are less popular now than they were in Victorian times. The
parish church of St Wynwallow at Landewednack was built from blocks of granite
and serpentine, and the pulpit and font were both carved from serpentine. Landewednack
is the most southerly parish in England.
Soapstone is another interesting rock found here.
Popular coves include Mullion Cove, which has a picturesque
harbour and an island bird reserve, and Kynance Cove which has caves to explore
and a blowhole called the Devil’s Bellows through which the sea spouts when the
tide comes in.
On the eastern side of the Lizard are the villages of
Cadgwith and Coverack. The latter name is Cornish for “hideaway”, which refers
to the previous use of the area as a smuggler’s haven.
Offshore are the dangerous rocks known as the Manacles, which
have been responsible for many shipwrecks in the past. The tall spire of the church
of St Keverne was a vital landmark for ships in the Channel, and the churchyard
is the burial place of many sailors who failed to set their course correctly
despite the spire’s guidance.
Myths abound in a place like this, and these include stories
of mermaids. One tells of an old man who rescued a mermaid and returned her to
the sea, for which kindness she granted him three wishes. When his time came to
die she came for him and took him out to sea with her.
Whether or not you believe tales like this, The Lizard is still
a place of particularly grandeur and wild beauty.
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