My passion for Cornwall - Free2Read

EAST CORNWALLSt MawesSt Mawes, at the southern endof the Roseland Peninsula, wasan important port in medievaltimes and is now a picturesqueharbour with a small fishingfleet.It is protected by the bestpreserved of Henry VIII’s coastalfortresses in this area, St MawesCastle.The village remains a centrefor a range of watersportsactivities and offers two finesandy beaches. In St Mawesyou will find a range of pubs,cafes and restaurants, and someinteresting shops and galleries.The mild climate sustains someunusual flora and fauna and GullRock, off Nare Head, is hometo one of the largest seabirdbreeding colonies on the SouthCoast of England. Throughoutthe Roseland there is a widerange of places to eat and drink,with flower covered pubs andcream tea cottages.GweekThis little village, about threemiles from Helston, is hometo one of three National SealSanctuaries (the other two are inScotland and Norfolk).The Gweek Sanctuary wasfounded in 1958, when Ken Jonesfound a baby seal washed up onthe beach near his home in StAgnes. For many years Ken ranthe rescue centre from his homewhere he built a small pool to helpin the rehabilitation of seals andoiled birds.Over the years he became morerenowned for his work and he wassoon dealing with more and moresick and injured seals every year. Soin 1975 the Seal Sanctuary movedto bigger premises at Gweekwhere Ken slowly built up thesanctuary to what it is today.The Sanctuary now haswonderful facilities includingnursery pools, convalescence andresident pools as well as a speciallydesigned hospital with isolationpools and treatment areas.In addition to the Grey andCommon Seals, the sanctuary ishome to Fur Seals and Californianand Patagonian Sea Lions. It alsoprovides a much-needed havenfor a variety of other animals, suchas otters, penguins, sheep, poniesand goats. Occasionally theirfacilities and expertise are calledThe Lizard PeninsulaLizard Point is the mostsoutherly tip of Britain. Thearea as a whole is renownedfor craggy cliff scenery, woodedvales and windswept downs,unspoilt fishing villages andbeaches.Running from Gweek in theeast to Loe Bar and the Penroseupon to aid in the rescue of othermarine creatures such as Dolphinsand Turtles.The sanctuary is open all yearround from 10am. Closing timesvary throughout the summerso check the website www.sealsanctuary.co.uk/corn1.htmlHelstonFans of Sir Terry Wogan’s 1980schart hit The Floral Dance mustinclude a visit to Helston on theirCornish wishlist as this is thesong’s spiritual home.Every year at the beginning ofMay the Flora Day Carnival takesplace in the town and thousandsflock to the many attractions laidon as the Helston Town Band toursthe streets playing the famoussong.Estate in the west, almosthalf of it is out of bounds as itbelongs to the Culdrose RoyalNaval Air Station. The area ishome of the most spectacularscenery and geology ofCornwall. Serpentine stone – amarble-like rock used locallyto make ornaments – is uniqueMylorOne of the most enchantingvillages on the creeks of the RiverFal, it’s hard to believe now that200 years ago this quaint littleplace was a crucial shipyard, themost westerly Naval Dockyard inthe UK, and home to some of thenation’s great warships down theages.The village still has sailing at itsheart, but these days it’s a lot moreleisurely and much less aggressive.Mylor Yacht Harbour is at thejunction of Mylor Creek, the RiverFal and Carrick Roads and has amarina with 400 berths.to this part of Cornwall andis actually part of the earth’smantle, forced up to the surfacewhen continents collidedmillions of years ago.Lizard Town itself is a greatbase from which to explore thepeninsula – Lizard Point is aneasy walk away.Carrick RoadsFalmouth’s status as having thethird largest natural harbour inthe world came about as a resultof massive climate at the endof the last Ice Age. As globalwarming melted the world’s ice,the sea level rose dramatically andcreated the huge inlet.The Carrick Roads were alsoformed at the same time, amassive waterway created whenthe ice melt flooded a huge rivervalley. The result is a deep, widewater channel which is navigableall the way up to Truro.This natural phenomenon hasled to Carrick Roads becomingone of the UK’s most importantwildlife sites, particularly forwintering seabirds.Cornwall Tourism Magazine in association with www.cornwalltouristpass.com discover the extraordinary 41