Sennen - A Taste Of Cornwall Part One

SO, eventually I get around to telling you a little about my holiday in Cornwall.

I'm going to start with Sennen although we didn't go there until half way through our break it was SUCH a magical day.

Sennen is situated just along the coast from Lands End and is the most westerly point in mainland Britain.

SD and I cycled from our campsite near Porth Curnow through the winding lanes with hedgerows filled with plump blackberries warm in the summer sunshine. Last year the fields were full of cabbages and potatoes.  This year corn stood 5ft tall waving in the breeze.

By road were were only 3 or 4 miles from Sennen but wherever you go in Cornwall there are hills - boy, are there HILLS!!!

I'm not endurance cyclist so SD and I walked most of the hills and cycled a little past our turning so we could visit the  First and Last Inn a beautiful 17th century pub so called because it IS the first AND the last pub you come to before falling of the end of England.

After a restorative half of Doombar we headed back down the hill and had our first sighting of Sennen Cove:

SD had obviously shot ahead of me at this point and I found him at the bottom convinced I had fallen off or something (he seems to think that quite often ...).

All the pushing up hill was worth that glorious, wind in your hair, slightly terrifying, breathless sailing at a million miles an hour, eyes streaming blast down that almost vertical hill into Sennen!

The long stretch of white sand faces the Atlantic ocean experiencing the full force of the Atlantic swell making it a popular spot for surfers.

Sheltering under the Pedn-Men-Du headland is a village and small harbour largely untouched by tourism and maintaining it's old fishing village atmosphere.  Fishermen still ply their trade from the harbour and there is a working lifeboat station.

And there is the Roundhouse and Capstan Gallery:

A Grade II listed building it was constructed in 1876 to house the huge man powered capstan wheel which was originally open to the elements on the Sennen harbour beach. Originally part of the winding gear of a local tin mine before the advent of steam, the capstan was used to winch boats up and down the slip. The upper floor was used as a net-loft until it started life as a gallery in 1983. The Capstan Gallery on the lower floor still houses the old wheel which is now covered with glass and used to display artwork.

While (if Facebook is to be believed..) the rest of the country endured a wet and cold day WE basked in summer sunshine  hot enough for me to wander around in just shorts and a bikini top.

I left SD sitting on a bench on the seafront reading his magazine while I went exploring.

I'd really love to show you the photo I took of him now from the other side of the road.  He's sitting lengthwise on the bench with his legs stretched out and all you can see is his naked top half over the top of the bench.  He looks like he's sitting in a bathtub!  But unfortunately he has banned me from posting that pic and, although he doesn't read my blog I guess I should respect his wishes ...

Anyway!  I set off up Pedn-men-du (Black Stone Headland) to the Coastguard lookout at the top.  It's not much of a walk, just ten minutes up a moderately steep hill and well worth the effort!

The headland itself is beautiful and full of colour when it's in flower, a sea of yellow and red buzzing with bees and butterflies all around.

The Coastguard lookout was built in  1891 and renovated 100 years later and has spectacular views:

 I even took the obligatory selfie for you on my way down:

That's me waving at you ...

Although it was a beautiful day the sea was quite rough and the waves were crashing over the  the causeway:

Children were having fun standing in the lee of the causeway waiting for the waves to crash over them and some brave mad people even risked playing chicken with the waves to run the length of it trying to avoid the waves:

Some were not as successful as these and I saw several washed over the edge but they all seemed to be fine.

Together SD and I wandered around the village. There are some beautiful old cottages:

And we ended our day eating fish and chips on the harbour wall before setting off again (this time UP that bloody great hill!) and back to the campsite.

Because it had been such a perfect day we were a little later leaving than planned and the sun was going down.  The evening light was spectacular and I SO wanted to stop (every 5 minutes according to SD) to take photos.

There really is nothing like the light you get in Cornwall, it was almost liquid, it felt like you could touch it with your tongue and it would taste like saffron or you could scoop it up and bottle it in a jar and use it as a nightlight.

Unfortunately SD WOULDN'T let me stop and those moments are gone other than the pictures in my head but next year I wont be denied my photos I promise!

Tomorrow I will tell you more of my Cornwall and our visit to Penberth Cove and Porth Curnow, two more magical places.