April 29, 2024:
This was a wet rainy day in the Penwith Peninsula. The following are the highlights of our tour of the Penwith Peninsula, roughly following the suggested “Penwith Peninsula Joyride” described by Rick Steves (with several sites he suggested ommited from our tour, and a couple of sites added, e.g., , Lanyon Quoit, Mên-an-Tol).
Mousehole – We started our self-guided tour of the Penwith Peninsula in Mousehole, parking at the Mousehole The Parade Car Park, a short walk into Mousehole. We stopped at this car park to take a look at the Mousehole Rock Pool, but it was completely full, since it was high tide.
Mousehole rock pool was full since it was high tide
Mousehole Rock Pool at low tide – Photo: Cornwall Live by Chris Yacoubian
Brunch – We walked in the rain into Mousehole and had an excellent brunch at 2 Fore Street Restaurant, right next to the Cat & Mouse gift shop (closed when we arrived). The restaurant had homemade baked goods, as well as generous brunch portions.
Fitzroy Barometer – Per Rick Steves’ suggestion, we did check out the Fitzroy Barometer embedded in the outside wall of the Ship Inn Pub around the corner from 2 Fore Street Restaurant. Who knows how many lives were saved by its weather forecasting.
Fitzroy Barometer – Ship Inn Pub
Detail – Fitzroy Barometer Plaque
Mousehole Harbor – In spite of the high tide, many boats in the harbor were barely above water.
Mousehole Harbor
We returned to the main road B3315 and found on our left the…
Merry Maidens Stone Circle – The story behind the name, most likely concocted in the Middle Ages, goes like this: A group of village women decided to go into the fields on Saturday night for some merriment and dancing. They lost track of time and danced into the Sabbath—neither remembering it nor keeping it holy. This displeased God, who turned the women to stone to serve as a warning to others.
Getting There – We made our way from Mousehole Harbor to B3315, then headed southwest on B3315. One mile past the turn for Lamorna Cover, we found a small turnout on the left for the Merry Maidens Stone Circle, went over the stile and walked about 2 minutes to the stone circle.
Walking to the Merry Maidens Stone Circle from the B3315 turnout
Merry Maidens Stone Circle
Boskenna Cross – We returned to the car and continued southwest on B3315. On the left side of the road about a half-mile from the Merry Maiden Stone Circle we saw a Celtic cross (at the pull-out/intersection – marked Boskenna Cross on Google Maps).
Boskenna Cross
Our next stop was awe-inspiring because of the view (the stormy weather made it more so).
Minack Theatre – This open-air theater—with 700 seats carved out of the rock—has the most spectacular setting of any theater in England. This gorgeously landscaped theater is set in a rocky cliff with a terrace stage perched hundreds of feet over the sea.
Minack Theatre
While seeing a play is the best experience here (tickets are inexpensive and easy to get), we simply enjoyed the garden-like setting and the wonderful story of Rowena Cade, the amazing woman who created this theatre. A small exhibit on the history of the Minack Theatre included a 10-minute video about Cade, a visionary theater lover who persevered to build this place. There was also a cliff-hanging coffeehouse (accessible only with admission).
Rowena Cade – Founder of Minack Theatre
Getting There – We took B3315 west until it intersected with B3283 – then we turned left to continue on B3315 – turned left on The Valley – followed this road until we reached the Minack Theatre Car Park.
Cost and Hours – Open daily, except Wednesday-Thursday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm, £10. To visit the theatre and garden, you can also book by phone or online: +44 1736 810 181, www.minack.com/theatre-visit.
In the same town, we next visited the…
PK Porthcurno Museum of Global Communications – 150 years ago, the first international telegraph cable was brought ashore at Porthcurno, connecting Britain to India and later other parts of the British Empire. Prior to this, messages to India could take six weeks or more but telegraphic messages took nine minutes. Porthcurno Telegraph Station, or PK as it became known in telegraphic code, became the most important station in the world in the late Victorian era.
At its peak, 180,000 miles of cable came together here. By the time World War II broke out, 14 cables tethered this village to the rest of the world. In 1940, defensive tunnels were built to protect the telegraph station and cables from the Nazis – who were then just 80 miles away in France.
PK Porthcurno Museum of Global Communication
Getting There – From the Minack Theatre Car Park, we drove to the main Porthcurno Car Park (pay parking – 0 to 2 hours – £2.30), then walked to the PK Porthcurno Museum of Global Communications.
Cost and Hours – The telegraph history museum is open daily 10 am – 5 pm; £10.00, last entry one hour before closing.
K&D McFadden Butchers – St. Just – We were getting hungry for lunch, so we stopped in St. Just on Rick Steves’ recommendation tried some authentic Cornish pasties. They were delicious!!!
Cornish pasty
Getting There – From the main Car Park in Porthcurno, we returned to B3315, continued to A30, then drove on B3306 to the market square of St. Just – free parking was nearby on the square – 11 Market Square, St Just, Penzance TR19 7HD; +44 1736 788136.
Then, we braved the rain and wind to see the…
National Trust – Cape Cornwall – Cape Cornwall (Cornish: Kilgoodh, meaning “goose back”) is a small headland in West Cornwall, England. It is 4 miles north of Land’s End near the town of St Just. Until the first Ordnance Survey in the early 19th-century, Cape Cornwall was believed to be the most westerly point in Cornwall (now, Land’s End holds that honor). Open daily, 10 am – 5 pm, free, pay car park.
Cape Cornwall – memorial on the top of the hill
Across a grassy field were the ruins of the tiny sixth-century church of St. Helen’s Oratory.
St Helen’s Oratory
Getting There – We took the next left after the square, by the clock tower, and followed Cape Cornwall Road to reach Cape Cornwall.
Nancy didn’t see the next site, as it was a 30-minute round trip walk in the rain to see the worthwhile…
Mên-an-tol – The Mên-an-Tol is a small, unusual formation of standing stones in Cornwall, UK. It is about three miles northwest of Madron. It is also known locally as the “Crick Stone”. The name Mên-an-Tol means simply ‘holed stone’ and despite having been considered a significant and popular monument from a very early date, its true purpose remains a mystery. While its age in uncertain, it is thought to originate in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. Legend has it those with bad backs will be cured by crawling through the hole in the middle stone 3 times!
15 minute walk from the Daytime Car Park to Mên-an-Tol
Penwith Peninsula – Mên-an-Tol
Getting There – We took Cape Cornwall Rd to B3306 in Saint Just, turned left on B3306 until just past Morvah. Then we took an unnamed road to the right to the Daytime Car Park, Men-an-tol, Penzance TR20 8NT. From here it was a 15-minute walk each way to Mên-an-Tol (in the rain!).
Lanyon Quoit – Continuing for another 2-minutes on the unnamed road led us to see Lanyon Quoit on the left side of the road (there was a small pullout closeby). Lanyon Quoit is a dolmen in Cornwall, England, 2 miles southeast of Morvah. It collapsed in a storm in 1815 and was re-erected nine years later, and as a result the dolmen is now very different from its original appearance. It is still beautiful!
Lanyon Quoit
We now did an about face and returned to B3306, then made our way to our accommdation in Penzance. On the way, we had a major hold up on B3306 (no, not a train, but a large crossing of cows!).
Large crossing of cows on B3306
Our self-guided car tour of the Penwith Peninsula is over.