2024 – England – Cornwall – Lizard Peninsular

The Lizard Peninsular was a new part of Cornwall for us and we had a week booked in the village of Coverack on the eastern and more sheltered side of the Lizard as our base. Our accomodation was again an Airbnb this time a self contained studio at the back of a large bungalow in a quiet cul de sac, a pretty garden with lots of birds and grey squirrels. Excellent accomodation, lots of extras provided, home baked lemon drizzle cake, bottle of NZ Sauvignon Blanc, kitchen foil and cling film, just the sort of extras so valuable when you are doing some self catering.

We planned to do some more coastal walks, have a bit of a look at Falmouth and the Maritime Museum, check out one of a number of lovely Formal Gardens plus a general explore of Coverack and adjoining Cornish villages like Cadgwith Cove.

Coverack sits on a lovely bay sheltered by the coast from the westerly winds. It has a tiny high walled harbour tucked into the south- western corner , a gently sloping sandy beach and rock pools at the northern end. We did actually get brave and had a swim in the bay – no wet suits – and the English Channel seawater was crystal clear and refreshing!

Not knowing the area, we had done a bit of pre visit reading and decided for one of our walks, a nearby 7km loop that had the fishing village of Cadgwith as its centre. If you have ever seen the TV Series Doc Martin, you may be familiar with the North Cornish village of Port Isaac. Cadgwith is just as attractive but much smaller. It has one steep street into and out of the village and all that one could wish for from a very pretty Cornish working fishing village.

The Cadgwith Cove Inn was recommended to us, and we decided upon it for a fresh fish supper, on Tuesday that also was the evening of a “music in the round” folk session in the bar. So after an excellent supper – “fish fresh from our boats in the Cove”, we settled down in the bar, chatted with other visitors and joined in with a fantastic folk music evening. Another day, we came back to the Inn for the “best fish chowder ever”, and then purchased some “own boats” fresh crab meat for consumption back at our accomodation.

You can see from the photos that the houses have both slate and also thatch roofing. Some of the more exposed thatch roofs have chains across the top of them to apparently hold them down in strong winds.

Our Cadgwith loop walk, is referenced on the Ordinance Survey App, as the “Serpentine Route to Cadgwith”. This is a reference to the Serpentine rock that was mined in the area and used for many domestic & commercial purposes, until it was found that industrial pollution degraded the Serpentine rock and it was replaced by Italian marble. Then the old mine buildings became used for the Pilchard fish preparation, salted pilchards in barrels in the 19th Century then a thriving export to Italy – fish one way and marble in return!! The walk route took us through the villages of Ruan Minor, Poltesco and Cadgwith, and up and down some stunning coastal pathways , with gorgeous views.

You may have picked up from some of these blogs that not only do we “love a good church’, but we also enjoy a wander around a formal garden. A thirty minute drive from Coverack along narrow windy Cornish roads we come to the Helford River. A short ferry ride and then a 2km walk gets us to Treebah Gardens. Set on the northern slopes of the river the Gardens have been developed by a succession of owners including a Mr Healey, whose engineering expertise together with a Mr Austin, created their namesake motor cars. Big trees dominate the flanks of Treebah Gardens, overlooking the centrepiece a series of streams trickle past magnificent rhododendrons, hydrangeas and gunnera displays. Visiting in July the rhodies were finished, but the hydrangeas were totally magnificent. From stunning white flowers, through the full range of pinks to deep blues, the hydrangeas set off a “Monet style” bridge perfectly.

Our Wednesday dawned a bit grey and cool, so we headed to Falmouth to check out the National Maritime Museum, which had been recommended by our Coverack hosts. Falmouth has been a critical port centre for the UK for centuries, both for the Royal Navy and Commercial Shipping due to it having the first and last deepest sheltered port for shipping coming to or leaving from the UK for the Atlantic.

We spent a morning at the Museum, it had a real mix of exhibitions – from some stunning seascape/lifeboat paintings from Kurt Jackson, a great children’s toy sailing boat pond, a display of sailing boats and a whole section on the fishing & general maritime history of Falmouth. I found the section on the “Packet Brig” – see model in pic – really fascinating. These sailing ships were designed for the delivery of mail for the UK Post Office. They were eventually superseded by steam ships of the Peninsular Steamship Company – P&O for the Middle and Far East – and Samuel Cunard won the North Atlantic contract.

Heading back to Coverack we visited the Seal Sanctuary in the village of Gweek at the upper reaches of the Helford River. Here young rescued seals are cared for until they can be released back into the wild. Other seals with permanent disabilities – eg blind, have a place to retire to. They do similar work with puffins and have an area for beavers. The seals are kept in a series of pools which is sad that they are in captivity, but in the wild they would just not survive.

It’s coming to the end of our week on the Lizard Peninsular, we drive to see the Lizard Lighthouse & Coastguard Station but it was closed to the public. Returning to our base at Coverack, we head down to the bay, walk to the harbour and the old Lifeboat Station. This had been converted into a restaurant / bar/ fish & chip takeaway – a great view of both the harbour and the bay, it was brilliant. Yet again locally caught fish and each meal – my Penang Curry, Sue’s Seafood Lasagne ( unusual the use of fish, but it really worked) both just overflowing with fish – brilliant and perfect with a nice Cornish beer!

Time to leave and head back to the family in London. After 7 days of good weather, the forecast for our Saturday departure is for rain, low cloud and cool temperatures. Our host recommends packing the car on Friday evening which we do and true to form, Saturday brings heavy rain and mist!! A 7 hour journey back to London , M5/M4 + a bit of earlier A roads in Cornwall, goes pretty well, but the holiday traffic heading towards Cornwall well outnumbers those leaving – yes UK Summer School Holidays have arrived.