St Michael's Mount - a sort of pilgrimage

St Michael's Mount is deservedly one of Cornwall's major highlights. However, it attracts thousands of visitors, making parking difficult. So we decided to walk there as a kind of pilgrimage

We started from Perranuthnoe - there's plenty of parking, with just a small charge [NB we headed AWAY from Prussia Cove, not towards it as this seems to imply]

The coast path is very easy to follow - This is looking back to Perranuthnoe beach

Toadflax by the path (looks a lot like snapdragons) 

...and there was lots of this frondy fern-like shrub. 

Rounding a corner, our first view of the Mount

Rocks on the headland

 

At one point the path descends to the beach...

...where the low sandstone cliffs look rather unstable!

The final stretch is along the road through Marazion - there's a good footpath though

And many of the houses are very attractive

This is my favourite art gallery here

From Marazion beach, the causeway with many people walking it.

Despite the crowds, it's a fabulous experience.

Looking back to the mainland.

The National Trust gardens are only open on certain weekdays

The pillbox as a reminder of the island's wartime role

The castle looms high above

 Blue agapanthus looking across Mounts Bay towards Mousehole

Steep path to the castle

As there was so much to see in the gardens,...

...we decided that we would visit the castle another day. 

We had planned out trip to include a return by boat. 

...and this was our boat pulling in. The ride is £2 and very well worth it

People walking the causeway as it disappeared under the sea.

Back on the beach

The weather closed in as we walked back the same way

We did this whole walk in memory of my cousin Dave, who sadly died much too young. He lived near here and loved this beautiful place 

Today's walk: from Perranuthnoe to St Michael's Mount via the coastal path, and return. 6.25 miles of easy walking with great views. The National Trust website tells you (here) when the causeway is open. Allow a whole day for the walk, and to visit the castle and gardens. There are two island cafes, plus lots more in Marazion 

Misty monuments in West Cornwall - Men an Tol and Lanyon Quoit

On a dull August day in Cornwall, I decided to investigate Men an Tol - a mysterious holed stone on the moors around Zennor

It's on the road from Penzance towards Madron and Morvah. There's a roadside sign by a tiny former school 

...and places to park by this gate.

There was also a notice about the Lanyon Tea Room, of which more later

This should have been a view, but it's cut off by the mist

...and more mist - but you couldn't get lost ...

...as the path is very clear

We passed an old farmhouse

Another one, seemingly abandoned in the distance

We turned off, along a broad grassy track (with an old mining building on the horizon)

And there it was, in a circle

Men an Tol (translates as "the stone with the hole", which is hard to argue with)

As to its origins, it could be Neolithic or Bronze Age. It looks like it was once part of a stone circle. 

It is said that if you crawl through it, you will be cured of a bad back. I tried: it didn't appear to work. Alternatively, legend says it will help someone get pregnant, or get babies back from the elves, should they have been stolen. 

I have no evidence of this either way!

Husband peering through the mist in search of a view!

Inspired by the little poster, we visited the Lanyon Tea Rooms, in a farm outbuilding

The view improved a little as the mist began to lift: this is from the Tea Room window. Very nice cream tea with freshly baked scones still warm fromt he oven.

 On the map, there's a further anitquity nearby: Lanyon Quoit, right beside the Madron to Morvah road

There are steep steps over the wall - or a little further along, there's a gate!

Lanyon quoit - a Neolithic dolmen, or chambered tomb

The rough area around it was once a barrow

In the 18th Century, it was tall enough to ride through mounted on a horse
 

But the tomb fell down and one of the stones was badly damaged, so on re-erection 20 years later, there were only three supports, not four

...and you definitely couldn't ride through it on a horse any longer.

So, it has changed over the years, but makes a pleasant, easily accessible place to visit. And as if by some magic, the moment we decided to go home, the sun broke through the clouds 

Today's walk: It's 1.5 miles return from the road to Men an Tol, and Lanyon Quoit is by the roadside, about 2 miles away.  They could easily be combined into one walk on a better day, with a stop at the tea room. Men an Tol is about 8 miles from St Ives, but couldn't be more different, on the wild and lovely moors. Highly recommend a visit.