The Lizard Revisited 2022: Part 4

Shout it out loud! The sun shone today. Just proving that it isn't always raining in Cornwall. Time to hit the Coastal Footpath for the first time on this break.

A straightforward walk - out of the door onto the coastal footpath and head towards Mullion Cove. Then inland to Mullion and back via Poldhu Point. At just over 5 miles, it was good exercise.

We started off with a competition - how many dogs can you spot on the beach? I can see at least 10. More dogs than people, in fact.

Looking towards the Trewoon complex. We are staying in the cottage on the left. Very, very nice.

On the coastal footpath just below the Poldhu Nursing Home/Poldhu Hotel looking westwards towards Mount's Bay and Penzance. Actually with views like this, I think I'll put my name down on the waiting list for a bed in the home.

The visibility was not particularly good but St Michael's Mount is clear enough.

This lichen covered monument was erected in November 1937 by the Marconi Company , to recognise the pioneering work of Guglielmo Marconi and his research experts and radio engineers at the Poldhu Wireless Station between 1900 and 1935. In 1923 and 1924, Charles Samuel Franklin, inventor of the Franklin beam aerial, directed his short wave wireless beam transmissions to Guglielmo Marconi on his yacht 'Electra' cruising in the South Atlantic. This laid the foundation of modern high speed radiotelegraphy.

The swirling sea always accompanies a walk on the coastal footpath, which comes as no surprise as the clue is in the name. Pretty dumb thing to mention, really.

Poldhu Cove. Yet another beach that takes a lot of getting to so probably doesn't get too busy when the sun shines.

To the left, where we've come from. To the right, where we are going. In the middle, to parts not on our itinerary.

We come across many benches with memorial plaques on them. Some are more poignant than others, like this one just above Mullion Cove.
Lee Rendall, who came from Mullion, died after the moped he was riding collided with a single-decker bus. He suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske after the accident where he died. The accident happened close to the entrance to the Mullion Golf Club, just up the road from where we are staying. Lee left behind his pet boxer dog of 14 months, Amma.

A deserted Mullion Cove. Presumably the fishing boats were all at sea.

Mullion Church is dedicated to St Mellanus who was bishop at Rennes (Capital of Brittany) and died in the mid-sixth century. He is also honoured at St Mellion just down the road from where we live and St Mellons in Wales, just down from where Mrs P and I were in secondary school. The church is thought to be no older than the 13th century and this is the date of the font. The north and south aisles are later additions and the north door has a round arch, like a Norman arch, but in this case dating from the 16th century.

The three aisles of the church are rather dominated by the full width 20th Century rood screen. It is a masterpiece of wood carving (to my uneducated eyes) but it does seem to cut the three altars off from the congregation. But that was what the screen was intended to be - a barrier between the priest and the congregation.

Attractive though the rood screen is, I think the principal beauty of the church is the old oak seats. Dating from the 16th Century, they are traditionally supposed to have been carved from timber from the ancient forest, now Goonhilly Downs. On the front of the east-end pews of the nave there are the symbols of the Passion. Other pews include representations of the crucifixion, and Renaissance figures fancifully interpreted as Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate and many others. Well worth making a detour to see these.

The east window in the chancel - the Adoration of the Magi, dating from 1850. There is some evidence that 'ancient' stained glass was incorporated into the design. 

The stained glass in the North Chapel east window, showing Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Dating from 1892, it is dedicated to one of the Robartes of Llanhydrock.

Fascinating to look at but not very comfortable to sit on. Good thing traditional services mean lots of bobbing up and down.

There must be an army of volunteers who spend time polishing all of the wood. An on-line guide to the church says "the moment the door is opened the sense of smell is pleasantly alerted; for Mullion smells of good polish, a mixture of beeswax and linseed which speaks of years of attention and affection". I think it still does.

In the South door there is a small hole at the bottom - the so called ‘Dog Door’ put there to allow farmers’ sheep dogs to leave when they had had enough of the service. 

I've already mentioned the connection of Marconi to Poldhu Cove and this information board says it all. Click on the image to enlarge it and read all about it.

Despite being the site of such pioneering work, the present day appearance of the 'radio' field belies its significance.

A Chough.

Not a Chough but a Jackdaw.

A rear view of a Kestrel. It refused to turn around and let me get a good look at it.

A Robin enjoying the sun.