UK Tourist & Leisure Attractions - Cornwall

Our Cornwall holiday cottage came with a built-in Mike to do breakfast (or was this an evening meal; there's a wine bottle there!).  We also ate out several times at the local pub in Ashton - more later.

So, off to Marazion in the warm Cornwall sunshine.  We arrived mid-morning and had to wait a while for the tide to recede so we could walk across the historic causeway to St Michael's Mount.

In fact we checked the tide times the week before in order to pick the best day to walk across to St Michael's Mount, and we hit the jackpot with the splendid sunny summer weather too!

Here's Belinda arriving at St Michael's Mount with Marazion on the other end of the causeway.  Marazion was a major Cornwall town in medieval times, now it caters for the constant summer tourist trade.

St Michael's Mount is topped by the Benedictine Priory and castle, within which the St Aubyn family live.  It's open to visitors (£7) but instead...

...we wandered around the amazing terraced gardens (cost: £3.50), full of tropical looking plants that thrive in the mild Cornwall climate.

The sub-tropical gardens on St Michael's Mount were a joy to behold, full of colour and scent.  Climbing the uneven cobbled steps up the steep terraces proved challenging, especially as there was a moderate breeze - and sometimes no handrail to grab on to.

See our collection of tourist resources for planning your holiday visit to Cornwall and elsewhere in the UK.

We crossed the cobbled causeway back to Marazion just as the incoming tide was lapping at the edges.

Once safely back in Marazion we sat far a while in the hot afternoon sunshine watching people trying to cross the causeway before the tide completely consumed it.  Boats run to/from St Michael's Mount at high tide, but that's cheating of course!  Our tip: if planning a visit be sure to check the tide times.

The next day of our Cornwall holiday was another hot one and so it was off to the Lizard Peninsula for a short sunny and sticky walk along the South West Coast Path from Mullion Cove to Poldhu Point.  Here's Belinda taking a shot of magnificent Mullion Cove from high up on the cliff.

Cornwall's Mullion Cove is a wonderfully idyllic spot and very 'Famous Five' we thought, what with its secluded harbour and Mullion Island just offshore.

The Cornwall coast is famed for its smuggling heritage and we could well imagine quiet Mullion being at the centre of the action in the olden days.

We enjoyed some breathtakingly scenic coastal views as we walked along the South West Coast Path from Mullion Cove; here's Mike looking out with Polurrian Cove in the near distance and Poldhu Point beyond.

A lot of Cornwall's coast path has unguarded steep drops - we wouldn't want to walk along here in poor weather!  But no problem on our walk, although with no shade the 30 degree heat proved draining.

Finally we hit our target - the Marconi Monument at Poldhu Point, erected to commemorate Marconi's 1901 feat from here when he sent the letter 'S' in Morse Code to St Johns in Newfoundland, proving radio waves could follow the Earth's curvature and paving the way for modern radio communication.

The Marconi Centre at Poldhu Point was a rather anonymous looking hut, but here we enjoyed a short video and look around the info panels.  It's run (part time - check opening times) by the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club and was significant for Mike as he used to be a radio ham in a previous life, callsign G4BFJ.

Phew!  After a such a hot and sticky day walking some of Cornwall's very scenic coast path, we took a refreshing shower back at our Ashton holiday cottage then headed out to the local pub, the Lion and Lamb for a well earned slap-up meal and drink.

So our Cornwall holiday continues on the next page with visits to Land's End, Geevor Tin Mine - and another hot walk, this time to Porthleven >>>

We enjoyed an extremely tasty Rump Steak at the Lion and Lamb - just look at those plates - washed down by a pint or three of the local beer and cider!