St. Michael's Mount

Wednesday
Today looked like it was going to be the best of the week, so we thought it would be a good day to visit St. Michael's Mount. St Michael's Mount is a tidal island 400 yd off the Mount's Bay coast. It is linked with the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway of granite setts, passable at low water. Around two thousand years ago the island was a thriving port for the booming tin industry. Trading ships sailed into the Mounts harbor and exported Cornish tin to the rest of Europe. Religion followed the traders: an apparition of the Archangel St Michael is said to have been witnessed by fisherman in 495 and by the sixth century AD it is thought that the Mount was a thriving religious center. After the Norman Conquest, the abbey was granted to the Benedictine monks of Mont St Michel in France. The church on the island?s summit was built by the French Abbot, Bernard le Bec, and through the Middle Ages the Mount became a major pilgrimage destination. Today, the castle is home to the St Aubyn family,
descendants of the family who have resided in the castle since the 17th Century. The St Aubyns came to the Mount in 1647, when Colonel John St Aubyn was appointed Governor of the Mount following its surrender of the Mount to Parliamentarian forces. Twelve years later he purchased it from the Bassett family and it became his private home. In 1954, Francis St Aubyn gave St Michael's Mount to the National Trust, retaining a 999-year lease for the family to live in the castle.

Unfortunately low tide didn't come at a suitable time today for us to walk the causeway, so we had to go by boat. We climbed the cobbled pathway up to the castle, enjoying the wonderful views from the top, then explored the castle and the priory church. Unfortunately we didn't get to explore the gardens as they were closed. We had lunch there - Peter and I enjoyed a Cornish pasty - then wandered down to the village down by the harbor, past the seafront cottages which are still home to more than thirty islanders, whose jobs range from boatman to gardener, guide to handyman. Some of the families that live and work here have been on the island for generations - one islander can trace his roots here back 300 years. Although the causeway was still covered with water there were a few people trying to see how far they could get!

Back on the mainland we decided to go and have a look at Loe Bar near Porthleven. Loe Bar is a shingle bar created by storms which cut off the Cober Valley from the sea. The bar was formed in the 12th century and until then merchant ships could sail up the estuary as far as Helston. Loe Bar holds back the waters of Loe Pool, the largest freshwater lake in Cornwall. It was still a lovely afternoon at this point, and knowing that the weather was supposed to deteriorate the next few days, Roger and I decided to walk back from there, enjoying the views from the cliff path. In the evening we ate at Peter and Judy's flat, helping them to clear out their fridge, since tomorrow we will eat out again, and they are returning home on Friday.

One year ago: Watchful mother