In January 2020 I wrote that Bedrock Cornwall Book III – The Lizard Peninsula – was soon to be printed, blissfully unaware that Covid 19 was about to blow in and put a spanner in the works. However, since the restrictions were eased, it has now been possible to publish the book.
The Lizard, undoubtably, is very special. It has a unique geology with wonderful displays of red and green serpentine rocks. Also, extraordinarily, a cross section of the earth’s crust and mantle is laid out flat on Coverack beach, so that you can walk across the Moho junction that is sandwiched between these two parts of the earth’s surface.
The Lizard has many fine beaches, some of them genuinely remote and seldom visited. It is also home to the Queen of all beaches: Kynance Cove.
Indeed it was visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1846.
The history of shipwrecks on the Lizard is both legendary and dramatic. There are many heroic tales told of outstanding bravery and selflessness of both crews and rescuers. Eleven of the wrecks are described in detail in the book.
An unexpected find on the Lizard is the important role it played in the development of wireless communication. Marconi was instrumental in this work and sent the first wireless message across the Atlantic in 1901. You can see the spot from where the message was transmitted and visit the nearby Poldu Wireless Station.
Other notable places around the Lizard are Poldark Mine where the best underground tour of a tin mine in Cornwall can be visited; the internationally renowned valley gardens of Trebah and Glendurgan; the prehistoric Halliggye Fogou, and way off the beaten track, St Wendrona Holy Well, the first building in Cornwall to be recorded as a scheduled monument in the late 1920s.
With staycations becoming even more popular, a holiday on the Lizard is full of interest and all aspects of the Peninsula are brought together under one cover in the Bedrock Cornwall Book III.