West Cornwall
St Ives and Penzance, probably two of the most well known towns in this part of Cornwall. Penzance having so much history and having been immortalised by Gilbert and Sullivan in their operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, is a land of rugged cliffs, sandy beaches and beautiful scenery.
Penzance enjoys the most temperate climate in the British Isles and attracts millions of tourists every year. It sits in Mounts Bay, the home of St Michael's Mount, now run by the National Trust, and probably photographed more than any other landmark in Cornwall. The light changes here every day, I never tire of visiting it at every time of day.
St Ives is on the opposite side of the West Cornwall peninsular from Penzance, with only about 8 miles between them. An artist colony for many years, it enjoys a quality of light seldom seen in other parts of Britain The harbour side buildings house some very interesting art galleries and St Ives is also the home of the Tate Gallery opened in 1993.
The town itself overlooks one of Cornwall's most picturesque harbours with a busy and popular beach, when the tide is out.
Newlyn, only a mile from Penzance, has one of the largest fishing fleets in the South of England and only the second largest in the country. It is also home to the Penlee Lifeboat.
On 19th December 1981 the Penlee lifeboat "Solomon Browne" was lost with all hands in hurricane condition while going to the aid of the Coaster "Union Star". In 1983 a new Arun class lifeboat Mabel Alice was placed on service on the 8th of May and in 2003 a new Severn class Lifeboat Ivan Ellen replaced it, which can be seen in Newlyn Harbour. I visit the harbour every time I am in Cornwall. In the summer it can be busy early morning with fishing boats unloading their catch and in winter the sunrise can be quite breath taking. Whatever the season I can usually find a good photograph.
Mousehole, (pronounced Mowzel) Can be found a couple of miles further on from Newlyn. A picturesque village dominated by its harbour, which also has a small sheltered beach. The village was sacked by Spaniards in 1595, all but one house were burned to the ground, the house still stands today.
Dolly Pentreath, reputedly the last person who spoke the Cornish language as her natural tongue, which died with her some 200 years ago, lived in Mousehole. A very popular tourist destination and due to its size very difficult to find somewhere to park, even very early in the morning, but always worth a visit.
Newlyn Harbour with the Ivan Elen Lifeboat