The beach at Perranuthnoe is also known as Perran Sands, but so is the much more well-known one at Perranporth, so the name only tends to be used in a very local context. The name is accurate in that the beach is sandy at low tide, with relatively little shingle compared to many of the neighbouring beaches. Winter storms can reduce the amount of sand by either throwing up shingle or dragging the sand out into the bay, but it usually returns relatively quickly. At high tide, the beach is almost entirely covered by be sea, but on a low spring tide, the beach stretches for nearly half a mile - most of the way to Trevean Cove.
The village of Perranuthnoe is thought to get its name partly from the church being dedicated to St Piran and partly from the name of a mediaeval manor that was once here (Uthno). During the 13th Century, the manor was acquired by the Whalesborough family from Bude, and remained within their extended family for a number of centuries. The settlement in its current location dates back at least to Norman times when it consisted of 8 farmers, 7 villagers and 3 slaves. From the names of some of the fields, it is thought that the area has been settled since prehistoric times and throughout the Roman occupation.
The muddy cliffs along the bay are known (by geologists!) as periglacial head deposits.
During the last Ice Age, sea levels were lower due to all the water trapped in ice and Mounts Bay was part of the land. The ice sheets stopped at the Bristol Channel, so Cornwall was under permafrost most of the year, apart from summer days where the sun melted the frost to create a layer of surface mud. Pieces of slate within the soil were shattered when moisture within them re-froze and expanded. The small shards of stone then sank through the mud to collect in a layer on top of where the soil was still frozen.
The beach is technically part of Perran Sands, but is separated by the rock outcrop on the right until the lowest point of the tide. Although the beach is quite rocky, an area of sand is revealed on the right-hand side of the beach towards low tide.
The name "buttercup" is thought to have come from a mediaeval belief that cows eating the flowers gave butter its yellow colour. In fact this couldn't be further from the truth as the plant contains toxins which make it taste acrid and is therefore avoided by grazing animals.
The efficiency of the chemical processes that plants use to metabolise nitrogen compounds varies with pH (acidity). In soils that are too acidic, many plants have trouble absorbing nitrogen (apart from specially-adapted ones known as "ericaceous"). The ongoing decomposition of plant matter into humus within the soil creates acidic compounds. Some soils contain rocks such as chalk and limestone which will react with the acid and neutralise it. In Cornwall, the beach sand includes a high proportion of seashell fragments which contain the same chemical compound as limestone.
The name "blackthorn" is just a general reference to the dark colour of the bark, rather than anything specific to do with the thorns which are not any darker than the rest of the wood. It's primarily a comparison with hawthorn where the bark is lighter (in fact hawthorn is also known as "white thorn" despite not having white thorns). Just to confuse things further, the flowers of blackthorn are whiter than hawthorn!
In spring, look out for the "tents" of lackey moths on the blackthorn.
Lackey Moths are so named due to the brightly coloured caterpillars resembling a footman's livery. They are part of a family of "tent caterpillars" who spin their own silk greenhouse to keep them warm during the early spring. These have several compartments separated by insulating air gaps so the caterpillars can move between compartments to reach a comfortable temperature depending on the outside temperature and amount of sunshine. On sunny days in May, keep a look out for the caterpillars emerging from their tents.
The English Channel is a relatively recent name. The Saxons called it the "South Sea" (their "North Sea" still remains) and then became known as the "Narrow Sea" until the 18th century.
The nutritiousness of nettle leaves makes it a preferred food plant for the caterpillars of many common butterfly species including the red admiral, tortoiseshell, peacock and comma.
Alexanders are very salt tolerant so they thrive in Cornwall's salty climate. They are just as likely to be found along coastal footpaths as along country lanes. New growth appears in the autumn so during the winter, when most other plants are dormant, it is a dominant source of greenery along paths and lanes in exposed coastal areas.
From geography lessons at secondary school, you'll probably know that wave-cut platforms form where waves hit the cliff face and create a wave-cut notch into which the cliffs above eventually collapse. The reason the cliffs are eroded faster than the platform below them is more in the realms of physics:
Nevertheless, the platform does slowly erode. At Porthleven it is estimated that the platform is eroding at a rate of 1mm every 5 years.
The walk continues on the path leading directly ahead
The rightmost path along the hedge leads to the beach via a gate which you may want to explore first.
To continue the walk, follow the path ahead to reach a kissing gate.
The access to Trevean Cove is down a gully that was once a slipway used to haul small fishing boats off the beach, as at high tide, there is little or no beach depending on neap vs spring tides. At low water, the beach is a mixture of sand and shingle between the rock outcrops. As with many of the South Coast beaches, periods of calm weather during the summer tend to settle out the finer sand onto the surface and bury the coarser shingle, whereas winter storms mix everything up again.
The large building on the skyline is Acton Castle.
The four storey castellated mansion known as Acton Castle was built in the 1770s by the botanist John Stackhouse so that he could study marine algae on the nearby beaches. The house was extended in the 20th Century by adding two matching wings either side of the original central structure, with a turret on each end.
Stackhouse Cove consists mostly of flat rocks with some rockpools, however there is a sandy inlet which makes it easy to get into the sea for swimming or snorkelling. The cove is named after John Stackhouse who lived at Acton Castle during the 18th Century and carried out his studies of marine algae on the beach, publishing his illustrated work, known as Nereis Britannica, in 1797. At low tide it's possible to walk along the rocks to Porth Samson.
The path to the beach is on the far side of the cove.
Many butterflies taste/smell using chemoreceptors on their feet and antennae. They can detect a sugar solution (nectar) with their feet that they can feed on. Female butterflies also detect suitable caterpillar food plants on which to lay their eggs.
After several decades of extinction, a pair of choughs settled in 2001 on the Lizard Peninsula. Since then, the birds have successfully bred and been joined by a few more incoming birds, and the population has steadily grown and spread further across Cornwall. Each Cornish chough is fitted with one leg ring in the colours of St Piran's flag and two other colours on the opposite leg to identify them.
If you take a detour down to the cove via the path through the ivy, the last section is quite steep but there is a rope to hold onto. Beyond this is a rock platform. In winter particularly, water trickling over the rocks can make them slippery with algae and too unsafe to descend to the beach.
During the 18th Century, cold water bathing became popular amongst the upper classes. John Stackhouse had two baths cut into the rock at Stackhouse Cove, one on the beach and another hidden inside a cave where a flow of springwater keeps the bath constantly topped-up. The cave can be identified by a narrow oval opening with green algae below this where the springwater trickles out.
Because bluebells spread very slowly, they're considered to be an indicator of ancient woodland sites. In areas where trees are not very old, the fact there are bluebells around can indicate that there has been a wood on a site for a very long time. Even if there are no trees there at all, bluebells tell us that there was woodland there some time in the past. The bluebells along the coast are a relic of the gnarled oak woodland that used to grow here before it was cleared for grazing. There is still a patch of the ancient oak woodland left along the coast at Dizzard.
Research by the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust has found that the majority of seals in Cornwall are tourists, stopping over on their way to somewhere else. Very few seals spend the whole year in one place and some of those visiting Cornwall have been identified in Wales and others in France.
The inlets either side of Cudden Point are named Zawn Susan and Zawn Harry.
According to "The Z to Z of Great Britain", there are just over 40 place names in Britain that begin with the letter Z; over three-quarters of them are in Cornwall. One of the main reasons for this is that the Cornish word for "coastal inlet" is zawn, and coastline is something that Cornwall has rather a lot of.
There are panoramic views across Mounts Bay from Cudden Point. To the right there are views of St Michael's Mount and Penzance, and to the left, the Loe Bar and the Lizard in the distance.
Red-and-black-spotted Burnett moths can often be seen feeding on nectar-bearing flowers alongside the coast path. The red colour is a warning that they contain hydrogen cyanide. The larvae normally create it by breaking down more complex cyanide compounds from the birdsfoot trefoil on which they feed. However they are also able to synthesise it themselves in environments where it isn't readily available from food plants.
In December 1911, the Saluto was on its way to Barbados from the Thames with a cargo of sand as ballast. It was caught in a succession of gales and the storm waves both damaged the hull and stirred up mud and fine sand which clogged the pumps. The captain turned back for Falmouth but was driven into Mounts Bay by the wind. The crew managed to successfully anchor a mile off Cudden Point and were rescued by the lifeboat before the anchor failed and the ship went ashore at Perran Boat Cove and was wrecked.
Ahead lie the beaches that make up Prussia Cove.
Prussia Cove is a collective name for the four small coves of Piskies (known locally as Pixies) Cove, Bessy's Cove, King's Cove and Coules' Cove. The name Prussia Cove is from the famous 18th Century smuggler John Carter who was also known as "The King of Prussia", after the role he had always played in childhood war games. John and his brother Harry conducted trade with Brittany, with Harry doing the sailing and John running the operation from their headquarters at Prussia Cove.
The post on the headland is a spar from the wreck of HMS Warspite.
In 1947, the HMS Warspite was under tow to the breakers yard by two tugs but the cable from one broke in the severe south-west gale. The tugs spent a day fighting against the storm but eventually had to abandon the ship which was driven ashore at Prussia Cove. It was partially salvaged here before being moved to St. Michael's Mount, where the salvage operation took several years. There is still a fair amount of wreckage left on the seabed in the centre of Prussia Cove and interesting artefacts are still sometimes discovered by divers.
Piskies Cove (also known locally as Pixies Cove) is the only sandy beach amongst those that make up Prussia Cove, but there is no beach at high tide. It faces southwest towards Little Cudden point and is therefore quite sheltered and well positioned to catch the afternoon sun.
The Pisky was a figure of folklore associated with mischief. Piskies were also known under the name "Jack-o-lantern" and this is thought to have similar origins as will-o'-the-wisp - the mythical marsh gas flares that were mistaken for the lights of settlements. Consequently the local dialect for becoming lost was "pisky-led".
It was believed that milk was turned sour by piskies dancing on the roofs of barns. As a preventative measure, farmers would nail lumps of lead known as "piskie paws" to trip up the pesky piskies.
The small buildings near Bessy's Cove were built to store fishing gear and provide very basic one room accommodation for fishermen, with a fireplace to keep warm. They date originally from Victorian times but have been patched up with more modern materials during the 20th Century.
Bessy's Cove is a shingle beach with a large area of flat rocks on the western side, and is thought to have been the principal landing location for smuggled goods at Prussia Cove, although King's Cove and Piskies Cove are also thought to have been used to a lesser extent. A harbour has been cut into the rocks and the remains of a carriageway is visible which was partially cut and partially worn by cartwheels As well as landing contraband, it's likely that the cart way was used to collect seaweed from the beach for use as fertiliser.
Bessy's Cove is named after Bessy Burrow, the keeper of the Kiddlywink on the cliff.
Kiddlywinks were beer houses which outside of Cornwall were generally known as Tiddlywinks. These became popular after the 1830 Beer Act which provided a relatively low-cost license from the Customs and Excise to sell beer or cider, but not spirits which required a Magistrate's Licence. In Cornwall, many also sold smuggled spirits. The origin of the name is the matter of some debate: one possibility is that "tiddlywink" was rhyming slang for "drink" or, particularly in Cornwall, a "wink" may have been a signal that contraband brandy could be obtained. However, it is generally thought that the slang phase for drunkenness - "to be a bit tiddly" - stems from these establishments.
Despite the illegality of their "free trade", the Carters had a reputation for being honest and godly men. Swearing and vulgar conversation were banned on their ships and Harry Carter held church services for fellow smugglers and eventually retired to become a full-time preacher. John Carter's reputation is epitomised by a story of him breaking into the Penzance Custom House to liberate a confiscated consignment of tea which was due for delivery to his customer. The Customs officers are reported to have said "John Carter has been here, and we know it because he is an upright man, and has taken away nothing which was not his own."
Unlike many birds that just sing in spring, robins sing nearly all year round. In fact during winter if you hear birdsong, it's most likely to be a robin. Despite how cute robins look, they are actually very territorial and the chirp is an aggressive warning to any would-be intruders not to even think of trying it. When robins don't sing, this a sign that their body fat reserves are low and they are conserving what little they have left until food becomes more plentiful.
The trees along the bottom of the field are sculpted by the wind.
The salt-laden breeze coming off the sea dries out leaf buds and inhibits growth so the plants end up growing most vigorously in the lee of the wind. In the direction facing the prevailing wind, the growth is therefore more compact and stunted whereas in the lee of the wind, the branches are much more straggly. The result is that the trees appear to point away from the prevailing wind. Where there are no obstacles interfering with the wind direction, the shape of the trees can be used as a compass. Prevailing winds come from the southwest, so in general, trees in Cornwall point northeast.
Brassicas such as cabbage and cauliflower do best on soils which are well-drained and not acidic. For this reason they are often grown in sandy soils by the coast where fragments of seashell in the soil both improve drainage and act as a natural source of lime. Further inland, artificial sources of lime may be required to increase the pH of the soil. In the past, beach sand was transported inland for this purpose.
Tamarisks, also known as salt cedars, are able to withstand drought, soil salinity, and salt-water spray and therefore thrive in mild coastal areas such as the Cornish coastline. Their ability to accumulate salt and then excrete this through glands in their leaves prevents less salt-tolerant plants from growing around their base.
Bosvean is Cornish for "small dwelling" and Trevean is "small farm".
Trevean farm was first recorded in 1310 as Trevighan and is Cornish for "small farm". A place name in the Cornish language is an indicator that the settlement was established during the early mediaeval (aka Dark Ages, before the Normal Conquest) period when Cornish was widely spoken.
Clover is a native plant and a member of the legume (pea and bean) family. It is also sown as a fodder crop and as "green manure" as it improves soil fertility. The two most common species are known simply as white clover and red clover, based on the colour of their flowers, with the latter generally being a slightly larger plant. Red clover leaves also have a white V shape.
The large settlement behind St Michael's Mount is Penzance, merging into Newlyn at the left-hand end. The small settlement separated off to the left of this is Mousehole.
Trebarvah was first recorded in 1342 as Treberveth and is Cornish for "middle farm". Trebarwith Strand near Tintagel is thought to have similar origins.
The scrubby areas are part of the remains of the Trebarvah Mine.
Trebarvah Mine was primarily a copper mine although some iron ore and a small amount of tin, lead and zinc were also extracted. The mine was worked from the late 18th Century as Wheal Jenny and sporadically throughout the 19th century under a few different names including Wheal Jane, Wheal Castle and Wheal Trebarvah. By the mid 19th century, the mine had engine houses and six shafts.
As well as the pumping engine, adits were used to drain water from the mine tunnels. Two of these are visible in the cliffs on Perranuthnoe beach.
An adit is a roughly horizontal tunnel going into a mine. In Cornwall these were important for drainage as many of the ore-bearing veins are close to vertical, through which water can easily seep. Drainage adits were sloped slightly upwards to meet the main shaft, so water trickling into the main shaft from above could be diverted out of the adit. Below the adit, engines powered by waterwheels or steam were needed to pump the water up to the level of the adit where it could then drain away.
The creeping plant growing along the fence is a member of the carpobrutus family.
The Hottentot Fig (Carpobrotus edulis), was once classified as a Mesembryanthemum but as plant genetics were better understood, was found to be a close relative but in a different sub-family of the larger ice-plant family. They are called ice plants due to hairs on the leaves which refract sunlight and make them sparkle. The plant is native to South Africa and was originally grown ornamentally in gardens but has subsequently gone feral and settled on the coastline where it thrives in sandy soils, helped by its resistance to wind and salt. It forms a dense mat which crowds out other species and is therefore considered invasive.
The irregularly-shaped fields are the remnant of a prehistoric field system. Some of the old field boundaries that were removed to enlarge the fields are still visible on aerial photos as low earth banks and cropmarks.
Buddleia are originally from northwest China and Japan where they grow in forest clearings, on riverbanks and on limestone outcrops where they are able to survive with minimal nutrients. They were introduced into the UK as an ornamental plant in the late 19th Century and can found in many gardens. Some have escaped and established a niche on industrial land which resembles their native limestone outcrops.
The shrub is commonly known as the Butterfly Bush as the flowers are profuse, rich in nectar and are in the shape of champagne flutes; butterflies and bees have sufficiently long drinking apparatus to reach the bottom.
The plant has two types of leaf; the broad green leaves are replaced with shorter hairy grey leaves during the winter which are more resistant to frost and the drying effect of cold winds.
Cornwall has the mildest and sunniest climate in the United Kingdom, both due to its southerly latitude and the Gulf Stream carrying warm air from the Caribbean. The county has become even milder over the past decade, according to a report from Exeter University. Average temperatures in Cornwall stay above 10°C for more than seven months of the year and the southwestern part of the county is classed as subtropical.
The building opposite is the Victoria Inn. The entrance is on the smaller road on the far side.
The Victoria Inn is thought to date from the 12th Century, making it one of the oldest Inns in Cornwall. In that period, its original fabric would have been predominantly timber and it would have been rebuilt a number of times.
The church can be reached by following the road that leads behind the Victoria Inn to a junction, turning right to reach another junction, and then left to the entrance to the churchyard.
The church at Perranuthnoe dates from Norman times and a few elements from this period remain, including the font. The first record of the church is from 1348 which mentions it was dedicated to St Piran, and some remodelling of the original building had already been done by this point. In 1856 the church was also dedicated to St Nicolas but this has since been replaced by a dedication to St Michael.
Sea beet is also known as "wild spinach" and is the ancestor of sugar beet, beetroot and Swiss chard. It can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves are at their best during March and April and become tougher as the year goes on.
Sea beet has been cross-bred with domesticated crops to re-introduce some of the disease resistance from the tougher wild plant that were lost in the domesticated plants. It is also able to withstand quite high sodium levels in the soil which allows it to grow in salty conditions on the coast.
Rabbits were originally from the Iberian peninsula and were brought to Britain by the Normans and kept in captivity as a source of meat and fur. Although grass is their principal natural food, rabbits are able to survive on virtually any vegetable matter and with relatively few predators, those that escaped multiplied into a sizeable wild population.
During mediaeval times, rabbit was decreed by Pope Gregory I as "not meat" so it could be eaten during Lent. This accelerated the spread of rabbits through European monasteries in the middle ages. In fact, there are no barriers in the world's major religions to eating rabbit which is also considered both halal and kosher. From Elizabethan times, rabbit farming became common practice in Britain and it was not until the 1950s (when rabbits were associated with myxomatosis) that its popularity as a food declined sharply.
Rabbits have a number of wild predators including foxes, polecats and stoats. Buzzards and weasels will also take young ones. Domestic cats are also capable of tackling a full-grown rabbit. Rabbits have evolved to be able to detect predators early and then run very fast. The location of their eyes on the sides of the their head gives them almost 360 degree vision and they can also can turn their ears 180 degrees to pinpoint the location of a sound.
If a rabbit is placed on its back and its legs are stroked, it appears to go into a relaxed trance and many owners of pet rabbits thought this was a cute thing to do that was enjoyable for the rabbit. It's now understood that this reaction, known as "tonic immobility", occurs when the rabbit is extremely stressed because it thinks it is about to be eaten by a predator! It is effectively a "playing dead" reaction to lull a predator into a false sense of security so the rabbit can make a sudden escape when the predator isn't paying attention.
Due to their warm fur, rabbits are able to feed all year round, switching to woody foods such as bark and twigs when green vegetation isn't available. They don't hibernate and the reason they aren't seen as often in the winter is just that they are most active at dawn and dusk when people tend not to be out walking.
Rabbit teeth continue to grow throughout their lives as an evolutionary adaptation to eating grass which contains abrasive silica. Consequently pet rabbits fed a diet with insufficient hay often get problems with overgrown teeth. However, cut grass from a mower should not be fed to rabbits as it ferments more quickly than fresh grass (impact and heat from the blades causes bruising and wilting which releases the carbohydrates) which results in bloated bunnies.
The first record of slang word "bunny" being applied to rabbits is from the late 17th Century. Prior to this it was in use as a term of endearment, recorded in a 1606 love letter as "my honey, my bunny...". The origin of this pet name is thought to be a dialect word "bun" which was a general term for small furry creatures which did include rabbits but also applied to squirrels. The use of the word "rabbit" for chattering is from the Cockney rhyming slang for "talk" (rabbit and pork).
Since rabbits' unfussy diet includes pretty much anything grown by farmers, in the 1950s, the disease myxomatosis was deliberately spread in the UK to curb rabbit numbers. Over 99% were wiped-out and they almost became extinct. The few survivors that were genetically more resistant to the disease multiplied and so the survival rate has now increased to around 35%. Escaped pet rabbits inoculated with a live virus have the potential to transfer the vaccine into the wild population which may further increase resistance. Consequently the peak rabbit population gradually recovered to around half the size of the UK human population.
By 2013, rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2 (RHDV2) had crossed to the UK from continental Europe and began spreading through the wild population. By 2018, nearly half the UK rabbit population had disappeared. In their native region on the Iberian peninsula, rabbits are now an endangered species and there is concern that the UK population decline will continue. Whilst a high density of rabbits can be a pest to farmers, in many areas the rabbit population has already fallen well below the level where this is significant.
The close grazing from rabbits in wilderness environments is valuable for biodiversity, allowing rare wildflowers to compete with grass and insect species to thrive. The crash in the rabbit population due to myxomatosis is thought to have been a contributing factor to the large blue butterfly going extinct in Britain in the 1970s. The recent decline from RHDV2 is therefore worrying conservationists. Consequently, some landowners are now giving rabbits a helping hand by creating "rabbit hotels" - areas of brushwood above warrens that provide extra cover and safety for rabbits.
Thrift is a tough evergreen plant which grows on sea cliffs and consequently it's the county flower of the Scilly Isles. To survive in this environment it needs to be able to withstand drought and salt-laden winds. Its long, thin leaves and hairy flower stems have evolved to minimise water loss.
The name "thrift" has been suggested to arise from the plant's tufted leaves being economical with water in the windy locations where it is found. It's common all along the Cornish coast and in April-June produces pale pink flowers, hence its other common name: "Sea Pink". The plant grows in dense circular mats which together with its covering of pink flowers gives rise to another less common name: "Ladies' Cushions".
Thrift is tolerant of metals such as lead and particularly copper in soil so it is able to colonise coastal mine tips. It has been suggested that the heavy metal tolerance may be partly down to not transporting much dissolved metal up the shoot of the plant (since thrift grows in a desiccating salty environment, there is less water to transport it than in many other plants). However thrift also has mechanisms to sequester metals and excrete them through its roots and leaves.
Thrift is known as a "hyperaccumulator" of copper: it can concentrate copper by over 1000 times more than other neighbouring plants. This makes it potentially useful to clean up contaminated land but this be done over many years. In principle it's even possible to mine for minerals by concentrating them in plants and then extracting them (known as "phytomining"). It's currently far from economical to do so for copper but for rarer high-value metals it may become economical, possibly in conjunction with chemical soil additives to increase bio-availability.
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