One of the joys of living in Cornwall
 |
| Dollar Cove, on the Lizard |
Our short 5 mile drive takes us to beautiful Gunwalloe on
the Lizard Peninsular, a National Trust beach and car park. As creatures of habit, we always set off,
first taking in the glorious windswept beach called Dollar Cove, named after the great wreck
in 1780 when 2 tonnes of silver coins were lost overboard. This little cove has
seen quite a lot of excitement in the last two years, as it was used by the BBC
as Nampara Cove, in the 2015 production of Poldark and will be Nampara again in the 2016 series. As you look west, the headland of Halzephron lies
before you. At high tide the beach is a
mass of large pebbles, just waiting to be stacked in towers. A low tide reveals a sandy bay, dotted with huge
granite rocks and perfect for a paddle on our return journey.
 |
| Poldark filming in Dollar Cove |
A short
walk across the dunes brings you to the bridge over the stream which runs the
length of Gunwalloe beach,
known as Church Cove.
One winter, after
a terrific storm, white foam covered the whole beach, which wobbled in the
wind. We were waist deep that day
walking through it!
 |
| The winter storms filled Church Cove with foam. |
 |
| Foam covered the whole of Church Cove |
 |
| A more tranquil view of the cove from the bridge. |
 |
| Summer sees the dunes covered in flowers |
Church Cove is a lovely
south-west facing cove and is one of our favourite places to swim, which we do,
on occasions, from May to November.
 |
| Low tide at Church Cove |
 |
| Sometimes it's so low you can see the hotel on the next headland |
To the north side
of the beach is the tiny church
of St Winwaloe
 |
| View of Church Cove from the bottom of the Cliff Path |
 |
| St Winwaloe, the Church of storms) |
The coast path takes us up a steep incline, edging along the Mullion golf course, where many a brave golfer tries his luck at driving his ball through the gale force winds which sometimes whip over the cliff edge. Half way up we always stop to take in the spectacular view of Church Cove from this wonderfully elevated position. It also gives us a moment to catch our breath.
Taking
the coast path to the right hand side of the road, Poldhu Point comes into view. Where stands the
impressive building that once was the Poldhu Hotel, build in 1899, but is
currently a care home. Beyond the building is the Marconi centre. This
became the site of one of the main technological advances of the early
twentieth century when, on 12 December 1901, a wireless signal was sent to St John’s , Newfoundland
As you pick your
way down the soft cliff path, have your camera ready for some glorious shots of
pellucid green water lapping over black granite rocks. In the winter, you have to hold onto your hat,
as the mighty waves crash against these same rocks, giving an equally fabulous photo
shot.
Making our way
back onto the road, the cliffs facing the beach put on a wonderful floral show
throughout the year. Though spring time, is my favourite, especially when the
bluebells and pink thrift opens and you just know you are on the right side of summer.
Poldhu cove is a
long west-facing sandy beach, flanked with soft dunes and grasses. It’s a
fantastic beach to swim, and learn the art of surfing, and when the sea is flat
calm it’s a perfect setting for Paddle boarding. The beach is very rarely empty. Summer time
brings lots of holidaymakers and during the winter months, we share the beach
with lots of dog walkers and hardy surfers.
Poldhu means
"black pool" in Cornish – but it is a very different seaside place to
the Blackpool of the north.
Breakfast at
Poldhu Beach Café (established in 1997) is always something we look forward to.
I can safely say there are very few
places where you can enjoy a bacon bap and a cappuccino with such fabulous
views. There are times when we have sat
outside, with the wind and rain buffeting us, enjoying an extreme
cappuccino. But hey, this is Cornwall
Poldhu cove is
where I get the inspiration for my novels. It is one of my beachside offices. I
mention the Café and beach with great affection in my novel ‘The Blue Bay Café’.
I hope you get
the chance to visit and partake in a Cornish breakfast.
My novels Mr de Sousa’s Legacy – a Cornish love story and
The Blue Bay Café – a novel of Cornwall @SWCornwallNT@ToursPoldark @PoldarkTV
#breakfastonthebeach #extremecappuccino #beach #sand #sea
#Cornwall #Cornishficiton #Beachsideoffice #TheBlueBayCafe #MrdeSousasLegacy
#AnnEBrockbank #Poldhu #DollarCove #Lizard #NationalTrustSW +National Trust
 |
| Extreme Cappuccino drinking |
Lovely to read your site with great pics. Do you have any knowledge of this church having once been buried by sand for 100's of years. I was told the story but see no evidence of it on any wbsite
ReplyDelete