a spot of Penwith

It is a magical bit of coastline that has inspired writers, artists and film makers for centuries but conditions yesterday from a photographic point of view were uninteresting – the north coast of the Penwith Peninsula is one of the most rugged, wild stretches of coastline in England.. but facing northwest as it does with clear blue skies and just a lazy, small groundswell running yesterday it was very much a case of simply enjoying the committing 30km of paddling from Carbis Bay to Sennen. This would be a good stretch to paddle afternoon into evening with the low sun in the west highlighting the towering granite cliffs.. However the very nature of this coastline with just one safe get-out between St Ives and Cape Cornwall, means that to simply set out on a whim on the basis of conditions being ‘interesting’ is perhaps not advisable – with tidal flows reaching up to 4 knots along this coast, and fully exposed to the fury of the Atlantic with a multitude of submerged reefs and overfalls to ensnare the unwary paddler, the timing of a journey is important. Paddling this stretch of coast feels very special as conditions do not often permit an intimate exploration.  Having said that with long summer evenings on the horizon I’m sure I’ll be down here again before very long :-)

Clear blue skies and just a small groundswell – perfect conditions for enjoying this stretch. Rich, seacornwall.com, looking very ‘red’..
a small but powerful groundswell did provide some opportunities for play along the way
We bumped into Lee and Katie heading northeast on day 3 of their Round Britain paddle. Lee’s blog is here, well worth a follow: https://darksideoftheloom.wordpress.com
a lunch stop on a small patch of sand below Pendeen Watch
the rather magnificent ruins of the Crown tin mine at Botallack.. perspective somewhat distorted by my wide angle lens.. but it gives the idea.

Things to read: Lee’s Round Britain Blog: http://darksideoftheloom.wordpress.com

Pendeen Watch: http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses/lighthouse_list/pendeen.html

Botallack Mines: http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/mining/crowns.php

Penwith: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penwith

4 thoughts on “a spot of Penwith

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