At the edge of Britain in western Cornwall

Some photographs taken on a visit to the western tip of Cornwall in November 2021. We took the train from London to Penzance - the end of the line - and stayed at the wonderful Chapel House for a week or so. From here we explored the surrounding coastline and towns.

This part of Britain has a certain allure. It’s on the edge of the country, it feels separate. Compared to some of Britain’s more genteel countryside, this part of Cornwall feels wild.

Almost all of these photos were taken on a Leica SL2-S using a Leica 24-70mm f.2.8 Vario Elmarit lens. The arial shots were taken on a DJI Mavic Pro 2. I hope you enjoy.

 

Lands End

The lighthouse at Land’s End

Aleyha - about 7 months pregnant with our son Jasper - on the path from Land’s End to Sennen Cove

Sennen Cove

St Ives

The harbour town of St Ives. The town has long been a magnet for artists and is home to the Tate St Ives which houses artworks by both local masters and international artists.

Nearby Porthminster beach looking like the Caribbean

A portrait of my wife Aleyha

My father loved Robins. When I see them I am always reminded of him.

The harbour and its lovely beach

Cape Cornwall & the Botallack Tin Mines

A vestige of the the historical Cornish tin mines

The coastal path passes by the ruins of old tin mines

Lower Boscean Mine

You can actually rent this house. Cape Cornwall in the distance.

The smokestack of Cape Cornwall’s tin mine

Cape Cornwall

A pony grazing at the cape

To reach the furthermost mine, you need to walk through a field of ponies

Fighting ponies

The coastal views are dramatic

The ruins of old mine buildings

St Michael’s Mount

Britain's answer to Mont-Saint-Michel

The walkway which is submerged when the tide comes in

The Cornish flag at full mast

Interior details

The copper sundial

Dusk at Porthchapel and Porthgwarra

The edge of England

Coastal paths wind around most of western Cornwalls cliffs and beaches

These hardy ponies graze on the cliff tops

This one came to say hello

Almost sundown

Porthcurno, Pedn Vounder & Logan Rock

Porthcurno beach

Another shot of Porthcurno beach

Pedn Vounder beach

This small pyramid marks the spot where a submarine telegraph cable once connected England to America via France

The waves coming in on the sandbar at Pedn Vounder beach

Pedn Vounder beach

A drone shot of Porthcurno beach

Built into the granite cliff face is the open-air Minack Theatre, surely one of the most dramatic arts spaces in the world.

A closer view of the Minack Theatre

Logan Rock

Another view of Logan Rock

And one from above

One last view of Pedn Vounder beach

Penzance

We stayed in Penzance in a B&B called Chapel House, the red brick building to the right of the church

One of the friendly people I met taking his dog for a walk around town

Queuing up for the butchers

The bank

The deli

This unusual shop dates back to the 19th century and is dressed up in ancient Egyptian style

One of Penzance’s smart houses

The main street has several smart shops

Another unusual feature of Penzance is its celebrated Art Deco lido. The water is warmed geothermally.

The bank

Penzance’s oldest pub. A tavern or drinking den has existed here since the 13th century.

Mutton Cove

The Godvrey Lighthouse - constructed 1858-59 - shot from the DJI Mavic Pro 2

Some of the rugged coast, Mutton Cove is the the right

This is where you can find lots of seals hanging about

The nearby beach

A popular surfing spot

Mousehole

The harbour at Mousehole, pronounced ‘Mauzul’

I think her name was Linda. She works at one of the town’s galleries. She’d moved from London to Cornwall years ago and never looked back.

My delicious lunch

Newlyn

Believe it or not, this is one of the UK’s largest fishing ports

As I arrived at the end of the pier the Nichola of Ladram boat was coming in

I learnt that it was carrying about 2 tons of crab. First off were all the crab pots.

From the pier I could see large blue buckets being lowered into the hull coming up full of crab.

The buckets were then swung into the back of this lorry - final destination Portugal - and weighed.

I asked the captain if I could come on board to take a closer look…

There were several seamen literally sitting on a mountain of crab filling the buckets.

They worked at breakneck speed.

The buckets would then be winched up

Supported by the seaman at the mid-level.

This guy was enjoying himself

The man on the right was recording data so he could analyse the sustainability of the catch.

The much sought-after Cornish Crab

An aerial shot of the boat transferring its catch to a lorry headed for Portugal.

Another boat heads out in search of sea food. Often boats will go out for two weeks at a time.