Page 35 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - Great Britain

DRIVE 1: Lizard Point and the South Cornwall Coast 33

Above left Shop selling traditional beach
2 Zennor slightly further west but much of the toys, St Ives Above centre Tate St Ives gallery
Cornwall; TR26 3DA majesty of the site has been lost due Above The stage and beautiful setting of the
Did the mermaid depicted on a pew to the development of the area. Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
in the 12th-century church of St Senara ª Take the B3306 to St Just and then
really lure a chorister to his death by take the A3071, then turn right onto EAT AND DRINK
her singing? Or did the story serve to B3306 (signed Land’s End). Turn right ST IVES
discourage outsiders from venturing onto A30. After Sennen, turn left onto Sloop Inn inexpensive
down to the cove, a local smugglers’ B3315, then right to Porthcurno. Follow Overlooking the harbour and noted
haunt? Whatever the truth of the tale, signs and park at the Minack Theatre. for its seafood, this is one of Cornwall’s
the factual side of Zennor’s history oldest inns. It dates back to 1312 with
since the Bronze Age is shown in the 4 Porthcurno wood beams, slate floors and cobbles.
The Wharf, TR26 1LP; 01736 796 584;
Wayside Museum (open daily, Apr–Oct) Cornwall; TR19 6JX www.sloop-inn.co.uk
housed in a 16th-century miller’s The unique feature of this small Porthgwidden Café moderate
cottage. The great Methodist evangelist sandy cove is the Minack Theatre, Small white stone building with
John Wesley preached in Zennor in hewn out of the cliffs above it. With terrace at Porthgwidden Beach. Noted
the mid-18th century and another the sea as a backdrop, the Greek- for its steak, fresh fish and seafood.
notable visitor was the writer D H style theatre, created in the 1930s, Porthgwidden Beach, TR26 1PL; 01736
Lawrence during World War I. He has an incomparable setting. The 796 791
stayed with his German wife, Frieda, visitor centre tells its story (open daily; AROUND PORTHCURNO
at the Tinners Arms pub, while writing performances May–Sep; www.minack. Logan Rock Inn inexpensive–moderate
Women in Love. The Zennor Quoit com). A small white pyramid on Pub known for its real ales and home-
burial chamber, just southeast of the the cliff marks the spot where the cooked food – pasties, steaks and crab.
village on Amalveor Downs, is one of first transatlantic telephone cable Open fire in winter, beer garden and
the area’s many prehistoric remains. was laid in 1880. The fascinating pre-Minack theatre dinners available.
Treen, TR19 6LG (1.5 km/1 mile east of
ª Carry on along the B3306 to Pendeen. history of telegraphy is told in the Porthcurno); 01736 810 495; www.
Geevor Tin Mine car park is on the right. Porthcurno Telegraph Museum theloganrockinn.co.uk
(Apr–Oct, daily; Nov–Mar, Sat–Mon).
3 Pendeen ª Return to B3315; after 8 km (5 miles), Below Smeaton’s Pier and the harbour at low
Cornwall; TR19 7EW turn right for Mousehole car park. tide, St Ives, Cornwall
The ruined stacks and engine houses
dotted along the coast, a UNESCO
World Heritage site for Cornish mining,
are reminders of the area’s boom time
in the 19th century. At Pendeen,
Geevor Tin Mine (closed Sat) shows
how tin was mined and processed.
Carry on along the B3306, past
granite outcrops, where remains of
prehistoric habitation, such as
standing stones and burial mounds,
can often be seen among the
bracken. Turn right at St Just to Cape
Cornwall, a windswept headland
topped by a slender chimney stack
which evokes a true end-of-the-
world feeling. In fact, Land’s End lies

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