Cornish Tales - Beautiful Kynance Cove, Cornwall, UK

Saved as a precious memory, while in Cornwall, we took the opportunity to visit a beach that had made a vivid impression on my Welsh One when he was a child.

He wasn't the only one. After publishing this blog post I received an email from someone else, who had cherished childhood memories of Kynance Cove and of staying at one of the abandoned cottages that I had posted about.

Managed by the National Trust, Kynance Cove regularly receives awards for its beauty and the walk down to the beach from the cliff top gave us a bird's eye view of its sandy cove below. 

It was hazy on the day we visited and the soft patchwork of mauves, pinks and yellows of the heather blended harmoniously into the mist all around us.

In vain, I kept adjusting my lens and crouching in odd positions to capture the magic of the maritime heather.

The path wound round and down, before into sight came a meandering stream, where wild bright orange crocosmia, had grown and were in full flower along its banks.

At the bottom we found a set of abandoned buildings, called Lord Falmouth's cottages that intrigued me enormously. 

When I originally published this post, I asked that if anyone knew the history of the buildings to get in touch and I'm delighted to provide an update with the memories that were shared with me.

"I stayed in the cottage nearest the beach with my Mum, Dad and 2 brothers in the Summer of 1972. 

 

We drove overnight, all the way from Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire in a 1957 Morris Minor: roof rack on the top with a couple of cases, 3 boys in the back aged 7, 9 & 11. It took forever! 

We parked in the car park at the top of the cliff and the National Trust shop there called down to the owner (tenants?) and after about 15 minutes, a land rover pulled up and a jolly Cornish man jumped out, loaded us kids and the cases in the canvas topped back and Mum and Dad got in the front.  

 

 

"He took a bumpy track all the way down to the cottages, crossing the stream on 2 strategically placed RSJ’s at the exact width of the land rover’s wheels. He and his wife lived in the detached cottage. The cottage we stayed in had no electricity or running water and the loo was in an outbuilding around the back. We washed using large basins with jugs of hot water brought to us morning and evening. 

My room was at the end and I fell asleep each night listening to the sea crashing on the shore and counting the seconds between each rotation of the Lizard lighthouse which shone into my room. Early to bed and early to rise as there was no tv and everything was done by candlelight! 

 

Breakfast and dinner were cooked by the hosts and brought in on trays. Lots of rabbit I seem to remember as the bloke in the cottage went out every day with his gun. His wife was a double for Catherine Hepburn and she used to serve cream teas on the bridge patio in front of the cottages. 

 

 

We went 2 years running, for 2 weeks. The first was idyllic, beautiful warm and sunny days spent in the sea and the rockpools and building dams on the beach where the stream ran into the sea. The second year, it rained non-stop and we went home after 5 days. We were poor and outings to places where money was required to be spent weren’t for us.  

It’s a shame to see them dilapidated and so sad looking. I suppose the couple that ran the cottages, who were getting on a bit, passed away and no-one took them on? 

Great times and probably never to be repeated! Your photos took me right back to the early 70s!"   - Colin Thomas 

 

What wonderful memories and thanks to Colin Thomas for getting in touch.

~

Once on the beach, I took my shoes off to feel the fine sand under my feet, a rare treat.  Behind us we noticed a person balancing stones upon stones. They had been busy for a while and created a line of them, creating their own art installation.

We carried on exploring and followed a rock around to the right and found a cave, large enough to venture into.

As our visit came to an end I discovered a great scheme introduced by the National Trust. In the toilets a poster gave visitors information about its managed bio-bubble sewage system. Waste is aerated in a balance tank, then digested by bacteria and disinfected by ultra-violet lamps, a process that uses less electricity than is generated by the solar lights on the Kynance Cafe roof.

For inspiration of places to stay nearby with stunning views, click here to read about YHA Coverack and here for YHA Lizard.

Originally posted 11/09/2016, updated info 08/08/2022