A Place Apart 03/06/2005 As this blog has grown, I have found it necessary to categorize the various subjects that I write about, if only for my own convenience. At some time in the future I intend to introduce these categories into the structure of the blog so that navigation will be made that much easier for the reader. This will also enable me to add Technorati tags.According to my system, I write about seven main subjects. There is the Journal, my thoughts on the American experience from an Englander's viewpoint; this was the original reason for the blog and all Journal entries are linked so that they can be read separately if so desired. Then I began to insert posts on Memories of Africa, Memories of England, Blogging itself, Computer matters and general thoughts, categorized as Incidentals. And, of course, there are my short stories, which I have put under the Fiction banner.In wandering through the system recently, it struck me that I have only written about England twice, in That Kid with Red Hair and The Cat of a Thousand Names (I have categorized England, my England as an Incidental, strangely enough). This may give the impression that I have few good memories of England but that would not be correct. I love England as my native land, I love its people, its history and the beauty and variety of its natural scenery. When the sun shines in England, there is no better place in the world to be.And I have seen a fair bit of the old country. I have stood on its westernmost point, Land's End, its southernmost, Lizard Point, and visited its most northerly town, Berwick-upon-Tweed. I have also been within a few miles of its easternmost point, Lowestoft Ness. Within these extremes there are few areas that I have not seen at one time or another and I could sing you the praises of the open skies of Norfolk, the green dales of Derbyshire, the moorland heights of Yorkshire and the glories of Northumberland, encompassing all the variety that is England in just one county. How could I ever forget the lush fertility of the Midlands of my birth or the lonely sandspit between sea and estuary that is Spurn Head, the landscape of white stone that is York Minster or the idyllic dream that is Devon's forest-lined rivers in summer?But there is one place that is best loved of all, a humble cove on the coast of Cornwall, a place still so little known and difficult to reach that it is not subject to the development that has ruined so many other beautiful beaches in England. I speak of Kynance.We found Kynance Cove on our first holiday in Cornwall back in the early eighties. To reach it, you have to drive down a narrow and bumpy road that heads off into seeming nothingness from the main road. Follow this track and you will eventually come to a car park that is no more than a field in which the grass is kept short by vehicles coming and going. At the far end of the field a pathway disappears into a gorge between two headlands.The path is gravelly and steep, slippery enough to start you sliding if not enough care is taken. As you descend and the sides of the gorge become higher, clumps of wild flowers hint at the magical world that awaits. Near the edge of a sheer cliff, the path turns abruptly to the right to continue its descent and now you can see the cove below, a crescent of white sand, strewn with great rocks that create separate and secret alcoves where the waves rush in to meet the shore. A flat headland cups the cove in its hand and is surmounted by a little red-roofed building, the only sign of civilization in all that vista.Now the path becomes a twisting, clambering route between and over great rocks that have fallen from the cliffs and, finally, there is one long slide down a smooth-faced boulder to land on sand shadowed by the dark rock wall above. Trudge through the damp sand between more fallen rocks and you arrive at last at Kynance, the most beautful cove in all England.That first time, we did the usual British seaside things, finding a spot not too populated to spread our towels, digging in the sand with our bare feet and splashing in the wavelets at the water's edge. We swam too, daring the numbing cold of the North Atlantic, noting the limpid clear quality of the water and that rarity on a British beach, the absence of a wind to freeze the skin of any escapee from the sea.But it was no more than you will find in many Cornish coves. We did not know yet how special a place it is. In time we became bored and climbed the slopes behind to buy ice creams in the building on the headland. From there the land rises slowly to a skyline one assumes is the edge of a cliff dropping into the sea. Short grass covers this slope, a green lawn inviting a stroll up to the edge.We did that and arrived at the top of the cliff. There was no sea below, however; instead, a spit of sand reached out from the base of the cliff to join the mainland to an island just offshore. And there were people on the sands! I reasoned that there must be some way down from the cliff. We walked the length of it but found nothing but sheer, smooth cliff face - that spit of sand was cut off from all directions, by the sea on both sides, the cliff at this end and the island at the other.Later that day we found the secret. When the tide goes out it uncovers a sandy route around the headland from the main beach to the hidden one beyond. We splashed through the shallows early and, turning the corner of the cliff, found the true Kynance Cove.The sand rises from there to a low ridge, then descends to the water on the other side. There it is more sheltered and almost without waves, so that you can see how clear and clean is the water. Tiny sand eels wriggle in darting schools across the white, sandy bottom, and a great, black, monolithic rock guards the entrance to the cove. Farther out, beyond the shore, a jumbled mass of rocks fallen from the cliffs has created a playground for the strong swimmer. In one part there is a deep, square pool with rocks towering around and this has become the place for the bravest to dive headlong into the water from the heights above. To the right, the cliff face over which we had peered is hollowed out into caves, some tunneling through from the beach to the water beyond. And the walls of the cliff and caves are deep reds and greens, smooth and soapy to the touch, a rock called serpentine.On the other side rises the island, Asparagus Island we were to learn, a slope upwards of stone and grass that ends with a great boiling chasm between the land and offshore rocks. At one end, a massive slab of the island has broken off, leaving a narrow slot through which the sea gurgles and hisses.There is something magical about the place, apart from its natural beauty. I think it's that feeling of being isolated from the world when the tide is high. Only when storms drive huge breakers in from the Atlantic is the sandspit completely covered (I have seen it like that too) and, if you time the tides correctly and rise very early in the morning, it is possible to splash through to the far beach while the world still sleeps. We did that once and had the place to ourselves the entire morning. Part of the pleasure is in seeing people appear on the headland to gaze down at you, wondering how you got there.Just before I left England, I visited Kynance for the last time and the first in many years. To my surprise it has hardly changed at all. There were, perhaps, a few more people on the beach and the tide was low, so the sandspit was crowded, but no buildings have been added, the pathway is still just as steep and dangerous, the water remains the clearest I have seen on a British seashore.It must be its inaccessibility that has kept it so unspoiled. Long may it remain that way.
Clive
Sparkling Beautiful description. I have never been to England, but your words flowed so beautifully I was able to imagine it as a wonderful place. There is a beach similar to that in Oregon, near Lincoln City. There is a long expanse of beach, and at the north end is a huge outcropping of rocky cliffs. At the base of these cliffs is a tunnel, apparently partially carved by the ocean itself, and finished by people to complete the exit. When you go through the tunnel you gain access to a second beach that is completely inaccessible from the parkinglot or anywhere up above. It's an almost magical feeling to enter an enclosed beach that can only be reached by a secret passage. Blessings to you! -Sparkling http://www.tinyzoo.com Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away Thank you, Sparkling. Perhaps there are many such beaches around the world and the one you describe in Oregon certainly sounds like one. But I am glad you know that special feeling of being in a place that so few know the secret of! Date Added: 03/06/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) Clive, your evocative description of Kynance Cove brings back many memories for me. The Lizard is probably my favourite place anywhere. In my early days I did a bit of marketing work for BT's Goonhilly Earth Station and spent a lot of time there. I very nearly bought a house nearby.You're right, it's a gorgeous spot. Here's a link with some great photos of Kynance. I hope it shows up. Date Added: 03/06/2005
Way You've out-did yourself here, Gone. Those are some spectacular descriptions you brought to the page which had me plopped comfortably right at the edge of the water. But that water...Brrr! Now, like Keeef and the word, lid, I had to run to my dictionary to learn once and for all the meaning of that familiar and British word, headlands. Now I gawt it! Date Added: 03/06/2005
Jodie Beautiful place, Gone, and beautiful writing. I think Kynance Cove must go on my Places to Visit list. Date Added: 03/06/2005
Way Nice pics John supplied. But where is the red-roofed house? (Weirdness Alert: Sentences are running off the white page on the right by two letters) Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away I had a feeling it would be a place you know, John. After all, you don't live very far from it. But I have delayed writing about Kynance for a long time - that feeling of not wanting the place to become too well known and overpopulated! I must admit, too, that I deliberately didn't give any links to it. Some time ago when I first thought of posting on Kynance, I had a look for photos on the net but my feeling is that none of them do it justice. How can one photograph that crystal clear water and the secret feeling of the far beach? I have many photos of the place, one of them the best photo I ever took, but they are still in England with most of our stuff unfortunately. I love the Lizard too. We used to stay in a farm cottage near Goonhilly and we know all the various coves and villages all around the peninsula. A wonderful place and still so little known (shhh, don't tell a soul!). Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away I love Kynance, Jodie, and I have been on beaches washed by the warm Indian Ocean and shaded by the obligatory palm trees. Perhaps a part of its attraction is that it's in England where one just doesn't expect to find such a paradise! Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away You're right, Way, the roof is grey. And there's more than one building! See what happens when you rely on memory alone... But I still say it should have a red roof because that's the way I remember it! I'm surprised that it was the word "headland" that gave you trouble. I thought "cove" might not be used in America... Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away And the weird effect: it's caused by the long URL inserted by friend John - there's nowhere for the program to wrap it so it just keeps going. I'll get Mad to sort it out.... Mad? Mad! MAD!!! Date Added: 03/06/2005
Ken Do I detect a pair of rose-tinted glasses? I do know what you mean about the loveliness of Britain, although, when you live here and it's cold and pouring with rain (as I type) eighteen days from Midsummer's Day, the magic can be hard to credit. I was in London on Wednesday of this week, an even colder and windier day than today, and saw tourists everywhere huddled inside coats and sweaters as if it were winter. Crossing Westminster Bridge, I passed a group of traditionally-dressed Black African women and thought that one of them looked very unwell. As I walked by, one of her companions said to her that she shouldn't worry and that she'd be okay once she was inside and warm again. So much for Flaming June! Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away Ah yes, Ken, that was what I passed by so delicately - how miserable England can be when the sun doesn't come out! Sometimes it seems as if you have to get through nine damp, overcast summers to get that one blazing hot summer that is bestowed upon the little island at times... But I still say it's worth the wait (unless the baking hot summer of Oklahoma is giving me a pair of the rose-tinted glasses you mention)! Date Added: 03/06/2005
Mad Dave fell of that cliff you know... Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away I've never told you this before, Mad, but I nearly did when we went to have a look after that storm. So Dave fell off, did he? Well, it couldn't have happened to a more likely person! :D Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away Nice fix on the long URL, by the way, Mad. ;) Date Added: 03/06/2005
Ned There is nothing that moves me quite like the ocean. The rocky coast reminds me of the more northern MA beaches, little sandy spots but lots of rocks and you have to know when and where to go to get to the sand. I am struck by how clear the water is, that would be the main difference. I am glad John included the link to the pictures. There are places that our memory loves beyond reason, whose beauty others may not appreciate as we do. There are beaches near me that are not considered beautiful by others and the water is almost too cold to be withstood, but I will always long to be there in my heart. Your descriptions and memories of Kynance Cove made me think of these places. Beautifully written. Date Added: 03/06/2005
Way He's confusing red with gray, Ken. See what Oklahoma heat does to a cove? Stay there in England! "Gone, Gone, Gone," He groaned. "I have two coves I been using for yonks, mate." :D Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away Thanks, Ned. That is a very good point, too, that some places might be more beautiful than they are to others because of associations. There may be some of that wrapped up in my memory of Kynance... Date Added: 03/06/2005
Gone Away Well, of course, Way, there are coves and there are coves. And some of them even have red hair. Or was that gray...? Date Added: 03/06/2005
prying1 Once again you have given your adoring public a beautiful picture to dream about. Date Added: 04/06/2005
Gone Away Well, I hope so, Paul. :) Date Added: 04/06/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) From all your comments it seems my long URL has been causing problems. I'll have to get it docked some time :-)Ken : it has been a cold summer in England, but down here in the West Country it's been not bad at all ... what I call Poldark weather. Work that one out ! However, we're promised a blazing summer ahead, one of the best for years, and the Met Office is now in Exeter, so all they have to do is pop their heads out of the window. No excuses.I agree, Clive, photographs don't do any place justice. The dark, granite rocks of Cornwall always have a sense of foreboding. Close up though, you see the green streaks of serpentine in them, and they take on a different aspect. And that wonderful blue sea, the bluest between here and Jamaica, Aah, that has to be seen to be believed.Thanks for the post, Clive. Date Added: 04/06/2005
Gone Away It was a minor problem, John, soon sorted by Mad. Date Added: 04/06/2005
Way Some coves have little hair. Date Added: 04/06/2005
Josh I just realized something, Mr. Gone. All chameleons are not intrinsically brownish orange. :-? Date Added: 05/06/2005
Josh Oh yeah, and another fing -- I am showing you at PR: 5. Good hustle. ;) Date Added: 05/06/2005
Gone Away Haha, Josh, 'tis rare to see a chameleon in brownish orange - now you see what PaintShop Pro can do. ;) Do not desert it for PhotoShop! And I'm at PR 5? This I must go see! Thanks Josh! Date Added: 05/06/2005
Gone Away Nope, I still get a PR of 4, Josh. Maybe I bounced up into 5 for a few brief seconds yesterday. Unless IE has the 4 cached... Hmmm. Date Added: 05/06/2005
Sparkling Wow, uh, Lots of conversation all of a sudden! I was just posting to say that your page was the Mystery Link, and I won 5 credits. YAY! Now what do I do with them? Blessings to you. -Sparkling http://www.tinyzoo.com Date Added: 05/06/2005
Gone Away And blessings to you too, Sparkling. You will have to assign the credits to your blog. Look down the menu at the left and you will see the heading Assign Traffic. Click on that and you will come to a place where you can see how many credits are already assigned and with unassigned credits above. Click on the + sign for your blog until all your unassigned credits have been added to the blog and then hit the button at the bottom left of the page. Voila, your credits are assigned! Now they will ensure that your blog goes into the main traffic exchange and it will receive hits up to the number of credits you have assigned. Be careful, however - Blof Explosion is a fast-moving exchange and 5 credits won't last long. To really build up the credits, you have to surf the exchange... Date Added: 05/06/2005
Josh Well, I am forced to deduce that any sort of wavering from 4 to 5 puts you in a good place, and is not to be quibbled with. :) Date Added: 05/06/2005
Gone Away Certainly it must mean that I am close, Josh. And i'll not quibble with that! Date Added: 05/06/2005
Gary Beautiful, simply beautiful, and all true. Me and my family are leaving for the Lizard (Kennack Sands) on the 29.07.05. Every time we go back there and visit Kynance Cove it seems even more spectacular. Your description of this unique, and awe inspiring jewel was simply magnificent. Date Added: 26/07/2005
Gone Away Thank you, Gary. You are so right in that every visit to Kynance seems ever more spectacular. It is one of my favourite spots on earth (and I've seen a few!). Date Added: 26/07/2005
Dona Higham Thank you for writing so beautifully of my home. I was brought to live at Kynance, when a small baby, by my parents. I lived acrooss the way from the Cafe, at the two white buildings, called Smugglers Cottage. Life was hard. NO modern convienences, such as electicity or gas, or even mians toilets. Just oil lamps and candles, and an old Cornish Stove to cook by, until the chimney breast caught fire and Dad installed a VERY modern cooker, an Aga. All groceries etc had to be man handled down from the top. Gradually the track was made up and life became a little easier. How wonderful it was, for us to grow up in this magical place. Just wanted to say Thank You. Date Added: 10/02/2007
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