Causeway – Millie Thom

On the third day of our week in Cornwall in June 2o16 we decided to visit Saint Michael’s Mount, which has been described as ‘the most famous of Cornwall’s landmarks’ (National Trust). I have to admit it’s a great place to visit. It’s a lovely walk up to the castle and there’s plenty to see inside it once you get there, with fabulous views out across Mount’s Bay from the roof terraces. The Church of St Michael and All Angels, built in 1135, also stands on the North Terrace. For visitors more interested in gardens, the terrace gardens that adorn the steep island slopes are a delight and full of colourful and exotic blooms.

From Newlyn (near Penzance) where we were staying we had a relatively short drive, compared to our drive up to Tintagel the previous day. That meant we could get there nice and early.

Wikipedia tells us that the Cornish name for St Michael’s Mount is Karrek Loos yn Koos, which means hoar rock in woodland, or literally the grey rock in a wood – an appropriate description for a granite crag that rises 221 feet above sea level (not including the buildings at the summit).Wikipedia also tells us that St Michael’s Mount is one of 43, unbridged, tidal islands that people can walk to around mainland Britain.

Located in Mount’s Bay, the isle is just 500 metres from the mainland and linked to the town of Marazion by a causeway which is passable between mid-tide and low-water. It is managed by the National Trust and the castle and chapel have been the home of the St Aubyn family since around 1650. The island also had a population of 35 in 2011. Part of the island was designated a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) in 1995 because of its geology.

We left the car at the car park in Marazion and headed along the beach path towards the causeway:

The car park at Marazion

Walking along the beach towards the Causeway

We had planned to walk across to the island, but if the tide had been in we’d have taken the boat. As it was, the tide was on the ebb, so we just had a short wait on the causeway until it went out. As to be expected, some people couldn’t resist paddling as the water became shallower but, not wanting to spend the rest of the morning in soggy jeans, we waited.

People wading across the Causeway before the tide was completely out.

Eventually, the tide ebbed and we approached the island.

The granite cobblestones/setts of the causeway continue along the pathway onto the island and up to the castle:

To greet visitors on the island are a number of buildings, including the Island Café…

… a couple of shops and of course, the loos. There is also a picnic area. This is a plan of the island, which can be enlarged by clicking on it: The black line from Point 9 (Ticket Office) is the pathway leading up to the castle:

There’s a lot of history to find out about on the island – from Neolithic and Bronze age times to the more recent medieval period, the Civil War in the mid 17th century and through Victorian times to the present day. It is possible that the isle may have been the site of a monastery in the 8th century, but we know that by the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 it was in the possession of the monks of its sister isle in Normandy, Mont Saint Michel: another tidal island with a conical shape, similar, though smaller, to Mount Saint Michael:

Mont Saint Michel in Normandy. Public Domain

The church and priory at St Michael’s Mount were built in the 12th century but the priory was destroyed by an earthquake of 1275 and rebuilt in the late 14th century. The priory’s association with the abbey at Mont St Michel ended in the 15th century during the war in France in the reign of Henry V. The priory was later given to the Abbess and Convent of Syon in Middlesex and the building still forms the heart of the castle today.

There is also some fascinating folklore and legend connected to the island, including that of an 18 foot giant called Cormoran who lived in a cave at the top of the rock with his ill-gotten treasures and terrorised the people.

The Giant Cormoran circa 1820, Source: Victorian chapbook. Author unknown. Public Domain

The first building we came to after leaving the ticket office at the start of our trek uphill was the Victorian Dairy:

Along the cobbled path towards the dairy.

The Victorian dairy. For 25 years until 1909, a small herd of Jersey cows were kept on the Mount to supply the isanders’ needs.

The next few photos were taken at various points on our way up to the top:

The beginning of the climb up to the castle

Granite cliffs along the route

Looking down at the harbour with Marazion across the bay

Granite outcrop

Lookout tower with views of Marazion

Cannons along defensive wall

Row of cannons further along defensive wall

Inside the house there are several rooms to view, all with lots of history behind them. The Wars of the Roses and the Civil War feature strongly but there are pieces of furniture and a whole host of artefacts from various periods. I can’t possibly do justice to the many interesting pieces or the different rooms here so I’ll just share a few of the photos. The coat of arms is in the Entrance Hall.

The St Aubyn coat of arms in the entrance hall

Arms displayed in the entrance hall

Chevy Chase, originally the refectory for the priory and still a dining room for the family.

Chevy Chase ceiling. The name, Chevy Chase, refers to the hunting scenes in the plaster frieze

The library

Civil War armour

Grandfather clock. A tidal clock in St John’s Room

I’ll finish this part of the post with a few photos taken on the North Terrace as we came out of the castle…

Along the North Terrace

Entrance to the Church

The Church of St Michael and All Angels

Eroded lion on the North Terrace

Harbour, Causeway and Marazion from the North Terrace

… and these from inside the Church of St Michael and All Angels:

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I’ll share some photos of the exotic terrace gardens in another post later on.

This week’s prompt for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers reminded me of one of my favourite spots to visit in the UK: Lindisfarne (or Holy Island). So I have TJ Paris to thank for bringing it to my mind. This is his photo . . .

. . . and my story can be read here.

I would normally add a little bit of ‘extra’ information at the end of my story each week, but I thought this was a little too long for that today. So here it is, as a separate post:

I’ve always been fascinated by offshore islands, whether inhabited by humans or simply by colonies of seabirds. It has been suggested that there as many as 5000 islands in total around the coast of the UK – a number difficult to verify as it depends on a person’s definition of an island. Some ‘islands’ may be just small lumps of rock. But there are certainly more than 1000.

As for Lindisfarne, it is well worth a visit. We usually head up there when we’ve been staying around Hadrian’s Wall, just for a change for a day out. It has a lot to offer for tourists, including the requisite souvenir shops, hotels, restaurants and cafes etc. Of course, most people go there to see the historical sites.

Lindisfarne lies just off the coast of NE England, in the county of Northumberland. It is connected to the mainland by a tidal causeway, and there is a castle and priory on the island.

(Note. A causeway is a raised road or track across low or wet ground. e.g. “an island reached at low tide by a causeway”)

Map of Northumberland showing offshore islands. Author: Nilfanion. Commons — Map of Northumberland showing offshore islands. Lindisfarne is the larger, more northerly isle. Author: Nilfanion. Commons

Simplistic map of Holy Island. Author: Fhah 4. Commons

Lindisfarne has recorded history from the 6^th century, although we know the Romans were in the area much earlier, and there could have been a village of Britons on the isle. In the 6^th century, Lindisfarne was an important centre for Celtic Christianity under Saint Aiden, who came from Ireland and established an Irish-type wooden monastery with a small church and various huts and workshops. He eventually became Bishop of Lindisfarne and was buried there in 651. But at the end of the 9^th century, when the priory was abandoned, his remains were taken to Durham Cathedral, where they still remain today. Ther is a statue of St. Aidan by the Priort ruins, which are on the site of the monastery built by him:

Lindisfarne Priory ruins and statue of St. Aidan. Author: Kim Traynor. Commons

Much is written about the history of Lindisfarne and the ‘saints’ who came after St. Aidan. But the event that captures most people’s interest – most certainly mine – is that of the Viking raid on the island in 793. This event is now taken to be the beginning of the Viking Age.

Here’s the modern English version (as opposed to the Anglo Saxon one) of the raid, from the Anglo Saxon Chronicle:

“In this year fierce, foreboding omens came over the land of the Northumbrians, and the wretched people shook; there were excessive whirlwinds, lightning, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the sky. These signs were followed by great famine, and a little after those, that same year on 6th ides of January,* the ravaging of wretched heathen people destroyed God’s church at Lindisfarne.”

(*The generally accepted date for the Viking raid on Lindisfarne is 8th June, when sailing across the North Sea would have been more likely for the Vikings. The’ 6^th ides of January’ is now considered to be a translation error.)

Alcuin, a Northumbrian scholar at Charlemagne’s court at the time, wrote:

“Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race. . . The heathens poured out the blood of saints around the altar, and trampled on the bodies of saints in the temple of God, like dung in the streets.”

These raids by Norwegian Vikings were not followed up. Most of the later raiders sailed north around Scotland. The 9^th century invasions came from the Danes … which, of course is the topic of my books.

The Priory on Lindisfarne was built in the 11^th century on the site of the Irish-styled monastery founded by St. Aidan in 636. Here are some pictures of the ruins today.

Remains of Lindisfarne Priory: 1798 by Thomas Girton. The priory's rainbow arch (which still survive) is shown truncated for artistic effect. — Remains of Lindisfarne Priory: 1798 by Thomas Girton. The priory’s rainbow arch (which still survives) is shown truncated for artistic effect.

East end of Priory showing the Rainbow arch. Author Nilfhanion. Commons

View of Priory from the churchyard of the parish church. Nilfhanion. Commons

West end of Priory. Author Nilfanion. Commons

The castle was built in 1550 by Henry VIII in defence of the realm against attack by Scotland and in pursuit of their Spanish allies. It is said to have been constructed of stone taken from the priory.

Londisfarne Castle from the harbour on a rainy day. Author: Russ Hamer. Commons

Lindisfarne Castle. It is sited on top of a volcanic mound known as Beblowe Craig. Author: Matthew Hunt. Commons

The Lindisfarne Gospels are among the most celebrated illuminated books in the world. A 10^th century inscription at the end of the text was made in honour of God and Saint Cuthbert by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who died in 721. The Lindisfarne Gospels are part of a collection of Sir Robert Cotton (died 1631) in the British Library in London.