ENGLAND 2016: Cornwall's St. Michael's Mount

Even though this is what we saw and did on our 2nd of 4 days in Cornwall, this is my last post of this series, before going back to the Bath area with Lisl and Michael.  So YAY for getting this done...before Astrid and I leave tomorrow for our annual trip to America.  (See, there WAS a reason for my urgency!)

Astrid and I had the great privilege of seeing France's Mont Saint-Michel back in 2010.  Back then, we had no clue there was another St. Michael's Mount...off the coast of Cornwall, England.  So when we discovered that last year, we knew we'd eventually see it...this year.

OMG.  It's not the same as in France but similar enough and just as wonderful in a different way, if that makes sense, on a smaller scale.

Our first view of the mount was in the context of a group of students drawing it.

What a way to start!

We were there at low tide and had full access to the causeway going in.

St. Micheal's Mount is one of 43 tidal islands that you can walk to from mainland Britain.

Astrid was a kid, looking for treasures left by the sea.

Walls or breakwaters surround the civil parish of ca. 35 people.

Once inside the parish, you see the homes and shops...

as well as the cozy harbor.

Seeing everything atop the breakwater walls was our highlight of the place,

since we did not climb to the top to see the castle and chapel (like we did in France).

Why, you ask????????

We had a decision to make...walk back before the tide came back in at 12:25 p.m.,

or wait and go back by ferry.

We opted for the walk back and made it by the skin of our feet...

but only my right foot was deluged...and with wonderfully warm water.

It's one of those memories you never forget.

But as we looked back, the ferries were already starting up their service to the mount.
Those tidal schedules are exact, we found out.

We rendezvoused with Chris, Pauline and Carrek, the dog...

before finding the Cutty Sark restaurant for lunch, with Cornish cider and pot pies.

That was another main reason for not taking time to visit the castle and chapel.  

Choices!  Decisions!  It was time for lunch and lunch overruled!

Besides, Pauline had something else in mind for us to see!

So we walked back to the car, enjoying our last views of Marazion, the town linked to the mount.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

What Pauline wanted us to see was the fishing harbor of nearby Newlyn, 8 miles away.

See the tiny dot south of Marazion?  Yup.  That's St Michael's Mount.

Newlyn is a fishing harbor only a mile from Penzance and part of its parish.

Lucky for us, just as we arrived, a fishing boat was unloading its haul of crabs.

Sometimes you have to see it to believe it.

After all that excitement, we walked up and down the wharf,
starting with this Old Soul, PZ513.
It took me awhile but clearly PZ stands for Penzance.

Pauline knows us well.  This was a photographer's heaven.

See what I mean?

It capped off a delightful day after the fog-shrouded views of St. Michael's Mount.

And even though this was done on our second day in Cornwall,
it seems like the perfect way to say Good-Bye for this year and THANK YOU to Chris and Pauline.
We do want to go back every year, as often as possible, for these great treasures.

Oh, and speaking of treasures, here are the weathervanes of our 4 days in Cornwall:

Does it ever get better?
(I actually think England and Holland could duke it out for quality...but not for quantity.)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And now I need to go pack.  Tomorrow's 9:30 a.m. flight to Atlanta will come awfully early.....