April 1- St. Michael’s Mount

Last month as I made my virtual way along the coastal road in Cornwall, it was early in my walk when I passed St. Michael’s Mount. In 2014, in real time, we had made St. Michael’s Mount a destination point for a day trip. After all, it was only ten minutes or so away from our holiday cottage.

Have you heard of St. Michael’s Mount? I must admit that prior to our first visit there, my knowledge was pretty scant. However since that visit, I often seem to come across the name – especially in the historical fiction books I like to read. Over the last several hundred years, this tiny island has had a long and varied history from castle to monastery to fortress to private home to tourist attraction.

St. Michael’s Mount is a rocky island off the coast from Marazion in Cornwall. At high tide, the island is only accessible by boat. At low tide, this sea access is impossible from the mainland. The receding tide leaves a wide expanse of murky mud and the little boats that are used to transport visitors are stranded beside the dock. However, access to the Mount is still possible. The low tide reveals a long causeway that stretches across the mud. This same causeway is completely covered when the high tide rushes in.

Timing, then, is everything. On our visit, we took one of the small boats at high tide across the water and on leaving the island, we walked back across the causeway. This is my most vivid memory of our visit to St. Michael’s Mount. The docents at the castle had a wealth of information and history to impart and although it was very interesting at the time, I’m afraid that by now I have forgotten most of it. 

On my virtual walk, I have now passed Plymouth and am heading inland in a northeasterly direction. This will all be new territory to me and I still have just over 900 miles to go.

If you would like to read more about our time in Cornwall, you can go to the archives of this blog. I wrote about Cornwall on October 12, 13, 14, and 15, 2014.

Also, I have included a picture with this post. In the photo, I am standing in the foreground. Behind me is the stretch of water between Marazion and St. Michael’s Mount. At the base of the island are the white buildings geared to tourists – gift shops, admission gate, etc., but at the top of the island you can see the silhouette of the castle tower and turrets. 

Sue in front of Marazion and St. Michael's Mount