Thursday, September 29, 2011

Cornwall, England

Think of Cornwall and immediately there springs to mind a vision of Atlantic rollers tumbling over jagged rocks to lash against towering cliffs. This is Cornwall's northern coast, which for centuries has taken a pounding from the turbulence of a 3,000 mile ocean. This part of Cornwall is dominated by Celtic mystery, tales and legends of King Arthur and his dramatic legendry castle perched on a rocky outcrop above Tintagel. In stark contrast to the south lies a softer channel coast of a more gentle nature, it has stormy seas, but these are less significant for here although the coast encompasses a wealth of headlands, there are the flat estuaries of the Helford, Fal and Fowey Rivers.

Wedged between Cornwall's coastal waters is a hinterland made special by a wealth of magnificent gardens where the growth of exotic plants and flowers is encouraged by a pleasant mild climate. But inland Cornwall still has dramatic landscapes of which Bodmin Moor is one. The moor is a place of high peaks and mystic pools, it has hauntingly beautiful places such as the Golitha Falls where the River Fowey tumbles from the high granite uplands, flowing through wooded valleys to join with the sea. But when storm clouds gather the moor appears sinister and forbidding. Even more extraordinary are the countless stone relics found among the moor-land wastes, they may not be as imperious as Stonehenge, none-the-less, they hold the secrets of a Cornwall of 4,000 or more years ago.



















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