Lizard Tales

Took a trip to Carleon Cove on Saturday, in the Poltesco valley on the Lizard. The weather was distinctly odd, hot and heavy and threatening a thunderstorm that never emerged. Blankets of sea mist would descend occasionally, and driving across the higher roads you could watch it rolling along the horizon.

The cove is comprised from large smooth pebbles, and where the wooded cliffs meet the shore are the remains of old Serpentine works (a particular type of stone found on the Lizard). A stream emerges to form a still green pool at the back of the beach, and we sat and watched small fish leaping right out of the water for the skimming flies.

Hmmn, I just looked up Poltesco on Google to find some historical info for you on the ruined Serpentine mill buildings there, and one of the first links to be listed is for "Poltesco - swingers, dogging and exhibitionism". This has (I only looked in the interests of research you understand) intro profiles for six people/couples identified as being from Poltesco. Given that there ARE only about six houses in the area, this has given me a slightly different impression of the place from that I took away yesterday...

Click here for actual information on serpentine works, if you're interested.

From there we went to Mullion Cove, on the other side of the Lizard Peninsula, where it was sunnier, but rather grim in other ways. There is a pretty enough harbour, although that was fenced off for improving works, but the water swirling below was the filthiest I've ever seen. It was black and sticky and looked like something that might pour off a mud-slide. Hopes for an ice cream were dashed by a completely deserted (yet open) cafe - I suppose we could have wandered in and helped ourselves. Someone waiting at the hatch as we walked down the hill was still forlornly waiting when we came back, so we abandoned the place and drove back out to the Trenance Chocolate Factory in the Mullion Meadows complex that we'd passed on the way in. Had a splendid cream tea, and bought some truffles.