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Nooks and Corners of Cornwall By: C. A. Dawson Scott |
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NOOKS & CORNERS
OF CORNWALL
IN THE SAME SERIES
NOOKS & CORNERS OF YORKSHIRE
BY J. S. FLETCHER
IN PREPARATION NOOKS & CORNERS OF DEVON
BY C. A. DAWSON SCOTT NOOKS AND CORNERS OF HAMPSHIRE AND SUSSEX
BY DOUGLAS GOLDRING Price 2s. 6d. net each (with map)
NOOKS & CORNERS
OF CORNWALL By C. A. DAWSON SCOTT
WITH A MAP
[Illustration]
LONDON: EVELEIGH NASH
FOREWORD
At first sight it seems incongruous to speak of the Nooks and Corners to
be found in so rugged a land as Cornwall. The masses of rock at
Tintagel, Tol Pedn, and the Lizard, the sheer drop of the High Cliff and
the Dodman, the moors, the cromlechs, and the granite tors, are so
impressive that we are apt to overlook the fertile valleys that
intersect the country, the coves, coombes, and "pills" in which the
hillside vegetation is often semi tropical, and where the houses are
embowered in flowering shrubs till they look like Jacks in the Green
that have taken root. Nor do these picturesque villages, sheltered and fruitful, this
magnificent coast scenery, these grey moors, comprise the whole of this
half smiling, half frowning land. Here in out of the way places are
relics of forgotten creeds and peoples, earthworks, amphitheatres,
castles, the caves of smugglers, and the subterranean hiding places of
neolithic man. There is so much to interest, so much to see almost too
much it would seem, certainly too much for any one holiday; but Cornwall
is a place to go to again and again, to go to till it seems as your own
land, and its people have forgiven you for being a "foreigner." This Cornish folk, clannish but kindly, has of late years been
decreasing. Not only is there the competition of foreign tin, but the
lodes being now deep the cost of home production has proportionately
increased. "Cousin Jack" therefore has to go in search of more
remunerative metal, leaving "Cousin Jenny" at home to manage as best
she can on his remittances.
WARNINGS "You can only see Cornwall by walking through it," said George Borrow,
but the traveller must bear in mind that a name, large on the map, is
apt to materialise into a few cottages, a lonely farmhouse, or a rocky
gorge with never an inhabitant. Nor though the voice of the tourist has
now for several years been heard in the land has the response, in
hotels, been great; while there are not as many country inns as might be
expected. The cheerful, pleasure loving Cornishman has another aspect to
his character. Generally a Nonconformist and a Sabbatarian he perhaps
more particularly she thinks the fewer inns the better. Hamlets the
size of which would lead one to expect a wayside tavern are often drawn
blank, and it is as well to make inquiry, when mapping out the day's
journey, as to the accommodation to be found at its latter end. It cannot be too firmly impressed upon the traveller that along the
northern and western shores both boating and bathing are unsafe. It is a
dangerous coast. Fortunately very few boats are kept, and these are
seldom let out to strangers; but in the matter of bathing the tourist
depends upon his own wisdom, and not only is there a bad undertow but
the big rollers from the Atlantic come in when least expected. Moreover he must, when following these cliff paths, be on the look out
for blow holes. These sinister cavities result from the action of the
sea at the cliff base and of the fresh water springs above. A depression
is gradually formed, the surface sinks to be washed out by the tides,
till at last a round hole has been formed. This is the blow hole. In
course of time the whole of the side towards the sea breaks away,
leaving a tiny bay, which gradually enlarges. The Cornish who do not
imagine that any one could be so foolish as to walk along this dangerous
coast after dark do not safeguard the blow holes, and it is as well to
be on the look out.
THE CROSSES
AND CHURCHES A word with regard to the innumerable crosses and churches. At an early date in the history of Christianity, saints from the
neighbouring countries of Brittany, Ireland and Wales appear to have
poured into Cornwall... Continue reading book >>
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