Pendeen

I spent the first part of my morning in Pendeen accompanying Mike, my host, to the coast watch station in Cape Cornwall, where, along with numerous other volunteers, he spends a half-day shift, once a month, keeping an eye out over the Atlantic for vessels in distress. I understand there was a lifeboat rescue of a sailor a couple of years ago, who, as a consequence of overturning his yacht, hit his head. He had been unable to upright his vessel or make a distress call. Undoubtedly, such volunteers, manning such stations and reporting such incidents, provide a valuable service. Whilst at the coast watch station, I briefly looked at the wall charts recording recent wrecks. Many vessels, have floundered on the twin-peaked islet named 'The Brisons,' about a mile offshore, resulting in significant loss of life. 'Brison,' or 'brisant,' is French for 'reef breaker.' The number of wrecks along the whole of the Cornish coastline is staggering, though these have reduced significantly in recent decades with the introduction of new technologies. However, in 2011, the 9,000 tonne Karin Schepper's cargo ship, on route from Cork to Rotterdam, ran aground near Pendeen lighthouse, fortunately on one of the few patches of sand in the area, and on a rising tide. These factors prevented a disaster. The same ship ran aground in Scandinavia in 2009, the chief officer at the time was found to be in a state of intoxication, and asleep on watch. There was no lookout on the Bridge, and Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System was switched off.

Leaving the coastguard station, I walked Mike and Liz's dog Charlie along the coast back to Pendeen, amazed at the size and scale of former mine workings in the area. Many of these mine shafts stretched far out to sea and deep underground. Life for miners was not romantic, as has sometimes been portrayed, but really tough, working in hazardous, hot, damp and dark conditions, breathing in air polluted with dust. Life expectancy was short, and disasters, such as that which occurred in the Levant mine in 1919, when the man engine and miner's cage collapsed, resulting in the loss of 31 lives, were an ever present reality. Other hazards included falling rocks, flooding, and all sorts of physical conditions, including silicosis - a terrible wasting disease caused by mica dust - tuberculosis, rheumatism, bronchitis, and deafness caused by explosives. Then there were the hazards associated with handling arsenic, wearing little in the way of protective clothing. Women and children were involved in mining work in the 18th and 19th centuries, labouring for a ten hour day, six days a week, often involving a walk of some miles to and from home. It is recorded that 7000 children were working in Cornish mines in 1839. Boys below the age of 12, and women referred to as 'Bal Maidens,' broke rocks to a manageable size for ore crushing machines. Geevor mine, near Pendeen, is well worth a visit, conveying a real sense of the history of mining in Cornwall, and the hardships endured by the employees. Now, much of the area, is slowly being reclaimed by nature, wild grasses, heather, and flowers reestablishing themselves around what remains of the chimneys, buildings, and disused shafts. I saw numerous butterflies flitting between plants, including Meadow Browns, Large Blues, and Speckled Woods. And a screeching buzzard was hunting unusually low over gorse and ferns. Far below the high cliffs, on a sparkling sea, a fisherman aboard a bright orange and blue fishing boat, was lifting lobster pots.

The rest of the day, I largely spent resting. Tomorrow, my 55th birthday, I shall make the staggeringly long ride of ten miles from Pendeen to Land's End.