Summer Thoughts
Had enough of this winter weather? I certainly have, and watching Country File on tele last Sunday, it gave me an inspiration for a summer cycling destination. Mystic Cornwall and its St Michaels Mount!
The UK has so much to offer, so why go abroad when travel costs and the poor exchange rate for the £ Sterling, make foreign trips ever more expensive. The more that I thought about it, the more a visit to St Michaels Mount appealed.
Many years ago (1970s) I visited the island, walking over the causeway at low tide. Of course by the end of our visit the tide was in and we had to get the amphibious vessel back to the mainland. In those days the amphibian was a World War II D.U.K.W which added to the excitement of the crossing!
A visit has much more to offer than just the crossing. The place is steeped in history, perhaps being the island, Ictis, visited and written about by the ancient Greek geographer, Pytheas, in the 4th century B.C. Its name supposedly dates back to the 5th century A.D when St Michael the Archangel is said to have appeared to a fisherman on the mount. It has certainly had religious/monastic significance since the 8th century, and been the spoils of war since at least the 15th century when it was seized by King Henry V. It was last fought over during the English Civil War and captured by Cromwell’s troops in 1646. For the last 400 years it has been home to the St Aubyn family, and more recently the family have opened the church/castle/home complex to the public, in conjunction with the National Trust.
I remember that the visit to the Mount was most interesting. Too much to relate here, but click on this link for further information about this vast complex of many and varied parts, rooms, artifacts, etc: http://www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk/plan-your-visit/things-to-see-and-do/castle-itinerary/
And for those who love gardens, there is an array of sub-tropical, exotic plants clinging to the granite cliffs. For more about this see : http://www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk/plan-your-visit/things-to-see-and-do/garden-itinerary/
Yes, this does seem like a worthwhile destination for a summer cycle tour. All I have to decide on next, is should I cycle all the way from Purley, about 300 miles, or go part way by train (for example, approx only100 miles from Exeter) and thus allow more time to cycle around Devon and Cornwall?
So back to the internet, time to research the options. You can now see the logistics for cycling there, and more, here http://anerleybc.org/cycling-to-st-michaels-mount/ .