Porthgwarra
The cove and slipway are privately owned, but the public are permitted to quietly and respectfully enjoy them. Swimming in the cove is quite safe, provided swimmers do not go beyond the headland where there are dangerous, strong sea currents. At the foot of the cove's slipway is a tunnel dug by tin miners from St Just to give farmers horse-and-cart access to the beach to collect seaweed to use as a fertiliser. A second tunnel, leading seawards, is the fishermen's access to the tidal 'hulleys' built in the rocks to store shellfish. The 'hulleys', which ceased being used about 20 years ago, had wooden floors and topcovers with trapdoors and were used to store shellfish prior to taking the catch to market once or twice a week. The rope laid down the beach is used to steady boats while landing.
References
- ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
- ^ Tange, Michael (1973). "Hulls in Cornwall: a survey and discussion". Cornish Archaeology. 12: 31–52.
- Some of the information above is from the "Porthgwarra Cove Points of Interest" notice (John Chappell 2006) posted on display in the window of Porthgwarra's shop.
External links
Media related to Porthgwarra at Wikimedia Commons