Crugkern Barn - Cot Valley
Seasonal Highlights
Spring
This is a beautiful time here in West Penwith. The beaches are quiet, the weather is fair and nature is readying itself for action. The rock pools gently spring into life as the sun warms the water and the coastal cliffs are painted with the pastel hues of thrift and spring squill.
New life is popping up (literally) everywhere. Curious seals eyeing early season visitors as they walk the coast path.
As if awaiting their curtain call, Emperor moths appear in their dozens from the safety of the heather or brambles where they spent the winter in their cocoons.
Summer
Summer is the time of the big skies and clear seas. Its as if an artist has gone to town on the blue pigment, painting the sky and spilling the leftovers into the water.
Summer is the time for celebrating here in West Penwith. Mid-summer festivals such as the two-week long Golowan festival in Penzance (right) which culminate in two days of music, dancing and food punctuated by stunning street parades and night-time fireworks.
St Just (left) hosts the Lafrowda festival which takes its name from the ancient one for this area and celebrates community arts and all things St Just. Just as with Golowan, Lafrowda features an array of live music, Cornish dancing and good food, all washed down with more than a splash of ‘Rattlers’ (Cornish cider).
If its something a little less hectic you are after then even in the height of summer it is possible to find your own bit of space whether on foot, by bicycle or sitting quetly in the evening sun with a well-earned G&T. What could be finer?
We are so far away from sources of air, noise and light pollution that night-times can be equally as delightful as the days. The clarity of the night skies here in west Cornwall are renowned, and August sees the appearance of one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Perseids. Peaking around mid August, and given clear skies, they give us our best chance of seeing a dazzling display of ‘shooting stars’. If a little cloudy then just admire the bats.
Autumn
Autumn is a time of change. As the coastal waters cool down the contrast between land and sea temperatures becomes more pronounced and the weather increasingly “atmospheric”. Fog rolls in off the ocean and squally showers track in with the unstable north westerly winds. It is a stunning time of the year in our coastal zone as visibility is often crystal clear in the moist air – a photographers dream.
The autumn storms pile new material up on the shore and its a great time for collecting shiny sea-worn pebbles, shells and other goodies from a days beachcombing. The land around Crugkern is also changing by the day. Late flowering red-hot-pokers punctuate the barn garden, and up ‘the wilderness’ Speckled Wood butterflies flit among the brambles, and there is a sudden influx of the spectacular Great Green Bush Crickets.
Winter
Snow is rare down here in Cornwall but when it does appear the area is transformed. With few people around there is nothing better than a walk along the coast, or up the village for a seasonal drink, then back to tuck yourself away in your cosy barn.
The fact that we are on a west facing coast and the clear, crisp winter air means that we often get stunning sunsets. At this time of the year huge numbers of starlings from many smaller flocks gather together in the fields behind Crugkern before heading for the shelter of Marazion Marshes or Newlyn Harbour for their overnight roosts. These ‘murmurations’ have become a regular evening spectacle. Spectacular winter storms pummel the promenade in Penzance and ‘winter wave watching’ is one of the highlights of this time of the year. When the weather is fine our beaches display their winter face. Sennen Cove, teaming with holidaymakers enjoying the sun and the surf in summer, is now deserted and you can have the beach to yourself, but wrap up warmly to watch those waves.