We walked the causeway as the tide ebbed and arrived in the harbour. I recommend that you wear boots, as the crossing is wet and the ascent of the rock is steep and stony. You also need to be wary of tide times to prevent you from becoming temporarily stranded on the isle.
You begin your ascent in the small village that houses the community of thirty five residents in sturdy granite cottages, very typical of Cornwall. and then having passed through the outer wall ascend the steep, cobbled path to the castle. The summit contains the castle proper and the church, which is a mediaeval foundation pre-dating the reformation. There are good views from the castle walls over Cornwall and the sea, and you ponder upon the generations of sentries who patrolled those ramparts scanning the seas for pirate xebecs [fast raiding ships.]
Much of the castle is devoted to the museum, which contains a variety of artefacts, which includes costumes and a fair amount of antique arms and body armour dating from the times when the castle was a necessary defence against the barbary pirates,North African raiders who plundered and enslaved in the channel for centuries until the British finally suppressed them in 1816. Sturdy defences against these thugs were necessary, for they were not afraid to land and carry off their victims. But weapons are not my favourite museum items, I am more interested in works of art, be they paintings,sculptures or textiles, and there are some of these in the small museum. Tourists cannot, though, enter the private apartments of the family.
The church is unique in not being affiliated to any denomination, but it is at the service of the order of St John, an ancient order of chivalry still established in the British state. It is descendant of the mediaeval order of the knights of Malta, with whom the St Aubyn family have some connection.
There is a strange room in the church only discovered about 150 years ago. It is believed to be an anchorite's cell. An anchorite was a hermit attached to the church. Some were anchoresses. They heard mass through a grill and were taken food by a servant. But this cell contained a skeleton of a man seven foot eight inches tall. A dead anchorite would have been taken out to be buried, so this is unlikely to have been a monk. Rather I suspect that a castle owner, maybe one of the St Aubyn family's predecessors after the monks had been expelled, had in an act of sacrilege defiling the old church used the cell as an oubliette, a cramped dungeon where the prisoner was incarcerated, forgotten and left to die, starving and alone. It is said that St Michael's Mount has but few ghosts [many British castles have them] but some people occasionally report seeing the shade of a very large man. Imagination or what? There are things in heaven and earth not understood by philosophy or science.
But the church has a pleasant atmosphere. It is light and spacious, not very large. Places acquire an atmosphere from the events that have happened in them,and give or take the incident discussed in the previous paragraph, I get the feeling that mostly good things have happened there.
St Michael's Mount is well worth a visit if you are visiting Cornwall.
Comments
1:The winds that produce waves produce storms,so the stronger the wind,the bigger the waves and more difficulty for the gardeners.
2:All land, except in Orkney [Norse law] belongs to the crown. It is held by by owners from the crown.
3: Hottentot fig is deliberate introduction, but it escaped and ran wild. It was introduced to the Cornish mainland, but it might have spread to the island by bird dispersal. Birds eat the fruits whose seeds pass through their guts undigested and then germinate in the place where the birds excrete
4: All skeletons are properly buried.
frankbeswick, Thank you for the photos, practicalities and products.
Do stormy waters mean strong winds for intrepid gardeners who abseil?
Does it still hold that all land -- and waters? -- in England -- and Northern Ireland and Scotland? -- belongs to the monarchy?
Is the Hottentot fig (Carpobrotus edulis) a deliberate introduction to the island or wind-dispersed from the mainland?
Was the skeleton given proper burial, kept where it was found or relocated for display or other purposes?
So would I, but since the Norman conquest in England all land is ultimately the property of the crown and therefore held from the crown, and can be confiscated. It does not normally happen without compensation, but it was this rule that Henry used to take church property. But he also took possessions, which are not covered by the same law. Simply theft! There were Protestants who argued that property given to God should be inalienable, but Henry and his hell bound cronies paid no attention to that.
The religious orders have not attempted reclamation of land, but merely resettlement in places where they could settle.
I recall hearing of such a place, but the focus was on a monastery. I suppose the land was taken away from the monks after Henry VIII seized property of the Catholic Church. I would consider the monks the real owners.
Pam, Six family members still live on the mount, two parents and four children.
As for flowers, Cornwall has the warmest climate in Britain, so there is room for tropical flowers. but that does not prevent storms. When I was last there in a cottage the seas pounded the shore and our nights were accompanied by the sound of waves and wind.
Veronica, your son David was lucky in seeing dolphins, for I did not see them in the channel between the land and the mount. I have seen them at other times.
Sorry Pam, I am having difficulty adding a map. All I can do is suggest that you find Marazion on the map of Cornwall. It is off the shore of Marazion, which is on the South coast not far east of Landsend. The Wizzley map function seems to be out of order.
Dolphins? I'd have never thought that. I wish Frank would add a map so I can picture where this place is. Okay, I looked it up. I'd love to visit. When I win the lottery, the first place I'm going is the UK.
Dolphins? I'd have never thought that. I wish Frank would add a map so I can picture where this place is. Okay, I looked it up. I'd love to visit. When I win the lottery, the first place I'm going is the UK.
My son and his family visited this place in May last year. His little children loved it. There are dolphins in the channel between the mainland and the island.
I have never been to Cornwall and this lovely article has taken me there.