St. Michael’s Mount Marazion, Cornwall, England

We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at St. Michael’s Mount with Nicole’s Cornish cousins!

From left to right: Nicole Warne-McGraw, Paula Zubiri, Ryan Warne-McGraw, Graham Nesbitt, Charlotte, Amanda Davies‘ daughter Eloise, Hope, Lauren Reid, Joy, Harmony, and Rohan!

Here is the family on the beach overlooking the Mount:

Ryan’s Niece, Lauren Reid, was able to join us for a few days in Cornwall. She was taking a few business classes in London with University of Portland.

Located off the coast of the City of Marazion in Cornwall, England, St. Michaels Mount can be reached at low tide via a stone footpath.

It is much smaller that it’s island counterpart, Mont St. Michel in France, and has much more open space and lawns.

The French version has a whole city, while St. Michael’s Mount is part historical building, part working residence for about thirty people who work for Lord St Levan and his family. The cousins enjoyed checking out the castle.

Hope is pictured here with a canon looking over the bay.

The Cornish flag is in view. The back and white is an allusion to the mining industry that made Cornwall: the black ore and the white metal of tin.

On one of the grassy hills, we sat and listened to a Cornish storyteller relate the tale of “Jack and the Giant.” The story started with the plight of Cornish “Piskies” (related to Pixies but much more mischievous). When the poor Piskies were robbed by the Giant, and some even killed, Jack came to their rescue.

Jack killed the Giant by digging a large hole that he fell into. (This large hole used to be the well for the Castle.) Jack took the Giants heart and threw it, but a guest of wind blew it towards St. Michael’s Mount where it landed on the side of a footpath. It can be seen to this day among the cobblestones. Clearly, the Giant’s heart was small and dark to have been so mean to the Piskies.

Our family took a few pictures in the Smoking Room. It was a room either used as a butler’s pantry or a smoking room for gentlemen who retired with their cigars after dinner. Many years ago, the window space would have held a latrine open to the cliffs below.

The Map Room not only has a collection of historic maps of the region, but an impressive model of the Mount made out of champagne corks by Henry Lee, butler to the family in the 1930s. He worked for the family for 49 years.

The Garrison Room was originally a room for servants quarters, but has been turned into a museum for the arms and weapons used throughout the history of the Castle. This Samurai suit of armor dates from around 1800. It was probably used for ceremonial purposes rather than battle and was brought back to the Mount by the 2nd Lord St Levan. I particularly liked the Yumi Bow and arrow next to the Samurai armor.

The Church of England on the grounds of the Castle is dedicated to St. Michael, and is still used for Sunday services part of the year. It was built in 1135, and restored many times. It remains the spiritual center of the Mount. Here St. Michael can be seen vanquishing Satan, an image that comes from the book of Revelations.

The Gardens below the castle were beautifully designed into the rock outcroppings. These gardens are able to exist despite the gales and salty winds. They are helped by the rock that absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, creating a micro climate supporting succulents, lavenders, and flowering plants of all types. We visited the East Terraces which were first built in the 1880’s, where succulents, agaves, rosemary, lavenders and garlics flourish.

We were particularly taken with the beautiful Aloe Polyphylla, also known as a “spiral aloe” which actually grows in a spiral shape. It is a native of Lesotho, the country surrounded by South Africa.