Land's End

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Land's End
Cornish: Penn an Wlas / Pedn an Wlas
Lands End UK.jpg
Land's End
Land's End is located in Cornwall
Land's End
Land's End
 Land's End shown within Cornwall
OS grid reference SW 34177 25339
Unitary authority Cornwall
Ceremonial county Cornwall
Region South West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Cornwall
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall

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A 1946 map of Land's End

Land's End (Cornish: Penn an Wlas or Pedn an Wlas)[1] is a headland and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England. It is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England, is within the Penwith peninsula and is about eight miles (13 km) west-south-west of Penzance at one end of the A30 road.[2]

Geography

The actual Land’s End or Peal Point, is a modest headland compared with nearby headlands such as Pedn-men-dhu overlooking Sennen Cove and Pordenack, to the south. The present hotel and tourist complex is at Carn Kez, 200 m south of the actual Land’s End.[3] Land's End has a particular resonance because it is often used to suggest distance. Land's End to John o' Groats in Scotland is a distance of 838 miles (1,349 km) by road and this Land's End to John o' Groats distance is often used to define charitable events such as end-to-end walks and races in the UK. Land's End to the northernmost point of England is a distance of 556 miles (895 km) by road.[4]

There are two varieties of granite represented at Land's End. Adjacent to the hotel the granite is coarse-grained with large phenocrysts of orthoclase, sometimes more than 5 in (13 cm) in length. To the north, at the First and Last House, there is a finer grained granite with fewer and smaller phenocrysts, and the different granites can be seen from a distance by the smoother weathering of the finer variety. The granite dates to 268–275 million years ago of the Permian period.[5] The contact zone between the Land's End granite pluton and the altered ″country rocks″ is nearby and the Longships Lighthouse, offshore, is built on the country rock.[5] Land's End is a popular venue for rock climbers. [6]

The Longships, a group of rocky islets are just over 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore, and together with the Seven Stones Reef and the Isles of Scilly which lie approximately 28 miles (45 km) southwest — are part of the mythical lost land of Lyonesse, referred to in Arthurian literature.

The area around Land's End has been designated part of an Important Plant Area, by the organisation Plantlife, for rare species of flora.[7]

History

In 1769, the antiquarian William Borlase wrote:

"Of this time we are to understand what Edward I. says (Sheringham. p. 129.) that Britain, Wales, and Cornwall, were the portion of Belinus, elder son of Dunwallo, and that that part of the Island, afterwards called England, was divided in three shares, viz. Britain, which reached from the Tweed, Westward, as far as the river Ex; Wales inclosed by the rivers Severn, and Dee; and Cornwall from the river Ex to the Land's-End".

Tourists have been visiting Land’s End for over two hundred years. In 1878 people left Penzance by horse-drawn vehicles from outside the Queens and Union hotels and travelled via St Buryan and Treen, to see the Logan Rock. There was a short stop to look at Porthcurno and the Eastern Telegraph Company followed by refreshments at the First and Last Inn in Sennen. They then headed for Land’s End, often on foot or horse, because of the uneven and muddy lanes. Over one hundred people could be at Land's End at any one time.[8] At Carn Kez, the First and Last Inn owned a small house which looked after the horses while visitors roamed the cliffs. The house at Carn Kez eventually developed into the present hotel.[3] The earliest part of the house was damaged by the Luftwaffe when a plane returning from a raid on Cardiff jettisoned its remaining bombs. A number of local fisherman were injured or killed. In the build-up to D-Day American troops were billeted in the hotel leaving the building in a bad state.

In 1987, Peter de Savary outbid the National Trust to purchase Land’s End for almost £7 million from David Goldstone.[9] He had two new buildings erected and much of the present theme park development was instigated by him[citation needed]. He sold both Land's End and John o' Groats to businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey in 1991.[10] The current owners purchased Land’s End in 1996 and formed a company named Heritage Great Britain PLC[citation needed]. Attractions at the theme park include children's playgrounds and recorded music. Twice a week in August, Land's End hosts 'Magic in the Skies', a night-time firework spectacular with music by British composer Christopher Bond and narrated by actress Miriam Margolyes. Within the complex is the Land's End Hotel.[11]

In May 2012, Land's End received worldwide publicity as the starting point of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.[12]

Gallery

See also

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References

  1. An English-Cornish Glossary in the Standard Written Form (gives both Penn an Wlas and Pedn an Wlas)
  2. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. http://www.landsend-to-johnogroats.co.uk/home/beginning/planning/how-far-is-it-from-land-s-end-to-john-o-groats
  5. 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=211
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  11. Clegg, David (2005) Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly; 2nd ed. Leicester: Matador; pp. 123–24
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