St Michael's Mount

St Michael's Mount is a striking and imposing castle, perched high on an island just off the coast of Marazion in Cornwall. At low tide it's possible to walk across a stone causeway to the island, but much of the time it's cut off by the tide, relying on a small passenger boat to transport people back and forth.  St Michael's Mount consists mostly of granite, with mineral veins running through.

Unusually, it's still lived in - by the St Aubyn family, who have owned the Castle and lived in it continuously for over 300 years.

St Michael's Mount was being used as a port, exporting the local Cornish tin and Cornish copper to Europe, as early as 400BC. There was then a church built and then the Castle. The Mount has a long history of upset and invasion as the early years were troubled times with lots of wars, especially religion-based during the reign of King Henry V and the 100 year war. The history is fascinating - and enough to fill more than one whole book.

During its lifetime it's been passed around as a gift by Kings, won in battle by armies and lived in by various groups and families.

During the Civil War, the Mount was used to store firearms and weaponry, which is how it came to be bought, in 1659, by Colonel John St Aubyn - and to this day the Mount is still owned by his descendants.

Although the St Aubyn family own the Mount, they set up a partnership with the National Trust, who manage the visitor numbers. This has been a clever way for the family to continue living in the Castle, yet enabling sufficient income to keep the Mount updated.

In 1755 there was a tsunami, caused by an earthquake in Lisbon. The tsunami waves hit St Michael's Mount, with the height of the sea water rising and falling 6' many times over five hours. This caused a loss of life and of property at the base of the Mount.

The village and the island were really prospering as a successful sea port during the 1700s and first half of the 1800s. It then went into decline and finally, once Penzance harbour was upgraded and the railways reached Penzance, a lot of the original village was demolished and people moved away.

At its peak there were 221 residents, three schools, a chapel and three pubs - although 221 residents didn't need three pubs, these were certainly frequented by the visiting sailors to the sea-port.

Like any village, there is a cemetary on St Michael's Mount, but there is no access to this for visitors. 

You might be surprised to learn that St Michael's Mount has its own underground tramway. Built around 1900 by tin miners, it is a narrow gauge railway and takes goods from the harbour up to the Castle. It is a cable-hauled railway and incline, which delivers supplies and guest's luggage up to the top of the Mount.

There are photographs of this railway in the book Cornwall Narrow Gauge, by Middleton Press, the photos are on pages 87-89. Published in May 2005, ISBN 978 1 904474 56 2

This tramway is still used today, although it is considered too steep to be safe for passengers and the National Trust prohibit visitors from seeing it.

You can see part of the tramway's existence on the harbour if you look carefully.  There are two wooden blocks set into the harbourside wall, on the quayside.  You'll also see some of the tracks embedded in the harbour.

There have been two royal visitors to St Michael's Mount... although I'm sure quite a few have popped in privately for a cup of tea over the years!

• In 1846 Queen Victoria made a visit on her yacht to St Michael's Mount, actually sailing into the harbour and anchoring. There is a brass plaque on the harbour to show where the Queen stepped foot ashore
• In 1967 the Queen Mother visited St Michael's Mount. She arrived by sea, using a small pinnace to travel between The Royal Yacht Britannia anchored off-shore and the harbour.

The Mount has also been used in two films:

• In 1979 the Castle was used as Castle Dracula, in the film Dracula.
• In 2003, just the exterior of the Castle was used in the film Johnny English, as the French chateau of the main character Pascal Sauvage.
  

In a bizarre twist, recent documents have come to light regarding Hitler's invasion of Britain during the 2nd World War.  He'd collected picture postcards of the Penzance and St Michael's Mount area and had even thought about invading Britain via Cornwall.

Hitler had told von Ribbentrip that when Germany won the war he'd be given nearby Tregenna Castle in St Ives to live in - and Hitler would even "throw St Michael's Mount in" for good measure!  Cornwall would certainly have been a very different place today if this had happened.

Cornwall has a long history of myths and legends, including a lot of giants. One giant lived at The Mount.

Cormoran The Giant

A giant called Cormoran, The Giant of St Michael's Mount, lived here. He created his home on The Mount, which he made his wife build from white granite. Cormoran the giant lived on the Mount with his wife until her untimely death. Cormoran was friendly with another giant who lived nearby on Trecrobben Hill. They owned one hammer between them, so whenever either of them needed the hammer, if the other giant had it they'd shout over for it to be thrown to them. One day Cormoran called out for the hammer, but the giant on Trecrobben Hill threw it over quicker than expected. It hit Cormoran's wife and she died.

Jack the Giant Killer's Well.

As you start to ascend the path leading to the Castle on St Michael's Mount, you'll walk past the Giant's Well - and a rock called 'The Giant's Heart', which is well marked.  Both these are references to another Cornish legend.  Jack the Giant Killer allegedly dug the well while the evil giant Cormoran was sleeping.  As dawn broke, Jack blew on his horn and when Cormoran woke and rushed towards Jack he was blinded by the sun and he tumbled into the well; his heart flew 50 yards up the hill in the process - and that's the Giant's Heart that is in the stonework to this day.  The well is to be found at OS Map Reference SW515298.

St Michael's Mount is an island, so you cannot drive to it. You'll need to find a local public car park to park in. There are a few small public car parks close to where you need to be, which are pay and display, or, if you're prepared to walk about half a mile, then you can simply park for free along the approach road to Marazion.

Opening Hours for the Castle: March to October, 6 days a week from 10.30am-5.00pm. It is not open on Saturdays. Last admission is 45 minutes before the castle closes.

Opening Hours for the Gardens: May/June Mon-Fri 10.30am-5.00pm. July-October, Thu-Fri only, 10.30am-5.00pm.

Opening Hours for the Village: The village shops, cafe and restaurant are open the same opening times as the Castle.

Admission Prices for Castle: Adult £7, Child £3.50. Family £17.50
Admission Prices for Gardens: Adult £3.50, Child £1.50
Admission Prices for both: Adult £8.75, Child £4.25. Family £21.75.

You are welcome to walk around the harbour, village and visit the cafe/restaurant without paying any admission fee. Fees are only to visit the Castle at the top of the Mount, or the Gardens. National Trust members get free entry to the castle and gardens.

Address: St Michaels Mount, Marazion, Cornwall, TR17
Telephone: 01736 710507/710265

Websites:
     http://www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk
     http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-stmichaelsmount/

St Michaels Mount: http://www.flickr.com/photos/londonmatt/4606590019/ - Matt Brown

The Causeway: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exfordy/2702500032/in/photostream/ - exfordy

St Michael's Mount.http://www.flickr.com/photos/cockyt23/3803904538/ - tommmmmmmmm