Wednesday Wanderings – The Fairy Island of St Michael’s Mount

We arrived in Marazion in the early afternoon. Marazion – the word lingered on my tongue as I savoured its strange lilt. The day was overcast, but not too gloomy. My eyes were immediately attracted to the little island across the silvery-blue sea. I had wanted to walk across the causeway to St  Michael’s Mount but the tide was in. So we got there the only other possible way – by boat.

As we docked, I glanced up at the castle, perched precariously on the rocky hill, and sighed inwardly. Here was the castle from a hundred childhood tales, transported from the realms of fantasy to giddy reality. Surely this was the place that had inspired those stories.

The castle beckoned, from its giddy height, and up the rugged, ragged steps we went.

Up and up, all the way to the castle ramparts. We caught out breath and enjoyed the view. For that alone, it would have been worth the climb.

The castle has belonged to the St Aubyn family since the late 17th century. Once inside, it did not take me long to find a favourite spot or two.

Like this little reading and day-dreaming nook with views that plunge down right to the sea; and, naturally, the library.

But I was most enamoured of the views from the terraces – the wide, unobstructed vistas of the ocean.

But all fairy-tales come to an end, and soon it was time to leave. We walked slowly through the tranquil loveliness of the gardens and caught the very last boat to Marazion.

St Michael’s Mount may be small but it has its fair share of history and legends. This is Cornwall, after all.

Location: St Michael’s Mount, Mount Bay, Marazion, Cornwall

July 2012