Forever England: On the Coastal Path

May 31, 2014

Walked the coastal path from The Old Church at Mawnan, (Mawnan Smith is the nearest village, 3 miles away) past Durgan, a lovely coastal village to Trebah Gardens where a celebration of the part Cornwall played in evacuating servicemen from Dunkirk in WW II was in full swing.

First, the lovely Old Church at Mawnan. Mawnan is probably named after a sixth century Saint Maunanus. Little is known about him but he was likely a Breton monk who landed here about 820 AD. The site of the church was already sacred since it is built within the confines of an ancient earthwork, which was still in an excellent state of preservation when the churchyard was enlarged in 1920. It is the situation of this church which is one of its most outstanding attractions. Situated high above the mouth of the Helford River, it is a navigational aid to vessels entering the river. The lych gate (corpse in Old English) which holds a granite coffin rest, was built in 1881. The Cornish inscription from a sixth century book entitled The Life of Meryasek, reads: "It is good for me to draw nigh unto God."

When we arrived, preparations were being made for a wedding later that day.

We walked further on the coastal path and near the pretty village of Durgan, we ate lunch on the beach.

Further on we climbed higher and suddenly in the sky we were treated to the formation flying acrobatics of the RAF's Red Arrows, in BAE Systems Hawk T1 (Mike worked for Bristol Aircraft Company which is now known as BAE). This was all part of a memorial celebration of World War II.

We were joined by two friendly locals who live in the house at the top of the hill, with a wonderful view of the valley.

We came next to Trebah Gardens where celebrations were being held to commemorate the Cornish who had held evacuate soldiers from Dunkirk in the World War II. There was a service and we managed to catch the tail end of the celebration.