A POETIC STRETCH OF CORNISH COAST: TREBETHERICK/SIR JOHN BETJEMAN

When the former British Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman was a boy, he and his family used to holiday on the majestic north Cornish coast at Trebetherick between Polzeath and Daymer Bay.  These holidays evidently made a lasting impression, because he later bought a house in the area, and when he died in 1984 he was buried in the Church of St Enodoc to the south of Trebetherick.  

Daymer Bay and Trebetherick Point - geograph.org.uk - 7916. Photo by Stephen Dawson, via Wikimedia Commons.

This gorgeous part of Cornwall was described in detail in his poem Trebetherick, in which he describes family picnics - “sand in the sandwiches, wasps in the tea” - and the vagaries of the weather - “rain and blizzard, sea and spray”.  Shilla Mill gets a mention, now a campsite at Polzeath, as does Greenaway, a beach to the south-west of Polzeath.

Map of the area.

CRISIS IN CORNWALL: PLAYING NICE

Apparently, James Norton did not want to leave Cornwall when the filming of the ITV series Playing Nice came to an end.  Hardly surprising, given the lovely filming locations the lucky so-and-so and his co-stars had the pleasure of filming in.  A stark contrast to the harrowing subject matter of the series, which starts with two couples leaving hospital with each others’ babies after a mix-up and continues with the subsequent war between the two couples involved..  The book the series is based on was set in London, but Cornwall was chosen for the filming for its dramatic backdrops.

The most stunning scenery seen in the series is that of Cornwall’s majestic north coast, with its soaring cliffs and foaming seas.  The house where Miles, the nemesis of Pete (James Norton), and his wife live is the sort of modern multi-million pound mansion which enrages the locals, who feel such properties do not fit in with their surroundings.  The real house is Sand Dunes in Mawgan Porth, a honeypot for celebrities such as Cate Blanchett who have homes there.  Reportedly worth £4 million, the new owners plan to rent it out for a cool £5,000-plus a week. Further along the north coast, Park Head near Porthcothan Beach is where the dramatic scenes of the last episode were filmed. The restaurant where Pete's wife Maddie works is Zacry's in real life and is on Watergate Bay near Newquay.

Porthcothan Beach - geograph.org.uk - 314452. Photo by Tony Atkin, via Wikimedia Commons.

In the second episode the couples are seen using an outdoor swimming pool.  The scenes were shot at the Jubilee Pool in Penzance, a fine example of a 1930s art deco lido.  It is Grade II listed and widely recognised as one of the best surviving examples of such pools.  I grew up in Penzance and during the summer holidays I practically lived in the Pool as I called it.  The opening day of the season was the highlight of my year, and I would head down there eagerly to get my season ticket.  I can’t remember how much it cost, but it must have been affordable because we were not a particularly well-off family.  Nowadays it would be a very different proposition, as the pool is now geothermal and entry includes a sauna, with prices to match, although there is a discount for locals.

Jubilee Pool, Penzance - geograph.org.uk - 5790808. Photo by Chris Allen, via Wikimedia Commons.

The second episode also offers a glimpse of another iconic building: the Tate St Ives.  This is where Miles and his wife hold a charity event.  The Tate commands a wonderful position overlooking Porthmeor Beach, and anyone visiting must be sure not to miss the cafe on the top floor, which boasts lovely sea views.

Tate St Ives - geograph.org.uk - 1208300. Photo by Sarah Charlesworth, via Wikimedia Commons.

The series offers includes sweeping views of two of Cornwall’s most popular fishing villages, Mevagissey and of Padstow,with one of the most harrowing scenes in the last episode starting out in Mevagissey.  Mevagissey, on the south coast, is popular not only for its own charms, but also for its proximity to the beautiful Lost Gardens of Heligan.  Padstow, on the north coast, is above all famous for its seafood scene, dominated by Rick Stein’s outlets, earning it the nickname Padstein.

VIRGINIA SEES THE LIGHT: TO THE LIGHTHOUSE/GODREVY, CORNWALL

 The writer Virginia Woolf was born in London, the daughter of Leslie and Julia Stephens.  Although the family lived in London, during the 1880s and 1890s, for three months of every year, they would decamp to St Ives, staying at Talland House.  Anyone who has been to St Ives will be well aware of the magnificent views along the coastline.  One notable feature on the horizon is Godrevy Lighthouse, just offshore a few miles up the coast from St Ives at the eastern end of St Ives Bay.  The lighthouse was clearly visible from the family’s holiday home, which sat above Porthminster Beach.

Talland House, St Ives, Cornwall - May 2022. Photo by Mutney, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

The lighthouse formed the inspiration for the story Virginia considered her best, ‘To The Lighthouse’, which was actually set on Skye in a location visited by the Ramsay family, for whom the lighthouse was an ever-present draw.  Virginia describes the lighthouse as ‘hoary’ and ‘austere’, and she refers to the ‘green sand dunes with the wild flowing grasses on them’.  This is a good description of the coast surrounding Godrevy Lighthouse, which is dominated by the sand dunes of Gwithian, and which is managed by the National Trust..

Talland House is on Albert Road, above the railway station which forms the terminus of a delightful short branch line from St Erth.  The house is not open to visitors, but there is a  blue plaque commemorating its association with Woolf and her family.

Godrevy Lighthouse has an octagonal tower 26 metres high, designed by architect James Walker and opened on 1^st March 1859.  It was built on Godrevy Island,which lies 300 metres off Godrevy Head.  The lighthouse is well placed for protecting shipping from the hazardous Stones Reef.  The light was deactivated in 2012 and replaced with an LED light mounted on the rocks on a platform, but the lighthouse tower is still retained by Trinity House as a daymark.  There are boat trips out to the lighthouse from St Ives.

Map of St Ives.

Godrevy Lighthouse by Barbara Ashley.

MURDER ON THE MARSHES: A BIRD IN THE HAND, ANN CLEEVES/NORTH NORFOLK COAST

 Ann Cleeves has previously been known for her novels set in Shetland and in north east England (dramatised for TV in the Shetland and Vera series respectively).  For A Bird In The Hand we are transported to the county of Norfolk and the obsessive world of birdwatching.  The main action takes place in the fictional village of Rushy where a body is found in the marshes, although some of the characters venture further afield to the Scilly Isles and other birdwatching hotspots.  

I have tried in vain to find out whether there is a real-life place which forms the inspiration for Rushy, but having visited the Norfolk coast a few years ago I am convinced the most likely contender is Cley next the Sea where, like Rushy, there are extensive marshes and also a Visitor Centre focussing on the birdlife of the area.  Another giveaway is that there is a windmill in Cley used for accommodation; Rushy also has a windmill which is used as a cafe.

The Skirts, Cley Marshes Nature Reserve - geograph.org.uk - 3010226. Photo by Oliver Dixon, via Wikimedia Commons.

Cley next the Sea has swapped its role as a medieval trading port for that of a mecca for nature lovers, particularly birdwatchers.  Cley Marshes, run by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, is a nature reserve with six hides for birdwatchers to lurk in as they watch out for their feathered friends, which include wintering and migrating wildfowl and waders.  There is a Visitor Centre owned by the Trust on the way into the village from the east with marsh views and a cafe.  The 18^th century windmill now serves as a bed and breakfast and wedding venue, offering stunning views of the marshes and surrounding countryside.

Cley Windmill 1. Photo by Martin Pettitt, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

AN ELIZABETHAN SAGA IN CORNWALL: THE GROVE OF EAGLES/FALMOUTH

 

The late Winston Graham is best known for the Poldark books, not least given the latest dramatisation of the series on the TV.  However, I recently read another excellent work by him set earlier in time, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  I have always been fascinated by this period in the country’s history, characterised by such a strong female monarch, the discovery of the New World and the triumph over the Spanish Armada.  My mother’s side of my family came from Mousehole, which bore the brunt of an invasion by the Spanish during this time, and I often wonder whether I have a trace of Spanish blood coursing through my veins from the raping and pillaging that went on there.

 

The invasion of Mousehole and West Cornwall is the subject of one of the most dramatic sections of The Grove of Eagles, but it is the estuary town of Falmouth which forms the main geographical focus of the story.  The main character, Maugan Killigrew, is the illegitimate son of John Killigrew who lives at Arwenack House in what is now Falmouth, and who was the Governor of Pendennis Castle.  He becomes involved in the war against the Spanish, spending time as a prisoner in Spain, followed by a spell as secretary to Sir Walter Raleigh once back on British soil.  Arwenack House can still be found in Falmouth today, just across the way from Discovery Quay, home to the National Maritime Museum. 

 

Arwenack Falmouth Cornwall. Photo by Steve Barnes, via Wikimedia Commons.

In those days Penryn, just up the Fal from the present-day Falmouth, was the main port in the area, and some of the early action of the story takes place here, with Maugan getting into trouble with the locals.  The Elizabethan manor house Trerice also features in the early part of the story, being the home of John Arundell, who also served as a Governor of Pendennis Castle.  

 

Pendennis Castle. Photo by Willhsmit, via Wikimedia Commons.

The most enduring feature of Maugan Killigrew’s story is his love for Sue Reskymer, who he loses touch with when he goes to Spain, and who marries and moves to West Penwith.  The pair are reunited when the far west of Cornwall is invaded by the Spanish and Maugan goes in search of her.  As mentioned before, this is one of the most dramatic episodes of the story, with the local men converging on Mousehole, Penzance and the surrounding areas in search of the invaders.

The Fal estuary

 

Trerice is a short distance inland from Newquay, and is nowadays run by the National Trust.  Pendennis Castle, which occupies a commanding position overlooking the mouth of the Fal estuary, is run by English Heritage.

Map of Falmouth.

THE REAL MANDERLEY: MENABILLY, CORNWALL

I read Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca for the first time recently during lockdown.  It made such an impression that I went searching for the film version starring Sir Laurence Olivier (as husband Maxim de Winter) and Joan Fontaine (as the narrator known only as the new Mrs de Winter – her first name is never revealed) and watched that for good measure.  I must say I have never come across a story quite like it.  A story of marrying into money, trying to live up to the late former lady of the house (the Rebecca of the title) in the face of a hostile army of servants, the sheer oppressiveness of living in a big house with said servants lurking on every corner, dark secrets from the past and a tragic, explosive ending. 

The bulk of the story is concentrated in the house and grounds known as Manderley in the story, on the Cornish coast.  The inspiration for Manderley was a property called Menabilly about 2 miles west of Fowey on Cornwall’s south coast.  Du Maurier was born in London, but she spent much of her life in Cornwall, and she became fascinated with the Menabilly estate, which had belonged to an influential local family called the Rashleighs since the 16^th century. 

                                       

                                                                         Menabilly, c. 1820

By the time Daphne discovered the house, it had fallen into disrepair, and Daphne used to sneak into the grounds, dreaming of being able to live there and restore the property.  In fact in 1943, following the success of Rebecca the book and the film, she managed to persuade the Rashleighs to let her and her family live there as tenants.  They stayed for 26 years until the tenancy ended in 1969, during which time she worked hard at the restoration work.  She then moved to nearby Kilmarth in Tywardreath near Par, but the memory of Menabilly no doubt lingered on, just as it did for the heroine of Rebecca, evident from the unforgettable opening line of the story: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”.

One place which features heavily in the story is a cove at the edge of the Manderley estate.  This is where Rebecca would retreat to a cottage on the beach, and where the new Mrs De Winter encounters a local simpleton called Ben.  It is also where a ship goes aground, leading to a grisly discovery revealing dark secrets from the past.  There is a cove on the coastline which forms part of the Menabilly estate called Polridmouth Cove, which was the inspiration for the cove in the story. 

                              

Approaching Polridmouth - geograph.org.uk - 1239664. Photo by Derek Harper, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fans of Rebecca who want to visit Menabilly will be disappointed, because the property is privately owned, still belonging to the Rashleigh family, and not open to visitors.  However, there are a couple of holiday lets on the wider estate.  Kilmarth is also privately owned.

Map of the area.

A RIVER ROMANCE: FRENCHMAN'S CREEK, DAPHNE DU MAURIER/HELFORD, CORNWALL

Frenchman’s Creek, a novel by Daphne du Maurier about the relationship between the English lady Dona, Lady St Columb, and a French pirate set during the reign of Charles II, came about following Daphne’s marriage, when her husband used to bring her to a tranquil corner of the Helford River, mooring up for some newly-wed canoodling.  Daphne later lived within sight of this spot, so that she was constantly reminded of those romantic times.



The story begins with a detailed description of the village of Helford and the river, partly from the viewpoint of the time when the story was set, and partly as it was during Daphne’s time there in the 1930s.  The river in Charles II’s time is described as “lonely and austere”, and the hamlet’s inhabitants as “dull-witted and uncommunicative”.  In short, no reason for anyone happening upon this spot to linger there.  Of course, at that time there would have been no pub, the present-day Shipwrights Arms being a mere 300 years old.  

Helford Village - geograph.org.uk - 9853.  Photo by Richard Johns, via Wikimedia Commons

Du Maurier contrasts this unappealing description with how it was in her time, with “many voices to blunder in on the silence” and the coming and going of “pleasure steamers”.  Presumably these were visiting from nearby Falmouth; it is still possible to get a boat trip from Falmouth to the Helford River, also taking in Frenchman's Creek.  However, visiting yachtsmen in Daphne’s day would hesitate at the entrance to the creek, finding it disconcertingly mysterious, the only sounds the occasional plopping of a fish breaking the surface and the sound of the night-jar issuing from the bracken on the hills.

In Daphne’s day, daytrippers would head to a farmhouse kitchen which doubled up as a tea-room.  She claims in the novel that this was once Navron House, the Cornish retreat Dona escapes to when she has tired of London.  In fact, Navron House is a fiction, and the inspiration for it can be found in the Trelowarren Estate.  Fans of the book can stay on the estate, which offers a range of cottages for hire, and guests staying there can also enjoy the beautiful gardens.  What is real, however, is Frenchman’s Creek itself, a long sinuous offshoot of the Helford to the west of Helford village.  The National Trust website has a suggested walk taking in the creek.

Frenchman's Creek at low tide - geograph.org.uk - 1370928. Photo by Graham Loveland, via Wikimedia Commons

Helford River and its village lie between Falmouth and Lizard Point, the most southerly spot in Britain.  Lovers of gardens visiting the area are in for a treat, even if not staying at Trelowarren.  On the other side of the Helford is the National Trust garden Glendurgan, with the equally beautiful Trebah Garden next door.  From Helford, it is possible to cross to the other side by ferry and follow the South West Coastal Path along to Glendurgan.  Further afield, and accessible from Falmouth by boat, is another National Trust garden, Trelissick.

Map of the area.

VALENTINE SPECIAL: LOVE ON PAGE AND SCREEN

With Valentine’s Day upon us, I have come over all soppy and decided to share some British locations associated with some of the many romantic moments featured in our nation’s works of film, TV and literature.  So get out the heart-shaped chocolates and enjoy.

Gunwalloe, Cornwall: Dwight marries Caroline in Poldark

I have already described some of the Poldark locations in an earlier post, including the location of Nampara, where Ross and Demelza build their life together.  I do not tear up easily, but one scene in series 3 even got me going, when Caroline Penvenen and Dr. Dwight Ennis, after a seemingly doomed relationship, finally tied the knot.  The church where the wedding was filmed was the charming and very Cornish Church of St Winwaloe, nestled among the dunes in Gunwalloe near the Lizard Peninsula.  Being of a ‘three hall’ design, the present day church is thought to date from the 15^th century, although the original chancel and nave were probably 13^th century, and there is a Norman font.  

St Winwaloe Church and Church Cove - geograph.org.uk - 981092. Photo by Rod Allday, via Wikimedia Commons.

Valency Valley, Cornwall: Thomas Hardy meets his first wife

Staying in Cornwall, but this time near the north coast, the Valency Valley is a lush hideaway just inland from the picturesque harbour village of Boscastle.  Set in an isolated position on the northern slopes of the valley is the Church of St Juliot.  In 1870 Thomas Hardy, who at the time was an aspiring architect, arrived at the church to perform work on its restoration following the death of the person originally hired to do the job.  While there he met and fell in love with his first wife Emma, the rector’s sister-in-law and their courtship inspired one of his works, the novel ‘A Pair of Blue Eyes’. 

Mapperton House, Dorset: Bathsheba and her triangle of suitors

Continuing the Hardy theme, Bathsheba Everdene in Hardy’s Far From The Madding Crowd must surely be one of English literature’s most fascinating and complex characters, a woman ahead of her time for her fierce independence.  When she inherits a farmhouse and takes up residence there she find herself pursued by a trio of suitors: Gabriel Oak, a shepherd from her past who asks her to marry him but is rejected – although he gets his girl in the end; Sergeant Francis Troy, who succeeds in wooing her but turns out to be really bad news; and the lonely farmer William Boldwood, who Bathsheba foolishly leads on with a Valentine saying “Marry me” but who eventually succeeds in gaining her hand in marriage only for it to end in tragedy through a fatal spat with Troy.  The 2015 film version of the story, starring Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba, captures all this wooing and wedding perfectly.  Bathsheba’s farmhouse in the film is portrayed by Mapperton House near Beaminster in the Hardy county of Dorset, a Jacobean manor house and home to the Earl and Countess of Sandwich.  The house is open to visitors on guided tours only.

Mapperton House - geograph.org.uk - 517671. Photo by Chris Downer, via Wikimedia Commons.

Apple Tree Yard, London

The scene of the al fresco knee trembler involving Yvonne Carmichael and her mysterious lover in the book and TV series of the same name actually exists as Apple Tree Yard in real life.  It is an insignificant alleyway behind Jermyn Street in Mayfair.  However, the makers of the TV production were unable to use the yard for the series because of building work going on there for a major redevelopment, so a similar alleyway in the City had to be used instead. 

Romantic locations galore in Four Weddings and a Funeral

The 1994 romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring Hugh Grant and Andi McDowell, takes us on a tour of romantic locations in south-east England for the wedding scenes.  Wedding No. 1 takes place in St Michael’s Church, Betchworth near Reigate, with the reception filmed at a property named Goldingtons in Sarratt, Hertfordshire, which went up for sale in 2015 for a cool £4.5m.  No. 2 is conducted at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, with Luton Hoo Estate near Luton being used for the reception.  The third wedding service was supposed to take place in Perthshire in the film, but was actually filmed at Albury Park, Guildford, Surrey, with the reception at Rotherfield Park near Alton, Hampshire.  The final wedding is scheduled to take place at St Bartholomew-the-Great in Clerkenwell, but turns into a non-wedding when Charles has second thoughts.

A wealth of stately homes: Pride and Prejudice

The 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice has Mr Darcy sneering at everyone in a lavish ballroom, meant to be the Netherfield Ballroom.  His dance with Lizzie on this occasion  marks the beginning of their romance.  Netherfield Park, where the scene takes place, is the home of Mr Bingley, a wealthy gentleman from the city, and the exterior of the property is represented by Edgecote House in Northamptonshire, while the ballroom scene was shot in the ballroom of Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire.  Later on in the series Darcy has an awkward encounter with Lizzie dressed in wet underclothes following a swim in a lake on a hot day.  This scene, which was voted one of the best on British TV, was shot at Lyme Park in Cheshire.

Teversal Manor, Nottinghamshire: Lady Chatterley's Lover

The racy novel by D H Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, is centred on the tragic couple Lady Constance Chatterley and her paralysed husband Clifford.  At night Constance creeps from their  home, Wragby Hall, to spend time with her lover Oliver Mellors the gamekeeper.  The house believed to have provided the inspiration for Wragby Hall was Teversal Manor, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, which was put up for sale in 2013 for £1m.

Stokesay Court, Shropshire: Atonement

The novel Atonement by Ian McEwen explores the ill-fated romance between Cecilia Tallis and Robbie Turner, the son of the family’s cleaning lady.  In 2007 the novel was made into a film, and the Tallis family home which was the scene of the beginning of the couple’s romance was represented by Stokesay Court in Onibury, Shropshire, built by Victorian merchant John Derby Allcroft.  Not to be confused with the much older Stokesay Castle, an English Heritage site to the north, just south of Craven Arms.

Blackpool: a very Coronation Street romance

The fictional Coronation Street couple Roy and Hayley Cropper were once described as the greatest soap couple of all time.  They were also possibly the most unusual, given that Hayley started out as a bloke and was the first transgender character in a British soap opera.  Unfortunately, the romance between the two comes to a sad end when Hayley is diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Following the diagnosis the couple head to Blackpool to try and grab some last happiness together, for example dancing in the Tower Ballroom. Following Hayley’s death, Roy scatters her ashes in the sea at Blackpool.

Carnforth Station: Brief Encounter.

One of the most memorable images from 1940s British cinema is that of Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson gazing meaningfully into each other's eyes in a station cafe in Brief Encounter.   Those who want to relive that romantic moment should head for Carnforth, because it was the cafe at Carnforth Station, now known as the Brief Encounter Refreshment Room, which was used in the film with the station acting as Milford Junction.  It is a fitting name, because at that time Carnforth was a major junction in the railway system of the north-west, and during the war thousands of servicemen passed through on the way to their overseas destinations.  However, Carnforth was a victim of the Beeching rail cuts in the 1960s, and the station was turned into a mere branch line station with a lot of the buildings from its heyday falling derelict.  Recent restoration work has resulted in the opening of the Carnforth Station Heritage Centre, incorporating that famous cafe.

Carnforth Station waiting room. Photo by Deben Dave, via Wikimedia Commons.

High Sunderland Hall, Yorkshire: Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights, the property at the heart of Emily Bronte’s novel of the same name, is the scene of a classic story of love and revenge, charting the doomed love affair between Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of the property’s owner, and the dark and brooding Heathcliff, an orphan boy brought by Earnshaw to live with the family following a trip to Liverpool.  The inspiration for the exterior of Wuthering Heights is thought to be High Sunderland Hall near Halifax, while the location of the property is assumed to be Top Withens, the site of a ruined farmhouse near the Bronte family’s home village, Haworth.

Tretower Court, Powys: The Libertine

The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp, is a historical romp centred on a drunken, sex-mad poet called John Wilmot, or the Earl of Rochester, a friend of King Charles II.  Wilmot falls in love with an actress he has decided to make into a star.  Much of the film was made in the Isle of Man for tax purposes, but several key scenes were filmed at the 14^th century Tretower Court, a medieval courtyard house and adjoining castle near Crickhowell, Powys.   Apparently Depp joined some of the locals for a drink at the Bear Hotel, where some of the crew members were staying.

Cumbernauld: Gregory's Girl.

Gregory’s Girl, released in 1981, is a romantic comedy with a Scottish accent which launched the film acting career of John Gordon Sinclair, who was just 19 at the time of filming.  Much of the action takes place in and around the New Town of Cumbernauld in North Lanarkshire.  The site was designated for a New Town in 1955, and the town has since grown to be the ninth most populated locality in Scotland.  Among the industries which have grown up around this population are the studios for the TV series Outlander, which makes much use of the surrounding area.

D H LAWRENCE AND HIS SPAT WITH THE CORNISH: ZENNOR

Normally when a famous author takes up residence in Cornwall the story is one of idyllic days spent writing while soaking up the beautiful scenery and, hopefully, earning the affection and respect of the locals.  When D. H. Lawrence took up residence in Zennor in the wilds of the far west of Cornwall, however, the outcome was somewhat different.  The problems arose from the fact that the stay took place during the First World War, and Lawrence’s wife Frieda was German.  The locals were convinced that the couple were German spies, and they were eventually hounded out on the orders of the police.  To be fair to the locals, Lawrence had been very cruel in his remarks about the Cornish, describing them as “insects gone cold” and declaring that “they ought all to die”.  Not the best way to endear himself with his new neighbours.

The couple started out staying in the local pub, the Tinners Arms, but they later moved to a property in a tiny hamlet called Higher Tregerthen, near Zennnor, which they rented for the princely sum of five pounds a year.  The marriage was reportedly a rocky one, and the cottage was the scene of some fiery arguments, with Lawrence chasing Frieda around the cottage during one of their fights, and with her smashing a plate over his head on another occasion.  At the time of his stay Lawrence was writing Women In Love, published in 1920 and a sequel to his earlier novel The Rainbow. 

The pine, the pub sign and the church - Zennor - geograph.org.uk - 1807780. Photo by Sarah Smith, via Wikimedia Commons

The Tinners Arms is still in business today, providing a welcome respite for walkers roaming this windswept landscape, and  it is so called because this was classic mining country when mining was still a thing around here.  Reminders of that time remain all around the area in the form of ruined engine houses and other mining paraphernalia (a landscape which would be familiar to fans of Poldark).  Before becoming a fully-fledged pub, during the 13^th century, the building was used to house some stonemasons working on the local church, St Senara’s, which gives the village its name.  Higher Tregerthen lies close to the B3306, which links St Ives and St Just and is generally regarded as one of the most spectacular roads in the country.

Large house beside the B3306 at Higher Tregerthen -  geograph.ork.uk - 1617215.  Photo by Rod Allday, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

SUMMER SPECIAL: BEACHES ON THE BIG AND SMALL SCREEN

Summer’s here and it’s time to head for the beach, but in between leaping into the waves and sunning yourself, why not stop to consider all the wonderful film and TV scenes produced over the years featuring the nation’s stunning beaches.  Here is a baker’s dozen of British beaches which have featured on the big and small screen.

Holywell Beach, Cornwall

In the third series of Poldark Geoffrey Charles, stepson of George Warleggan, is seen visiting a beautiful beach and declaring it the best beach in Cornwall.  In another episode the same beach forms the backdrop for the romantic reunion of Geoffrey Charles’ governess Morwenna and Demelza’s brother Drake.  The beach in question is the one at Holywell Bay, easily recognisable from the two pointy islets just offshore known as Gull Rocks.  This is not the first time the beach has been seen on screen: it appears on the big screen in Summer In February, the 2013 film about an Edwardian artists’ colony in Cornwall, in which Gilbert Evans and Alfred Munnings are seen riding together on horseback and discussing the love interest, the fragrant Florence Carter-Wood.  The bay’s name derives from St Cubert’s Holy Well, which is to be found in Holywell Cave, accessible at low tide.  The cave features in one of the above-mentioned Poldark episodes, when Drake leads Geoffrey Charles and Morwenna to it.

On a much grimmer note, in 2002 the beach was transformed into a North Korean battlefield for the opening scenes of the  James Bond film Die Another Day, although apart from a brief glimpse of Gull Rocks you would never recognise it.  The lifeguard hut was turned into a pill box and barbed wire was arranged all over in order to achieve the desired effect.

Dunes at Holywell Bay (6124). Photo by Nilfanion, via Wikimedia Commons

West Bay, Dorset

The distinctive orange-hued cliffs backing the beach at West Bay will be forever remembered by Broadchurch fans as the place where the Latimers’ son Danny was found dead on the beach, a tragic event which formed the central focus of the first series and continued to weave its way through the two subsequent series.  The beach is repeatedly seen thereafter, often with dramatic waves crashing onto the shore.  The rocks forming the cliffs date from the Early Jurassic age and consist of Bridport Sand Formation and Inferior Oolite.  There are also frequent glimpses of the harbour adjacent to the beach in the series.

Brighton, East Sussex

Brighton Beach has featured in many productions over the years.  Among the most memorable scenes is the one in Quadrophenia in which the central character Jimmy is sitting on the shingle after an eventful night out gazing pensively out to sea, accompanied by the strains of  The Who’s ‘Love, Reign O’er Me’.  Then there is the scene from Mona Lisa, in which Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson are seen larking about in comedy sunglasses on the Palace Pier.  The beach and seafront also appeared in The Boat That Rocked about a 1960s pirate radio station, and of course both the 1947 and 2010 version of  Brighton Rock, based on the Graham Greene novel of the same name, featured the seafront, in particular the pier.  This is just a small selection of appearances by the film makers’ favourite resort.

20070813 brighton10. Photo by Jean Housen, via Wikimedia Commons.

Camber  Sands, East Sussex

Camber Sands near Rye is a riot of dunes, a rarity in the south-east.  The makers of the Carry On film Follow That Camel evidently thought the beach resembled the Sahara Desert, only without the attendant heat and lack of infrastructure.  The sands were also seen in a beach scene in The Theory of Everything, about the life of Stephen Hawking.  But most of the appearances by the sands have been in war films.  The 1958 version of Dunkirk used the beach as the backdrop for a recreation of Operation Dynamo, and in the 1962 film The Longest Day it was used to depict the Normandy beaches, a role repeated in the more recent film The Monuments Men, starring George Clooney and Matt Damon, about an attempt to save art treasures from the Nazis. 

Holkham Beach, Norfolk

This sweeping mass of sand manages to upstage Gwyneth Paltrow in the final scene in Shakespeare in Love.  The actress is seen striding along the beach, meant to be Shakespeare’s Illyria, in a flowing gown while Joseph Fiennes as Shakespeare sings her praises in a voiceover.  More recently, the beach became “Area X” in a sci-fi film called Annihilation starring Natalie Portman.  Visitors to the beach will no doubt want to look in on the nearby Palladian masterpiece Holkham Hall, which has also been used a fair bit in filming.

Redcar, North Yorkshire

Like Camber Sands, Redcar’s beach has been used to depict the beach at Dunkirk, this time in the film version of Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.  The harrowing wartime scenes filmed at Redcar included local people who were brought in as extras to play the soldiers.  One of the excited inhabitants of the town commented that they wished they could put a price on what the film was worth to the town, quite justifiably, since visitor numbers jumped by some 70% during the filming.

Bamburgh, Northumberland

As well as being a stunning beach, Bamburgh has the added attraction of being overlooked by one of the country’s most impressive castles.  This has inevitably made it irresistible to film makers.  The castle and beach were used for the filming of the 1971 version of Macbeth, directed by Roman Polanski, and during the production of the 2015 version the cast and 200 extras were seen at the castle.  The castle also made an appearance in the 1998 film Elizabeth.  On the small screen, the castle served to depict Belleme Castle in Robin of Sherwood.  Another appearance on the small screen was in an episode of Most Haunted, a ghost hunting series best known for Yvette Fielding screaming her head off  and Derek Acorah speaking in tongues.  The ghosts in the castle reportedly include a stunningly beautiful “pink lady”.

Bamburgh MMB 39 Bamburgh Castle. Photo by mattbuck, via Wikimedia Commons.

St Andrews, Fife

The opening scene of the film Chariots of Fire, which tells the story of two athletes who, after years of training, are accepted to compete in the 1924 Paris Olympics, features a race along a beautiful sandy beach with the athletes dressed in their white period racing gear, their feet splashing in the shallows, with the stirring theme tune by Vangelis ringing out.   Towards the end of the scene the skyline of the university and cathedral city of St Andrews comes into the camera shot, revealing that the scene of the race is the city’s West Sands beach, backed by St Andrews Links, this being “the home of golf”.  The beach where the athletes trained was meant to be at Broadstairs, but the film makers chose St Andrews for the running scenes.

Camusdarach Beach, Arisaig, Highland

In the heartwarming film Local Hero, which tells the story of a rich American oil company’s efforts to buy a small Scottish coastal village for oil prospecting purposes, much of the action takes place on the east coast, in the village of Pennan.  However, one of the most beautiful locations used in the film was actually on the other side of Scotland at Camusdarach Beach, between Morar and Arisaig.  The beach is the setting of the amusing scene in which the local populace gather in the little church overlooking the beach to hold a meeting about the oil company's bid to exploit the area, while the oil men stand on the beach, oblivious to the line of people filing into the church.

Looking North up Camusdarach Beach - geograph.org.uk - 68305. Photo by David Crocker, via Wikimedia Commons.

Blackpool, Lancashire

Blackpool has made repeated appearances in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street.  From the early days in 1961, when Ena, Minnie and Martha took a trip up the Blackpool Tower, to 1985 when Bet Lynch declared that "Everybody's letting their hair down. You can cut smell of shrimps and best bitter with a knife."  Fast forward to 1989 when one of Coronation Street's worst villains, Alan Bradley, met his end at the hands of a Blackpool tram while stalking Rita Fairclough, who had moved to the town to escape from him.  Then there was the recent heart-rending scene involving Roy and Hayley Cropper who went to Blackpool to try to blot out Hayley's terminal cancer.  On the big screen, the resort is the focal point of the British comedy film Bhaji On The Beach about a group of women from the Indian subcontinent enjoying a day trip to see the famous Blackpool Illuminations. 

Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire

The year 2009 was a big one for filming on the spectacular beach at Freshwater West.  In May of that year the beach was taken over by the Harry Potter team, when filming took place for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  The most striking prop was Dobby's Shell Cottage, which is seen in the film with the dunes as a backdrop.  Then, the following month the production crew of Ridley Scott's Robin Hood arrived and put on a dazzling display for any casual onlookers as they filmed the scene depicting a battle against French invaders with Robin Hood (Russell Crowe) leading his men into the fray.  The scene was so massive that it involved 800 actors and 130 horses as well as dozens of the boats that were built for the filming.   

Freshwater West - geograph.org.uk - 239022. Photo by Jeremy Owen, via Wikimedia Commons.

Southerndown, Vale of Glamorgan

Many Doctor Who fans will have been touched by the relationship between the David Tennant version of the Doctor and his sidekick Rose Tyler (Billie Piper).  So the tearjerking scene in which the Doctor is about to declare his feelings for Rose when he suddenly dematerialises must have had them reaching for the tissues.  The scene of all this heartache was the beach at Southerndown in South Wales, meant to be Bad Wolf Bay in Norway in the series.  The production team evidently thought highly of the beach in question as a filming location: it was used in several other episodes including Journey's End, which saw Rose being joined by her successor Donna (Catherine Tate). 

Portstewart Strand, County Londonderry

One of the most magnificent beaches in Northern Ireland, and just one of a host of scenic coastal locations seen in Game of Thrones, which has just begun its seventh series, Portstewart Strand was where Jaime Lannister and Bronn were seen duelling with the Dornish guards in series 5.  The filming took place in August 2014, which was unfortunate, this being one of Northern Ireland’s most popular summer holiday spots, because the beach was completely closed for the filming.  The locals didn’t mind, though, considering the closure a small price to pay for the exposure given to Portstewart by its role in Game of Thrones.

A westerly view along The Strand, Portstewart - geograph.org.uk - 1312074. Photo by Des Colhoun, via Wikimedia Commons.