Moving on from Newquay, that afternoon we arrived in the smaller town of Perranporth, just over 8 miles to the West…
Perranporth:
Status: Cornwall Unitary Authority & County, Town, England
Date: 02/08/2015
Travel: Car
Eating & Sleeping: N/A
Attractions: Perranporth Beach, Boating Lake, Clock Tower, Perranporth Gardens, Tin Mine Chimney etc
Like Newquay, and practically every other place on the Cornish Coast, Perranporth has a fantastic beach, with golden sand, gently lapping waves, and a range of caves/arches/headlands off in the distance to complete the perfect picture.
Consistently given an “Excellent” rating by the Marine Conservation Society, it is without doubt the largest tourist attraction in the town, although that’s not to say that the town centre isn’t without some surprises too…
Perranporth is a world away from the hustle and bustle of Newquay town centre, with small quaint village shops, houses atop the cliffs with fantastic views etc. Whilst Newquay grew up primarily as a fishing village for many centuries, Perranporth became a Tin Mining village in the 19th, and remnants of this can still be seen today, but more on that later.
The main feature of the town centre is split into two parts, one of which is shown above. It consists of a small beautiful garden, with a short, squat Clock Tower next to a small stream, flowing carefree through the town until it finally meets the Atlantic down by the beach.
It’s a lovely area to sit and relax in, with various species of flowers lining it’s edge, including different types of poppy.
Just across the road from the smaller gardens with the Clock Tower is an even larger garden, with a large boating lake at it’s centre. The stream itself also originates here, flowing through a small channel underneath the road and into the other gardens.
On the island in the middle of the Lake, the Cornish Flag can be seen, a white cross on a black background. It is also known as the flag of St Piran, the county’s patron saint, who also lends his name to the town. Perranporth originates from the phrase “Cove of St Piran”, translated into Cornish as Porth Perran. It was on the beach near here that St Piran founded an Oratory (small chapel/place of worship) many centuries ago at the turn of the 7th century, and it’s remains still survive to this day.
After relaxing in the calm surroundings of Perranporth for a while, we decided to head off, and on the way out of town we spotted this, the chimney of an old Tin Mine. I am unsure whether the Mine itself was located here and only the chimney was left standing, or whether it was moved here from somewhere else, but you will find them dotted all over the Cornish countryside, which was very much industrial until 1998 when Cornwall’s final Tin Mine, that at South Crofty, closed for good.
Perranporth is only small, but it’s a great little place to relax, maybe catch some sun on the beach, and dive into the water. For us, it was time to move on, and the next morning we left for Padstow…
The British Isles were the limit, but now the world! 