The Cottage at the Edge of the World

Some time in the middle of May last year the Prime Minister told us we were allowed to go out again. We were even permitted to meet up with one person from another household as long as we didn't leap on top of them in a fit of wild abandon at first sight. A few months earlier, who'd have thought we'd be living in a world like this? The first place we went to in this new era of freedom was Cape Cornwall, just a few miles from Land's End at mainland Britain's most southwesterly corner. Ali had never been here before and it seemed a good opportunity to introduce her to one of my favourite places. She's the one who was born and bred here and can trace her Cornish lineage back through the generations. I'm a blow-in from "up there in England" as she likes to remind me. As she keeps reminding me, forty-five years isn't enough to be considered a local in these parts.

It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon; one of those clear days when you can make out the Scilly Isles on the distant horizon with the naked eye. We had the Cape Cornwall headland to ourselves, where we watched the world around us and reminded ourselves of the value of simple pleasures that can so easily taken for granted until the moment you can no longer enjoy them. I enjoyed it so much that I shared a picture of some sea thrift with you:

www.flickr.com/photos/126574513@N04/49967653047/in/datepo...

In fact I enjoyed it so much that I returned a week later to spend my Saturday afternoon alone with a camera bag full of goodies. It wasn't the first time I'd noticed the lonely white cottage that clings so appealingly to the edge of the cliffs. The previous weekend I'd shot it from the headland. I'm still deciding whether I like that image enough to share it, but given a choice of three to post, Ali chose this one - although there's a good chance that both of the other two might appear in my feed in the coming months. I can only take so many photos of the woods across the road before you all start nodding off after all. There are plenty of photos from the coast over the last year which still haven't made it onto these pages. I need to share more of them before I forget the stories behind them.

There are other cottages in this area, most of them (including this one) holiday lets, but Wheal Call is the outpost that captures the imagination. Slightly apart from the cluster of properties around the cove it makes for a lone sentinel at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean where storm after winter storm brings enormous walls of water crashing into the cliffs below. During those furious months I would love to stay here for just a few nights, even though I can get here from home in 45 minutes. But this was one of those serene spring days when the quiet sea can seduce your senses as you gaze towards the horizon while the colours in the sky begin to change. One pair of walkers passed me on the path that afternoon, but apart from that I had the place to myself. I like it when that happens.

2,200 miles of Atlantic Ocean lie between the windswept cottage and the next landfall in Newfoundland, Canada. That's a long way beyond that golden horizon unless you have an intercontinental jet plane to hand. It's a wonderful place to contemplate just how big those wide open spaces really are. One day later this year I'll hopefully be here again, preferably in bad weather to capture some feisty seas and high drama. Now that'll be an adventure to look forward to.

Taken in: UK / England / St. Just / St Just (show map)

Taken on: May 23, 2020

Tags:

Cape Cornwall

Sea

Sunset

orange

Kernow

Kernowfornia

British Coast

Britain

England

wheal call

Cottage

Atlantic

West Country

west country clickers

Cornwall

Coast

cornish coast

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Water

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Sets appears in: • Cape Cornwall • Sea scapes and sunsets

Groups appears in: • Cornwall Flickr Users • Flickr Social Club more » • UK's Landscape & Seascape Photographers • Photography Week • Amateur Photographer Magazine • Flickr Social « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, f/8.0, 1.6 sec, 43mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens:	EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	1.6
Focal Length:	43mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+2/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 21.1 (Windows)
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