Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...
, England, on the
Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
at the western end of the
A30 road. To the east of it is the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...
, and to the west the
Celtic Sea.
Land's End is the
most westerly point of mainland England. However, it is not the westernmost point on mainland
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, as this title narrowly goes to
Corrachadh Mòr
ETRS89 (; ) is a headland on the peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by w ...
in the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland ...
.
Geography
The actual Land's End, or Peal Point, is a modest headland compared with nearby headlands such as Pedn-men-dhu overlooking
Sennen Cove and Pordenack, to the south. The present hotel and tourist complex is at Carn Kez, south of the actual Land's End.
Land's End has a particular resonance because it is often used to suggest distance. Land's End to
John o' Groats in Scotland is a distance of by road and this ''
Land's End to John o' Groats'' distance is often used to define charitable events such as end-to-end walks and races in the UK. Land's End to the
northernmost point of England
__NOTOC__
Marshall Meadows Bay is the northernmost point of England. It is located on the Northumberland coast, north of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and just to the south of the Anglo-Scottish border. Across the border in Scotland is the county of ...
is a distance of by road.
The westernmost promontory at Land's End is known as Dr Syntax's Head. The character Dr Syntax was invented by the writer
William Combe in his 1809 comic verse ''The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque'', which
satirised
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...
the work of seekers of the "
picturesque" such as
William Gilpin. A nearby promontory is called Dr Johnson's Head after
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
, who referred to a hypothetical Cornish
declaration of independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of ...
in his 1775 essay ''Taxation no Tyranny''.
The area around Land's End has been designated part of an
Important Plant Area, by the organisation
Plantlife, for rare species of
flora
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
.
Land's End is a popular venue for rock climbers.
The
Longships, a group of rocky
islets are just over offshore, and together with the
Seven Stones Reef and the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of ...
which lie about southwest — are part of the mythical lost land of
Lyonesse, referred to in
Arthurian literature.
Geology
The cliffs are made of
granite, an igneous rock, which means they are resistant to weathering, and have steep cliff faces. There are two varieties of granite represented at Land's End. Adjacent to the hotel the granite is coarse-grained with large
phenocrysts of
orthoclase, sometimes more than in length. To the north, at the First and Last House, there is a finer-grained granite with fewer and smaller phenocrysts, and the different granites can be seen from a distance by the smoother weathering of the finer variety. The granite dates to 268–275 million years ago of the
Permian period.
The contact zone between the Land's End
granite pluton and the altered ″
country rocks″ is nearby and the
Longships Lighthouse, offshore, is built on the country rock.
[
]
History
In 1769, the antiquarian William Borlase wrote:
Of this time we are to understand what Edward I. says (Sheringham. p. 129.) that Britain, Wales, and Cornwall, were the portion of Belinus, elder son of Dunwallo
Dyfnwal Moelmud (Welsh for "Dyfnwal the Bald and Silent"; la, Dunvallo Molmutius; ) was accounted as an early king and lawmaker among the Welsh, credited with the codification of their standard units of measure. He also figures as a legendary ki ...
, and that that part of the Island, afterwards called England, was divided in three shares, viz. Britain, which reached from the Tweed, Westward, as far as the river Ex; Wales inclosed by the rivers Severn, and Dee; and Cornwall from the river Ex to the Land's-End.
Tourists have been visiting Land's End for over three hundred years. In 1649, an early visitor was the poet John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to:
Academics
*John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487
*John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar
*John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...
, who was hoping to find subscribers for his new book ''Wanderings to see the Wonders of the West''. In 1878 people left Penzance by horse-drawn vehicles from outside the Queens and Union hotels and travelled via St Buryan and Treen, to see the Logan Rock. There was a short stop to look at Porthcurno and the Eastern Telegraph Company followed by refreshments at the First and Last Inn in Sennen. They then headed for Land's End, often on foot or horse, because of the uneven and muddy lanes. Over one hundred people could be at Land's End at any one time. At Carn Kez, the First and Last Inn owned a small house which looked after the horses while visitors roamed the cliffs. The house at Carn Kez developed into the present hotel.[ The earliest part of the house was damaged by the Luftwaffe when a plane returning from a raid on ]Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
jettisoned its remaining bombs. 53 fisherman were injured or killed. In the build-up to D-Day American troops were billeted in the hotel leaving the building in a bad state.
Land's End was owned by a Cornish family until 1982, when it was sold to David Goldstone. In 1987, Peter de Savary outbid the National Trust to purchase Land's End for almost £7 million from David Goldstone. He had two new buildings erected and much of the present theme park development was instigated by him. He sold both Land's End and John o' Groats to businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey in 1991. The current owners purchased Land's End in 1996 and formed a company named Heritage Great Britain PLC
Heritage Great Britain PLC is an attractions company that operates numerous sites in the UK. The company used to own and operate Lightwater Valley.
Founded in 1999, Heritage Great Britain operates landmark destinations and visitor attractions i ...
. Attractions at the theme park include children's playgrounds and recorded music. Twice a week in August, Land's End hosts 'Magic in the Skies', a night-time firework spectacular with music by British composer Christopher Bond and narrated by actress Miriam Margolyes. Within the complex is the Land's End Hotel.
In May 2012, Land's End received worldwide publicity as the starting point of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.
End to end
Land's End is either the start or finishing point of end to end journeys with John o' Groats in Scotland. One of the earliest was by Carlisle who left Land's End on 23 September 1879, went to John O'Groats House and arrived back at Land's End on 15 December; taking 72 days (exclusive of Sundays); covering . To prove his journey, he kept a log book which was stamped at any Post Office he passed. An early end to end on bicycle was completed by Messrs Blackwell and Harman of Canonbury Bicycle Club. Starting at Land's End they covered in thirteen days in July/August 1880. Nearly two years later the Hon I Keith-Falconer travelled from Land's End, in twelve days, 23 hours, on a bicycle.
Greeb
On the south side of Carn Kez the land slopes away to a shallow valley containing a small stream and the former Greeb Farm. In 1879 a derrick was used for hauling seaweed from the beach 40 feet below for use as a soil improver.
Gallery
File:Land's End, Cornwall, England.jpg, Cliffs at Land's End
File:Lands-End-Village.jpg, The tourist centre at Land's End
File:Lands End Tourist Centre.jpg, The tourist centre at Land's End
File:Land´s End (Mai 1990).jpg, The old refreshment house
File:Lands-End.jpg, The Longships Lighthouse off Land's End
File:Land's End (looking south).jpg, Looking south from Land's End
File:Land's End (looking west).jpg, Looking west from Land's End
File:Land's End (looking north).jpg, Looking north from Land's End
File:Signpost at Land's End.JPG, Signpost at Land's End
See also
* Corrachadh Mòr
ETRS89 (; ) is a headland on the peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by w ...
, the most westerly point in Great Britain
* Finisterra
* John o' Groats
* Land's End Airport
Land's End Airport , situated near St Just in Penwith, west of Penzance, in Cornwall, is the most south westerly airport of mainland Britain. The airport is owned by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC). ISSC's subsidiary Land's ...
* Land's End to John o' Groats
* Lizard Point, southernmost point of mainland England
* Marshall Meadows Bay, northernmost point of England
* Ness Point, easternmost point of England
* Sennen, the nearest village
External links
*
References
{{authority control
Headlands of Cornwall
Tourist attractions in Cornwall
Sennen