Land's End ( or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, United Kingdom, on the
Penwith
Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...
peninsula about west-south-west of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
at the western end of the
A30 road. To the east of it is the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
, and to the west the
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the north by St George's Channel, Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as wel ...
.
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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. This title narrowly goes to
Corrachadh Mòr in the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...
.
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
Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the length of the island of Great Britain between two List of extreme points of the United Kingdom#Extreme points within the UK, extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The traditional di ...
'' 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 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 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 ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
, who referred to a hypothetical Cornish
declaration of independence
A declaration 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 the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
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
islet
An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...
s are just over offshore, and together with the
Seven Stones Reef and the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...
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
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
, 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
300px, Swiss side of the Mont Blanc massif, has large white phenocrysts of plagioclase (that have trapezoid shapes when cut through). 1 euro coin (diameter 2.3 cm) for scale.
A phenocryst is an early forming, relatively large and usually conspic ...
of
orthoclase
Orthoclase, or orthoclase feldspar ( endmember formula K Al Si3 O8), is an important tectosilicate mineral which forms igneous rock. The name is from the Ancient Greek for "straight fracture", because its two cleavage planes are at right angles ...
, 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
Belinus was a legendary king of the Britons (historic), Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Brennius and came to power in 390 BC. He was probably named after the ancient god Belenus.
...
, elder son of Dunwallo, 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, 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
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
when a plane returning from a raid on Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
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
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
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
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
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. 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
Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...
. Within the complex is the Land's End Hotel.
On 6 May 1985, four schoolchildren died in what is known as the Land's End disaster.
In May 2012, Land's End received worldwide publicity as the starting point of the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
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
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its Guy-wire, guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower ...
was used for hauling seaweed from the beach 40 feet below for use as a soil improver.
Portrayal in literature, music and film
*On the 1980 album '' Gradually Going Tornado'' by British jazzrock band Bruford, "Land's End", a song written by keyboardist Dave Stewart lasting 10.20, is featured.
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, the most westerly point in Great Britain
* Cape Finisterre
* Cape St. Vincent, southwesternmost point of continental Europe.
* John o' Groats
* Land's End Airport
* Land's End to John o' Groats
Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the length of the island of Great Britain between two List of extreme points of the United Kingdom#Extreme points within the UK, extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The traditional di ...
* 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
Extreme points of the United Kingdom