Trevose Head Lifeboat Station - geograph

Trevose Head (, meaning ''farm of the wall's headland'') () is a headland on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast of north

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, ...

, on the south-western coast of

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 ...

. It is situated approximately west of

Padstow Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

. The

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked Long-distance footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...

runs around the whole promontory and is within the

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Cornwall National Landscape (formerly the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) covers in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the Na ...

and the Trevose Head

Heritage Coast A heritage coast is a strip of coastline in England and Wales, the extent of which is defined by agreement between the relevant statutory national agency and the relevant local authority. Such areas are recognised for their natural beauty, wildlife ...

. In clear weather, visitors to Trevose Head can see virtually the whole length of the north Cornwall coast; to the north, the view extends beyond the Cornwall county boundary to

Hartland Point Hartland Point is a high rocky outcrop of land on the north-western tip of the Devon coast in England. It is three miles (5 km) north-west of the village of Hartland. The point marks the western limit (on the English side) of the Bristol C ...

(), Devon; to the south, it extends beyond St Ives to the headland at Pendeen Watch ().

LB&SCR H2 class The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway H2 class is a class of 4-4-2 (locomotive), 4-4-2 steam locomotives for express passenger work. They were designed when D. E. Marsh was officially Locomotive Superintendent, and were built at Brighto ...

4-4-2 no. 425 (later no. B425, 2425, and 32425) was named ''Trevose Head'' after this landmark.

History

The ruins of St Constantine's chapel can be visited at hole 3 of Trevose Golf Club along an ancient right of way. The club is situated between

Constantine Bay Constantine Bay (, meaning ''church of St Constantine'') is a village and beach on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) west of Padstow and is in ...

and Mother Ivey's Bay, behind

Booby's Bay Booby's Bay is a sandy beach near Padstow, 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 i ...

Trevose Head Lighthouse Trevose Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Trevose Head on the north Cornwall, Cornish coast at lying to the WSW of Padstow and was sited here as there was previously no light from Land's End to Lundy and it would be visible from Cape Cornwall ...

, maintained by

Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...

, is on the north-west corner of the headland and the Padstow lifeboat is stationed on the east side of Trevose Head. The lighthouse was first lit on 1 December 1847; initially there was an upper and lower light with the lower light no longer used after 1882. The last of the resident keepers left the lighthouse on 20 December 1995 following automation. A lifeboat was established at Padstow before 1825 and in 1967 the lifeboat station was moved from

Hawkers Cove Hawker's Cove is a small coastal settlement in north Cornwall, England. It is situated one-and-a-half miles (2 kilometres) north of Padstow on the west side of the River Camel estuary.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin ...

to Trevose Head due to silting of the

River Camel The River Camel (, meaning ''crooked river'') is a river in Cornwall, England. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and with its tributaries its catchment area covers much of North Cornwall. The river flows into the eastern Celtic Sea between ...

. The present station was completed in July 2006 and came into service shortly after. In September 1940, during

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

, there is a record of bombs being dropped on Trevose Head, although it is suspected that these were jettisoned rather than the headland being deliberately targeted. Approximately of Trevose Headland was put up for sale in March 2016, comprising of agricultural land and of coastal rough grazing and slope. The area had been in the ownership of the same family since circa 1900.

Natural history

The headland is within the ''Trevose Head and Constantine Bay''

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) which is designated for both its biological and geological interests.

Wild asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description Asparagus is an h ...

(''

Asparagus prostratus ''Asparagus prostratus'', also known as wild asparagus, is a species of flowering plant from the genus ''Asparagus'' and family ''Asparagaceae.'' It has been placed onto the UK Biodiversity Action Plan list of priority species. Description ' ...

'') grows on the cliffs of Dinas Head and shore dock (''

Rumex rupestris The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of Annual plant, annual, Biennial plant, biennial, and perennial plant, perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennia ...

'') at the base of the cliffs. The cliffs are also important for breeding northern fulmar ('' Fulmarus glacialis''), razorbill (''

Alca torda The razorbill (''Alca torda'') is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinus impennis''). Historic ...

'') and guillemot ( ''Uria aalge'').

References

External links

Trinity House information on Trevose Lighthouse

Padstow Lifeboat Station
{{coord, 50.54785, -5.03191, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SW853764), display=title Headlands of Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1951