By the time we come round to Mullion Cove, we are well into the Lizard Peninsula, the easternmost tip of Mounts Bay. The area immediately adjoining this tiny cove has had a disproportionately large number of shipwrecks, nine of them in the six years leading up to 1873 alone. The area was also rich in pirate and smuggling activity, and when in 1801 the group of neerdowells named the Mullion Musket Men got into a scrap with a gun vessel called HM Hecate, the smugglers of the locality were provided with a chance to exonerate themselves, being offered the King’s Pardon if they were able to provide any information on the perpetrators. The maritime theme is continued in the 13th century church of
St Melan, whose benchend carvings include a depiction of Jonah and the Whale.
Today, all the violence and turmoil of the past is easily forgotten, since Mullion is an exceptionally tranquil and beautiful place to enjoy a coastal walk, or to admire the wares in the local
Chocolate Factory and Craft Centre. The harbour is still a working fishing harbour, and is protected from the worst of the gales by two sturdy sea walls. Nearby sea caves and resident seals can be viewed in the summer on
boat trips.
Live streaming webcam.
Map of the area.
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Continuing the coastal walk theme, when we got to Mullion we had lunch in a cafe that time appeared to have forgotten. I thought they'd forgotten us too - we must have been there an hour and a half, and the waitress's excuse was "I'm on my own and people keep coming to the window for ice cream!"
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