Dawn's Men

I'm tired.

Hello tired! I'm...too tired for dad-jokes.

At 32 weeks pregnant I am starting to find it very difficult to keep up with this beautiful blue eyed boy, especially now that nap time seems to be a thing of the past (not fair - I need naps more than he does now)!

Being an adventurous toddler, Robin has no self-preservation skills and gives me 10,000 heart attacks per day. Sometimes we don't even leave the house when it's just the two of us because I know the stress caused by doing so won't be worth it. He won't hold my hand for more than a minute before something catches his attention and he runs off, and being heavily pregnant I just can't keep up with him. I feel like a terrible parent 99% of the time. I'm trying my best but my best never feels good enough and I second guess myself constantly. 

Hey, I'm guilty of it too.

That's just scratching the surface. Look, I feel like I have to add an 'it's worth it' disclaimer here before any conclusions are jumped to. Because it is. But it isn't easy. The point I really want to get across is that it is okay if you aren't perfect, your kids aren't perfect and your life isn't perfect. This is why sometimes, despite my love for social media and blogging, I feel it can be dangerously misleading. Trust me: No one is living a perfect life, despite what their photos may tell you. You are looking at their highlight reel. Hey, I'm guilty of it too.

Robin's adorable raincloud shorts are from etsy.com/shop/boyandbird and you can get 10% off your total with the discount code ROBIN10.

Despite the difficulties, watching him grow into his own person is absolutely fascinating. I worship the ground those little feet of his walk on, and it doesn't matter how many times he brains me with a toy truck I will still continue to think he is the best human to ever exist. I love watching him - especially when he is focused, and I'm also simultaneously amazed by the fact that I seem to have a smaller concentration span than an almost 3-year-old.

Which seems an apt way to move onwards to the next subject! So, as the title image may hint, I went on a mini-adventure with the lovely Sarah of The Salty Sea Blog. A year ago. Yes - this is a very delayed blog post. But to this day it remains one of my favourite memories and I just have to share it with you (also, looking back at these photos I've noticed how much my hair has grown in the last year - the vain part of me is thrilled).

Left and right photos taken by Sarah of The Salty Sea blog.

I still think of this day often. It was a day tinged with magic and wonder. A day where everything fell perfectly into place to form something truly unforgettable and special. I know that years from now, I will still remember it with just as much fondness. It's a memory I often return to when times are tough and the world seems dreary.

The day itself, as magical as it turned out to be, began with me taking the train in the completely opposite direction to where I needed to be. Sarah and I had arranged to meet in Penzance, but I ended up being a good 2 hours late as despite regularly using public transport (I don't own a car) I managed to get on the wrong train.

However, in retrospect, the timing couldn't have been better. I sometimes wonder if sights we were lucky enough to see would have been missed if I'd arrived in a timely manner? Or, perhaps I am making excuses for being unbelievably disorganised. I prefer to believe the former.

There is something untamed and wild about West Cornwall. The air almost crackles with the promise of magic and folklore. I feel it down to my bones whenever I am there - and, sometimes, I can almost truly believe that those stories of piskies, witchcraft and giants that filled my head in childhood could perhaps be steeped in truth. In fact, West Cornwall makes me feel like a child again. That freeing sense of an unrestrained need for adventure takes over me once more. The everyday worries of being an adult forgotten. Nostalgia is an incredibly powerful thing...

We were lucky with the weather - the sun was blazing and the temptation of a cooling sea breeze was too strong, so Sarah and I decided to head to Land's End. I was thrilled. I hadn't been since I was a child, and it is one of those places that has always held a deep fascination for me due to the impact it made on me when I was small. I always remembered it being breathtakingly beautiful, and coming back as an adult after so long was truly special. It was even more incredible than I remembered. My joy was evident and nothing could wipe the grin from my face. I was back in the place I had been dreaming of on and off for well over a decade.

Sarah was determined to find an arch shaped rock known as Enys Dodnan Arch, and I was more than happy to look out for it, so we made that discovery the focus of our trek as we began our exploration of the rugged coastline.

Charizard, is that you?

The arch isn't quite as close as the tourist information available would have you believe. To reach it from Land's End car park turn left following the coastal path. It's around the next headland but you will need to walk quite far to reach it. However, it's absolutely worth it and I would highly recommend carving out a day to spend just exploring the stunning coastline anyway. 

Land's End is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England. The Longships, which are a group of rocky islets one mile offshore, the seven stones reef and The Isles of Scilly which lie 28 miles southwest are part of the Arthurian lost land of Lyonesse, which is a myth that has fascinated me for as long as I can remember (I grew up slightly obsessed with Arthurian literature). Lyonesse itself is a country in Arthurian legend and features strongly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. It is said to border Cornwall, and is best known as the home of the hero Tristan, whose father was King. Lyonesse is said to have sunk beneath the waves in later traditions, a fate it shares with Ys and several other lost lands featured in Medieval Celtic tales. 

Lyonesse is also said to have been the site of the final battle between Mordred and Arthur! This passage references its fate of sinking beneath the ocean:

Then rose the King and moved his host by night

And ever pushed Sir Mordred, league by league,

Back to the sunset bound of Lyonesse—

A land of old upheaven from the abyss

By fire, to sink into the abyss again;

Where fragments of forgotten peoples dwelt,

And the long mountains ended in a coast

Of ever-shifting sand, and far away

The phantom circle of a moaning sea.

Legends beneath the waves.

This is where things really started to take a turn for the fey...as the afternoon rolled in so did an eerie sea fog. Never have I been so glad to have my camera on hand. In that moment, I felt as if I had stepped back in time, straight into one my beloved legends. It's an experience I will never forget. I still dream of it.

Longship's lighthouse peeking out from beneath a thick blanket of fog.

Well, it wouldn't really be a trip to Land's End without a super touristy photo, would it? The bandage on my arm is due to the fact that, at the time, I had a fresh tattoo that needed protecting from the sun. You can see it in the photo below - it was done by Remy of Atelier 4 in Truro. She was an apprentice at the time, and I couldn't quite get over her talent and attention to detail!

I also have one on my back by Georgie (who also works at Atelier 4). I'm pretty sure I have shared it on my blog before but I'm still just as in love with it was I was on the day I had it done, so I'm going to share it again anyway. ;P

In our fog-induced adventure mania, Sarah and I neglected to notice we had been walking through what was essentially a small forest of stinging nettles - by the time we realised, we were already halfway in. 

Fortunately for us, after a little foraging we managed to find a supply of dock leaves to counter the horrible burning stinging sensation on our legs and elbows. However, Sarah was fairly unlucky in that as soon as she removed the dock leaf from her ankle the burning returned - not to be outdone by nature (YEAH EFF YOU NATURE) she improvised and made this super rad leafy bandage. 

We really wanted to be closer to the sea before the evening drew in, bringing with it cooler temperatures, so we headed to Porthcurno. By the time we got there, the fog had completely vanished. Leaving us to gaze at a now calm and deeply blue ocean while we chatted. Before we knew it, time had gotten away from us and we decided it was a good idea to head home. That was, until we became totally distracted and decided an impulsive trip to visit the Merry Maiden's standing stones (also knows as Dawn's Men)was a far better use of our time!

If you would like to visit (which you absolutely should - especially during sundown), the stone circle is located in a field alongside the B3315 between Newlyn and Land's End. 

Photo by Sarah of The Salty Sea Blog.

The local myth surrounding the creation of the stones heavily suggests that nineteen maidens were turned into stone for dancing on a Sunday (scandalous)! There are two megaliths north-east of the circle named 'The Pipers', who are said to be the petrified remains of the musicians who played their music for the cursed dancers. Spooky stuff.

In a more detailed account, it is explained why the Pipers are located so far from the Maidens. Apparently, while they were playing they heard the church clock in St Buryan and quickly realised they were breaking the Sabbath, and began to run up the hill away from the Maidens while they continued to dance. There are many petrification legends surrounding stone circles, and all of them are fascinating. I highly recommend reading up on the Tregeseal Dancing Stones, the Nine Maidens of Boskednan, as well as the more distant Hurlers and Pipers on Bodmin Moor. 

This was my first time visiting the Merry Maiden's and I personally think we couldn't have picked a better time of day. Seeing them during sunset was both simultaneously breathtaking and eerie, and I'm glad to have experienced it in such a way. I can't quite imagine it would have had the same effect on me during broad daylight. Not to mention, I have never seen such beautiful skies. They were almost otherworldly, or of a different time. For a moment, I felt that I could truly have been anywhere at any point in history. The modern world felt very far away indeed. 

Eventually, we stopped prancing around like the faeries we secretly are and dragged ourselves away over the hill to St Newlyn, only to find an equally beautiful sight...

Behold! St Michael's Mount shrouded in sea mist. Sarah and I practically screamed with excitement as we scrambled to leave the car, cameras at the ready. We truly could not believe our luck! It was the perfect ending to what had easily turned out to be the perfect day. I don't feel my photos give true justice to how incredible a view we were treated to - but it remains vividly in my mind's eye.

You can read more about St Michael's Mount in my blog entry titled Of Kingdoms and Castles: https://tinyurl.com/yatg6p9g

I made a small video about our adventure - however, I have no idea if I've embedded it correctly so if it fails to work please follow the public link below:

https://www.facebook.com/JaneEyreForce/videos/vb.635917885/10154005944412886/?type=3&theater

Experiencing such a day with someone as in love with Cornish folklore as I am was wonderful, and I'm so looking forward to September when Sarah permanently moves back to Cornwall! Eek! 

To further adventures!