Lost Love for Lamorna

I almost didn’t include this post about my visit to Lamorna. I’d made a decision when I started this blog to share the memories of the seaside that lifted me up and made me feel good. It was and still is my hope that my love of the English coast will shine through in my photos and words and that those who stumble upon my little corner of the internet may glimpse for themselves a little of the joy I felt whilst visiting these places. What I hadn’t planned for was for Lamorna not to be one of these places. 

I’d first read about this pretty little Cornish cove in a book called The Memory Garden. In fact it was a 7hr long audio version that I’d listened to on my daily commute and by the time I’d finished hearing the narrator tantalise me with long drawn descriptive visions of this spot I’d placed high up on my “places to visit” list.

I’d noticed when looking at the map to plan our route to Mousehole that Lamorna wasn’t much further down the coast so we added it to the itinerary for the day. As we made our way over I was enjoying taking in the scenery along the narrow country roads. When we took the turning towards Lamorna we soon found ourselves pulled out of the lovely spring sunshine and instead surrounded by the shade of some spectacular woodlands. Whenever I see woodlands where the trunks of the trees are covered in vibrant green moss I always associated them with magical lands. Somehow they seem older, wiser and perhaps a little spookier.

We reached Lamorna and parked up in the little car park. It was ever so quiet there, hardly any other tourists which was quite a rare treat. It wasn’t long after we’d got out of the car and started to pottle around that I had this strong feeling of uneasiness. It’s hard to explain really but it was just a sensation that I really didn’t want to be there and try as I might, I couldn’t shake it.

It’s always a bit of a gamble for me when I visit new places because I seem to be so sensitive to land energies that I never know quite what I’m going to experience. Generally, Cornwall is a pretty safe spot because the beautiful seaside towns and beaches fill me with joy. Joy however, was not what I was experiencing here. I wanted to u-turn out the this place pretty darn pronto! 

It wasn’t that it wasn’t beautiful, it was. A gorgeous little cove with striking rock formations and those signature turquoise Cornish waters. But for me, my enjoyment of a place is all about all about how a place feels and for some inexplicable reason, I didn’t like here one bit. 

We explored a little more, wandering to an outcrop of rocks to look at the view and pondered over why the large ship on the horizon wasn’t moving. Then my blood sugar levels were in need of a little elevating so we made our way to the little beachside cafe for a quick lunch before heading on our way.

I can admit that I felt a strong pang of disappointment not to have been swept away by the romantic pull of Lamorna but as we drove back out through the woods into the sunny high ground, more than anything, I felt relief to be on my way.