We thought that the tide times were on our side for a relatively early morning trip to the St. Michael’s Mount causeway to try and capture it disappearing under the incoming tide. We set off to get to the start of the causeway at about 08:00, about two hours after low tide, hoping that not too many Joe Publics would yet have arrived. As we approached I could see that much of the causeway was already covered and I wondered if we’d be too late.
Arriving at the landward start of the causeway, it was OK – there was still enough causeway left for the shot I wanted but I’d have to be fairly quick. The morning was exceptionally calm with hardly a breath of wind. Nonetheless, each small wave seemed to advance a little higher up the remaining cobbled causeway than the last. The light was not terrific but at least it was soft. I set the tripod up and first took a straight shot showing the waves moving over the causeway. Next I tried with the Lee Big Stopper [10-stop reduction] but quickly switched to using the built-in camera LiveND functions that gave me a maximum 7-stop reduction. As the tide advanced, I shifted my tripod position a little further back towards shore, which the LiveND function helped me do a little more swiftly. Francine thoughtfully rescued my camera rucksack which was in danger of getting inundated.
Here are my two favourite shots. Left is the earlier natural shot showing the wave motion. On the right is my favourite slightly later line-up, a rock either side of the causeway, this time with the water slowed down. In this case, I think seeing the waves, small as they are, actually improves things. I should have been a bit more precise about my positioning, though.
After retreating from the incoming tide at the St. Michael’s Mount causeway and finding no coffee shops yet open, we returned to Frodo and decided to have a second bus trip into Penzance.
This being a Sunday, Penzance appeared to be largely closed, which surprised us a little, though good ol’ Wren & Raven was open for coffee. It’s menu included a Cornish crab sandwich but being a café, you weren’t going to be able to wash it down with a pint. We looked elsewhere.
Our wanderings took us down Chapel Street where we had previously walked past a pub or two. I’ve no idea how I hadn’t noticed it but Francine’s attention was taken by a rather spectacular frontage of a building called the Egyptian House. From what I can make out its detailed history seems a bit debated but it is built in the “Egyptian Revival” architecture and is now owned by the Landmark Trust. It’s a posh rental.
We wandered further. One pub was offering Devon crab which somewhat missed the point so we ended up a little further down the road at the very historic Admiral Benbow:
serving pirates, smugglers and rum since 1695.
The Benbow was certainly full of character, supposedly containing artefacts from various old Cornish shipwrecks, and it served some excellent whitebait, which made up for our lack of Cornish crab.
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