Mullion
Mullion on the west coast of the Lizard, shares St Keverne's claim to be the biggest village on the peninsula. Mullion itself has enough shops, pubs, restaurants and art galleries to keep the holiday makers happy, while the impressive 15th century St Mellanus church has richly-carved bench-ends showing biblical scenes, including the prophet Jonah and his Whale.
Mullion Cove lies down the hill from the village and is protected from the fierce gales in Mount's Bay by a pair of strong stone jetties. This is yet another once-busy fishing harbour, where you can still see the old pilchard nets and one or two crabbers pulled up out of the water on the slipway. In olden times, the cove was a favourite spot for smugglers. In 1801, the King's Pardon was offered to any one laying information on the Mullion smugglers involved in a fight with a local naval patrol ship. The cove once also supported a lifeboat station. The nearby Poldhu Cove is where Marconi set up his transmitter in December 1901, when the first Morse signal was transmitted across the Atlantic to Newfoundland.
Another interesting cove on the west coast is Church Cove, Gunwalloe, where an ancient church is tucked away on the beach. Several ships came to grief here in the waves and the church is reputed to have been built by a grateful nobleman who was saved from drowning in this place..
Just around the corner is Dollar Cove, where a Spanish ship, laden with silver dollars is said to have been wrecked. There are still stories told locally of silver dollars washed ashore after storms; but despite numerous treasure hunts by hopeful adventurers, little silver has been found.
Map of Mullion
South West England
