BEWARE.
Today is the day of a zillion photos.
So, if you would rather stare at a wall of text than a bunch of photos of gorgeousness, this post is not for you.
You have been warned. Proceed.
Today we went to Penzance. The bus was filled with snatches of The Pirates of Penzance.
We saw these en route to Porthcurno Beach:
We weren't sure if it meant we were to be cautious because plants were crossing the road, or that the spot of road was a crossing spot for caution plants. Either way, it was awesome.
We arrived at Porthcurno Beach!!
We were in a hurry, but I had time to grab a few shells.
Then, we began a treacherous 6-mile hike along the cliffs to Land's End. Here is where most of the pictures come in, because it was simply GORGEOUS.
We got to go through a few of these one-person-at-a-time gates at the start of the hike. They also had stiles to jump over, which I've always wanted to do!
More scenery. It was really windy, so just disregard anything my hair is doing. Pretend it's waving hi.
There were some mysterious caves and tunnels along the way.
We found a bottomless pit:
These two pictures may look almost identical, but they both deserve inclusion for being the only two in a series of MANY photos in which my hair was not plastered all over my face.
A few of us climbed out on a rocky outcrop with one of our teachers, Dr. Durham.
Did I mention it was windy?
Here's a little taste in video form:
Hiking through this scenery for a few hours was an absolute pleasure. Even though it was taxing, I felt pangs of disappointment when the fields of Land's End came in view.
LLAMA FACE!!!!
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
NOW you tell me.
We finally pulled up at Land's End.
YAY!!
I got a hot chocolate and my first Cornish pasty. Nothing has ever tasted soooooo good!
Also, fresh Cornish donuts.
MMMMMMMMM!!
From Land's End, we went to St. Michael's Mount.
Yes, it's actually a castle on an island.
The tide was high, so it was entirely surrounded by water.
We got to boat to the island.
We sat on the dock for a while while all the boats arrived.
Victoria and Albert visited here!
They had a very cool mural on the wall.
The Giant's Well. So magical!
The Giant's Heart. Can you see it?
I'll help you out.
We made it up all the stairs (Melissa made it, too!).
How would you like a shield made of alligator skin??
OK, this came out blurry because the light coming in the window was so bright, but I had to include it because it was just so perfect. This is Dr. and Sister Talbot being adorable.
It's really a very cozy castle. It's still lived in by a family.
Standing above an ancient staircase.
They had a lot of lovely indoor gardens tucked in corners.
One of my favorite stained-glass windows.
A peek down at the gardens below.
I've always loved this kind of traditional castle wall!!
More gardens. They have AMAZING gardens.
Their little church. A tour guide told us a lovely story of how the daughter of the castle owners fell in love with a young man who was a tour guide at the castle, and they were married in this church.
She also mentioned the sons are still single...
Who wants to live in a lovely castle on an island???? I DO!!!!
The family butler made a replica of the entire castle out of wine corks. Yep.
A portrait of the current owners next to a portrait of one of the owners from long ago.
It was hard to leave. It was such a lovely place. The whole day was really a highlight of the trip.
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