“Wild Weekend” Holiday Breaks

CORNWALL

“Wild Weekend” Holiday Breaks

Elemental Tours, Penzance and West Cornwall's first dedicated wildlife watching company on land and sea, has teamed up with Cornwall Wildlife Trust to offer an exciting package of fun, educational, small group, high content weekend breaks. Based in Penwith, at the edge of Atlantic Ocean, these “Wild Weekends” will open your eyes to the fantastic scenery, plants and wildlife, found in and around Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s reserves from cliff to hill top, as well as the amazing variety of creatures seen in the seas around the coast. In addition, all bookings are made with the knowledge that 10% of the cost of the weekend will be donated back to Cornwall Wildlife Trust to help with vital conservation work.

Saturday - Wildlife watching boat trips

RIB photograph by Graham Blow

On Saturday the itinerary offers a Marine Wildlife experience, combining the thrill of a high-speed cruise aboard Elemental Tours’ 12-seater RIB “Ocean Ranger”, with the opportunity to explore and encounter marine wildlife and ecosystems around the magnificent granite peninsula of West Penwith. Departing from Penzance harbour, the 3-hour trip takes in coastal views of landmarks such as St. Michael’s Mount, Mousehole, Lamorna Cove and the famous Minack Theatre, built into the cliffs above the turquoise waters and golden sands of Porthcurno beach. Travelling on, the voyage continues past Cornwall's most famous of all visitor attractions, the legendary Land's End itself. This, mainland Britain’s most Westerly finger of rock, known to the ancients as Belerion, points the way out into the deep blue waters of the ocean, past the jagged outline of the Longships reef and lighthouse off the coast, and on towards the Isles of Scilly and Wolf Rock, where the fabled lost land of Lyonesse sank beneath the waves in Arthurian legend.

Cetacean species most likely to be encountered include, Harbour porpoise, Common, Risso's and Bottlenose dolphins, Minke whales, Orca, and even the occasional Fin whale makes an appearance.

Basking sharks photograph Rory Goodall

Ocean sunfish photograph by Rory Goodall

Atlantic Grey seals breed in the sea-caves of the peninsula, and sightings are likely to be high, as half the world's population of these seals live in the British Isles, with a large percentage of them around the Cornish coast.

Fish sightings can include various kinds of shark, the most well known being the second largest fish in the world, the Basking shark, growing up to 10 meters or more. This huge but harmless plankton eater turns up in the area most Spring times, sometimes in large numbers, the majority of them making their way up the West coast to Scotland, with some remaining in Cornish waters to the end of Summer.

Other unusual, but increasingly common visitors include the strangely shaped Ocean Sunfish, usually arriving in early Summer on the Gulf Stream, staying in local waters until the Autumn, along with another ocean wanderer the Leatherback turtle.

The area also hosts an abundance of bird life, ranging from Gull's, Shags and Gannets, to more seasonal migrants such as Fulmars, Terns, Shearwaters, Skuas, Petrels, Kittiwakes and various types of auks, including Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills. Diving Gannets are often a sign that there are cetaceans feeding in the waters below them.

Sunday - Overland Safaris

The Safari-style Sunday tours focus on the wild, but uniquely beautiful landscapes and habitats to be found on the peninsula; including those on the Wildlife Trust’s diverse local reserves, ablaze with an array of colourful flowers from early Spring, right through to Autumn.

Minak Theatre photograph by Rory Goodall
Minak Theatre from the sea
photograph by Rory Goodall

Wildlife includes reptiles such as Adders, Common lizards, and Slow Worms, often seen basking on warm, sheltered rocks.
Mammals are well represented by foxes, otters, badgers, stoats and weasels, along with a wide variety of bat species and various mice, voles and shrews.

Bat and badger watching is also available at certain times of the year, as an optional add-on.

Seasonal birding is some of the best in the country, with a good variety of residents also on offer. Wheatears, Stonechats, members of the Warbler family, including Whitethroats , Reed and Sedge Warblers, all come to nest here in spring, along with the enigmatic Nightjar, whose eerie “churring” can be heard in late spring out on the heath-lands. Peregrine falcons, Buzzards and Ravens are seen on a regular basis in the area, with the Chough beginning to make a comeback. Rare passage migrants get the “ birders” twitching at various times of the year, as do exotic species blown in on Atlantic storms.

The rugged landscape of the area, with its high granite Tors, known locally as Carns, has been sculptured into weird and fantastic shapes by the elements over millions of years. It harbours one of the highest concentrations of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and early Christian remains anywhere in Europe, ranging from Chambered tombs, known locally as "Quoits" or "Dolmens" to Stone circles, granite Churches nestling into the hills and hidden Holy wells, famous for their powers of healing and divination. The hedges and field systems of the region are some of the earliest man-made structures in Britain, some dating back over 3,000 years and still in use!

Mining heritage is also abundant. The old engine houses that dot the landscape are a constant reminder of the tough and dangerous industry that dominated the lives of the local people here for hundreds of years and their struggle to rend the ores from deep in the earth.

Artists have long been attracted to the area by the special oceanic light, delightful fishing coves and villages, unspoilt moors and a wealth of wildlife, history and heritage.

All in all, these Wild Weekends offer an unforgettable, inspirational holiday opportunity to open your eyes to this unique corner of the British Isles.

National Cycle Network

Cornwall Wildlife Trust encourages the use of environmentally friendly forms of transport wherever possible. Go to the National Cycle Network website to details of nearby cycle routes.

Elemental Tours has close associations with Cornwall Wildlife Trust and regularly works with us to raise money for conservation. Members of Elemental Tours are also Cetacean stranding volunteers, and participate in the Trust’s educational work with the Fox Club junior members group, developing and leading various events.