157 - The Lizard : Description

Physical and functional links to other National Character Areas

The Lizard peninsula extends into the English Channel, forming the most southerly point of England; it is surrounded on three sides by the sea and provides the deep water shelter for Falmouth Bay. Half of the northern boundary of the National Character Area (NCA) is formed by the Helford River which separates The Lizard NCA from the adjoining Cornish Killas NCA. Functional links to the rest of Cornwall are limited to the A3083 linking Lizard Point with Helston, the area’s largest town, which lies within the Cornish Killas NCA. A summer ferry links the north and south banks of the Helford River at Helford Passage. Panoramic views are afforded from the Lizard along the southern coast of Cornwall both west towards the West Penwith area and east towards Dodman Point in the Cornish Killas NCA.

There are also views of the Lizard from the elevated inland Carnmenellis NCA. The lowland, inland parts of the NCA have many features in common with the south-west part of Cornwall immediately to the north of the Helford River, including a network of small fields bounded by Cornish hedgebanks and narrow tree-filled valleys. Views of the Lizard from the coast to the west and east provide a very characteristic profile of what appears to be a flat tableland edged by near vertical cliffs.

Various rivers and streams rise in The Lizard NCA. Most flow straight down to the sea but a few in the north flow into the Helford River which forms the northern boundary of the NCA. Most of the public water supply comes from Stithians Reservoir which is in the Cornish Killas NCA.

The area supports dairy, meat and vegetable production, much of which is exported from the area as high-value local produce.

The Lizard today

The Lizard peninsula is a small area of only 15,000 ha bounded by the Cornish Killas NCA and the Helford River and estuary to the north. It is also mainland Britain’s most southerly point. The wild and remote character of the landscape is reflected in high levels of tranquillity; 90 per cent of the Lizard has been described as ‘undisturbed’ in recent surveys. Also important are its dark night skies, increasingly rare in an urbanising world.

The Lizard is dominated by a windswept heathland plateau cut by valleys of enclosed broadleaved woodland and farmland. Surrounded by dramatic cliffs, steep-sided coves, exposed reefs and spectacular stacks, the Lizard’s coastline is famous for its ruggedness as well as for its sandy beaches. Coastal geological exposures are maintained by the action of the sea. In the east, the landform is undulating and gentle, with small, irregular fields of pasture or arable land enclosed by wildflower-rich hedges, pockets of woodland, farmsteads and scattered hamlets. Cornish hedgebanks, drystone walls filled with soil and covered with varying quantities of vegetation including large trees and shrubs, are an important feature of the Cornish landscape.

On the plateau, the poorly draining serpentinite and gabbro rocks give rise to heath and wetland vegetation. The heathland is dominated by moorland grasses such as purple moor grass as well as by heather species. The land is gently undulating and generally treeless apart from recent conifer plantations. The plateau can be bleak and desolate and the skyline is broken only by the Bonython wind farm, the Satellite Earth Station at Goonhilly Downs, the control tower of Predannack airfield and the serpentinite windmill stump at Windmill Farm. Although these features do not make up a significant part of the land cover, they are the plateau’s most prominent vertical features. Predannack and nearby Culdrose airfields are actively used so aircraft sometimes cause extra noise and visual disturbance.

This is a landscape of rich and varied colour and texture, with a variety of vegetation types that are of outstanding interest for conservation. Plants such as Cornish heath, pygmy rush, land quillwort and prostrate asparagus are among the significant number of rarities. There is a deep sense of history apparent in the landscape due to the many Neolithic and bronze-age sites such as barrows and standing stones. The outstanding scenic qualities and natural beauty of the area is reflected in the fact that 98 per cent of the Lizard falls within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and 13 per cent of the area is designated as the Lizard National Nature Reserve (NNR).

In sharp contrast to the plateau, the coastline has ever-changing views formed from the complex geology and the multi-coloured serpentinite rock. Its wild and rugged appearance is emphasised by the broken pattern of rocks extending out to sea and by the high, stark cliffs. The South West Coast Path National Trail wends its way along the coast and is a popular destination for tourists.

On the sea-battered west coast, there is only the village of Mullion but, east of Lizard Point, there are several fishing villages such as Porthallow, which mostly retain their old character of white-washed stone and slate or thatched roofs. Although fishing has been replaced by tourism as the main industry in these villages, a small number of boats still catch the local edible crabs and lobsters which are sold in the area.

Most of the farmsteads and hamlets are located in the narrow valleys that dissect the plateau on their way to the sea. Many of the settlements within the NCA follow this linear pattern along valleys or along the coast. Stunted patches of wind-sculpted broadleaved woodland occur, such as the elms at Cadgwith. The valley land is generally enclosed within small, irregular, ancient fields which contrast with the larger, regular, much more recent fields that extend to the edges of the downs and heaths – the latter result from attempts, mainly in the early-mid 19th century, to increase agricultural productivity.

Farming is a major land use in the NCA and has helped to shape the landscape. At the edges of the plateau there is enclosed pasture with rough grazing and some improved land for dairy and beef farming. In the east, most of the land is pasture, with a mixture of agriculturally improved grazing and rough grassland but there is an increasing proportion of arable and largescale vegetable production. There is also some commercial bulb production in the NCA which provides fields of bright colours during the spring.

In the east, towards the north of the area, there are small woodlands and copses which become larger as they get closer to the more sheltered Helford River. The woodlands consist of areas of oak, ash and beech as well as mixed deciduous and willow carr in damper areas. There are scattered farms and hamlets mainly on the upper valley heads, linked by deep, sometimes sunken, narrow winding lanes enclosed by high stone-faced hedges. There is still some small-scale mineral extraction which provides the serpentinite used in the local craft industry but the available supply of good quality stone for turning is now very limited and not expected to last for many more years.

The landscape through time

The unusual geology of The Lizard NCA is thought to derive from a time of intense tectonic activity during the Devonian Period, around 375 million years ago. The southern half of the Lizard comprises metamorphic and igneous rocks including serpentinite, schist, gabbro and granite gneiss. The serpentinite rocks represent the remnants of part of an ancient ocean floor (or ophiolite) into which the other igneous rocks were intruded. The northern part is chiefly composed of highly deformed sedimentary rocks and slates of Devonian age, which are overlain by the ophiolite in the south.

During the Quaternary Period, the ice sheets that covered most of Britain did not reach as far south as Cornwall. However, the area was subject to Arctic-like conditions during the glacial periods and the repeated changes in sea level have left their mark, such as raised beach deposits around the coast. The Arctic conditions also led to the formation of large amounts of shattered rock, known as head, which now occupies valley bottoms and can be seen at the top of many coastal cliffs. Areas of fine wind-blown silt, known as loess, occur in the west of the Lizard. Over time, the stone of the plateau has been carved by the action of water to form a radial series of steep valleys leading down to the sea.

There is extensive evidence of prehistoric settlement especially on the downs of such as St Helena Barrow and Moyle’s Burrow. Extensive woodland clearance during the Bronze Age led to the expansion of the heathland of the plateau which provided a source of fuel, both vegetation and peat, until the early 20th century. Trackways thread across the plateau from the surrounding settlements, many of which are of ancient origin and were used as routes to move goods and stock.

In the east, around places like Lowland Point, there are prehistoric fields. Inland there is a scattering of prehistoric defended farming hamlets (rounds). Many of the farmsteads in this eastern area have names commencing with Tre, indicating that they probably originated well before the Norman Conquest, and although the farmsteads may have their origins later than this, they are surrounded by the small irregular fields of these early settlements.

Agricultural activity was carried out on a small scale until the Middle Ages, when large areas of heathland were enclosed and reclaimed to feed the growing population. During and after the 14thcentury, and as a consequence of the Black Death in the late 1340s, agriculture was focused on more productive areas and the poorest holdings reverted to heathland. In the second half of the 16th century, agricultural activity revived in tandem with an increase in population, and some of the heathland was again taken into production. This cycle of temporary cultivation of heathland was repeated during the Napoleonic Wars when much land was ploughed for crops. Cattle rearing formed the major element in the agricultural economy of the area, the moors providing abundant rough grazing. The dominance of livestock production by the early 19th century involved a majority of the land being laid to grass, and turnips and other fodder crops were grown on arable to feed cattle which, in turn, enriched the land with their manure. This is the origin of most of the larger, more regular fields found on the Lizard.

Throughout the centuries, unenclosed heathland was used for rough grazing and this in combination with temporary reclamation has also influenced the development of secondary vegetation communities.

The Lizard has a long history of minerals extraction. Serpentinite, gabbro and copper have all been extracted, leaving behind shallow water-filled scrapes and quarries which subsequently flooded to become landscape features that are important habitats for insects. The nearby coinage town of Helston was a major centre for tin during the Middle Ages, and required fuel for smelting. This was obtained by cutting and burning turf and peat, and, between the 16th and 19th centuries, by coppicing the woods around the Helford estuary to make charcoal. Turf cutting had a profound effect on the vegetation of the NCA, as most of its soil and peat deposits were removed during the Middle Ages.

The historic market town of Helston has long been an important link between the Lizard and the rest of Cornwall. It was one of the most important medieval markets in Cornwall. With the rise of the tin industry in the area, Helston became a stannary town from the early 14th century. Helston retained its role as a market centre for the surrounding areas into the 20th century.

Fishing villages expanded during the 19th century with the growth of the pilchard industry.

Wrecks, wrecking and smuggling have a particularly strong association with the Lizard: when a lighthouse was built in 1619 the locals complained that they could no longer derive an income from wrecking. A more substantial lighthouse has existed since the 18th century and a long history of shipwrecks, such as that of HMS Royal Anne in 1721, has been associated with the area. Smuggling persisted into the early 19th century.

In 1901 Marconi started experiments at the Lizard Station where he hoped to bridge the Atlantic by wireless. He received the first signals from the Isle of Wight on 23 January of that year. The building survives to this day (in close proximity to the earlier signal station and lighthouse – a unique grouping), restored to its original state after being used as a holiday home and as an RAF officers’ mess during the Second World War.

Goonhilly Downs saw some major changes during the Second World War. In 1940, construction started on Predannack airfield which was opened in the following year as an RAF advanced night fighter base to protect the nearby ports at Falmouth and Penzance. Due to this, the flat land of Goonhilly Downs was thought to be under threat of troop-carrying aircraft landing so rows of pits and up-cast mounds were dug across the moorland. Many of these mounds still survive. The Lizard was also protected by other defences such as networks of pillboxes, anti-tank obstructions, anti-tank ditches and roadblocks along the coast as well as some inland defences. Towards the end of the Second World War and into the Cold War, substantial radar stations and support services were developed on the Lizard and many remnants of buildings, mast anchors and other structures survive, often hidden in woodlands and scrub.

In 1962, Goonhilly Downs saw further changes with the building of the first satellite receiver dish at the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station and there are now several large and small antennas, associated buildings and substantial security fencing occupying the site.

Since the Second World War, agricultural practices have intensified, with more land being made more fertile by the application of fertilisers. Over 1,000 ha of habitat on the Lizard, including wet and dry heathland and mire, have been lost since 1906, most of it to agriculture. Agricultural intensification has also led to a reduction in species and habitat diversity on farmland. At the same time, grazing of coastal grassland and unenclosed heaths has decreased dramatically; this has also led to a reduction in species diversity and to an increase in the likelihood of accidental summer fires. The latter influence the structure of heathland vegetation and can lead to a decrease in the number of species present.

Some heathland has been lost to forestry, telecommunications and military use since the 1940s. Most of the remaining Lizard heathland is given over to nature conservation, where the priorities are to restore traditional management by low intensity grazing, supplemented by winter burning or mowing where appropriate, and to protecting against accidental summer fires.

In 1959 the Cornwall AONB was designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

A more recent change to the plateau was the construction of the Bonython wind farm in 1993 when 14 turbines were installed. These were later replaced with six larger turbines, the last of which was installed in 2010.

Tourism and recreation have resulted in eroded footpaths in localised ‘honeypot’ areas. New tourist developments have been built in many of the villages but the buildings have not always been in keeping with the local vernacular style of slate and granite, cob, white-wash and thatch. Caravan parks also stand out in the landscape but views of them are often partially obscured by the tall Cornish hedgebanks.

Towns such as Lizard village are now focused on tourism, with many places to stay, eat and buy gifts made of the famous Lizard serpentinite. Minerals extraction activities continue to have an influence on the nature conservation interest. Quarrying exposes geological formations of interest and flooded disused quarries are quickly colonised by dragonflies and damselflies.

The area also has strong associations with the writings of Daphne du Maurier, particularly her evocative descriptions of the Helford River in her novel Frenchman’s Creek. The clear air and scenic views have been and continue to be an inspiration to visual artists, whose work can often be seen in small galleries in the traditional fishing villages.