Wild
adventure  |
The Lizard Peninsular is a fascinating place to take a walk on the wild
side. Four hundred million years ago forces of nature stuck this
huge lump of serpentine rock, several miles wide and 10 miles long, slap bang
on to the bottom Cornwall. 听 | The
Lizard Peninsular - craggy coast with great wild walks. |
One
of the best ways to explore the peninsula is on foot walking along the South Coast
Path down to Lizard Point. Spring flowers  In
Spring there's a dazzling display of flowers - a riot of colour as a result of
the serpentine rock which is full of magnesium which flowering plants love.
The
granite rock, which makes up most of the rest of the South West, has very little
to offer the plants enrichment wise, so they don't do so well as around Lizard
Point. This area boasts the largest area of serpentine rock in England and,
coupled with Cornwall's mild climate, there are excellent conditions for flowering
plants such as Pink Thrift and Blue Spring Squill. It's thought that Thrift
gets its name from the small and economic tufty leaves which help conserve the
plant's water in the salty winds - the plant was therefore thought to be 'thrifty'
in nature. Nature's helpers  As
well as the serpentine rock, a special breed of animal is helping the mass of
plants which thrive on the Lizard.
Highland cows are a very important part
of the landscape as they are moved around different sites on the Lizard to graze
the slopes. This stops the vegetation growing too long which would otherwise
smother the more delicate flowering species. It would be far too costly
for Natural England, who manage the land, to manually mow to help the flowers. As
an alternative grazing cows are ideal conservation tools because they can cope
with the sometimes harsh elements of being on a coastal site all year round. Rich
in flowers  The
area is so rich in plants that it has spawned some local tales including one that
recounts the story of Reverend John, a noted botanist in the 18th Century.
His
claim to fame was using his hat to sample how rich an area was in plants. He
would simply drop his hat on the ground and see how many species he could find
beneath it. Johns stated that he would find at least nine species anywhere
on the Lizard where he dropped his hat. Why not try his trick for yourself?
(But please don't pick the flowers!). Awesome asparagus  Asparagus
Island lies just off the Lizard which is a great place for wild asparagus which
looks very different from the type you pick up at the supermarket, which is a
domestic species.
This species has to survive harsh coastal conditions,
and is characterised by flowering spikes.
This rare plant is found in
only 28 locations across the UK, but does well off the South West coast because
it is a coastal plant. Once again, the isolated islands benefits from serpentine
rock and very little human disturbance which make it one of the best places to
see it in Britain. Just don't disturb it as it's a protected plant. Choughs
at Lizard  The
Lizard is called by its slightly unusual name after the French word 'lesard' meaning
'court house on high'.
Somewhere on top the cliffs in times past there must
have been an impressive house and as a result the French gave this place its name. Lizard
Point also has a reputation for bird watching and one of the most interesting
recent developments has been the return of a bird once extinct in these parts
- the Chough. The Chough became extinct as a breeding species from Cornwall
in 1952 - when a single pair returned to breed in 2002 there was huge excitement.
This pair of birds probably came over from France, and to ensure their
breeding success, a huge amount of effort has been put in to protecting their
nest from egg collectors. A big effort has been made to conserve the birds
by creating the right feeding habitat. The National Trust is managing the
farmland specially to create rough grassland full of worms and grubs that the
Chough's long bill is designed to probe around in. Cornwall's county emblem
features this jet black bird with its distinctive scarlet legs and bill.
At
Lizard Point there's a special view point set up from which visitors can watch
these beautiful birds.
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