Sennen Cove
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This article is about the popular surfing beach Sennen Cove, for the village and parish see Sennen
Sennen Cove (grid reference SW352261) is a small coastal settlement in the parish of Sennen, in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom.
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[edit] Geography
Sennen Cove is not a cove in the geological sense, and would be more properly described as a Bay. Sennen Cove, as distinct from Sennen Churchtown, is found at the end of a spur road which joins the A30 trunk road approximately one mile (1.5 km) from Lands End, the most westerly point of the English mainland. The road descends gently for about 300 yards (300 m) and then steeply for another 300 yards to the village which lies just above the beach at an altitude of just about 5m to 10m. The beach extends further north along the coast towards the peninsula of Cape Cornwall a few miles further to the north. There are a few dozen houses mainly built of granite and some of concrete mainly arranged in terraces, typical of many of the villages in Cornwall. Several submarine telecommunications cables are landed at Sennen Cove and are connected via landlines to the cable terminating equipment at Skewjack together with others from Porthcurno.
[edit] Surfing
Sennen Cove has become renowned for its surfing conditions and is highly regarded by local and non-local surfers alike. Sennen tends to be slightly more protected from winds and swell than Gwenvor at the other end of the bay. Many people have commented on Sennen's laid back and friendly atmosphere which adds to the feel of Sennen Cove, making it a popular tourist destination for holiday makers and surfers alike. Sennen is good at most tides, bar extreme high tide, works best with a westerly swell and a light easterly wind. Surf gear can be hired at the beach, situated next to a large car park and beach cafe.
[edit] RNLI
Sennen is home to an RNLI lifeboat station, run by volunteers and founded in 1853 [1] operating a Tyne class All-Weather Lifeboat and a D Class Inshore Lifeboat [2]. Lifeboats are manned by a crew of 24 people who ensure that the boats are operational and on call twenty-four hours a day, throughout the year [3]. Next to the lifeboat station is the restored Roundhouse, now used as a souvenir shop, but originally used to house a winch for hauling boats up from the beach.
[edit] Economy
The Cove is heavily dependent on tourism and is particularly popular with sea surfing enthuiasts. The significant part of the tourist season extends from approximately the spring until the autumn, peaking in the school holidays in August. A village shop, "The Old Boathouse", a surf shop called "Chapel Idne" and a public house are located here as well as various small cafes, ice cream stands, souvenir shops, and small private art galleries, most of which are only open during the tourist season. The South West Coast Path passes through Sennen Cove, only being about half an hour's walk from Lands End.
Prior to tourism becoming dominant a number of small local fishing boats operated from the Cove.
[edit] See also
- Sennen Parish.
