Penhale Sands

Penhale Dunes

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Dunes at Penhale Sands and Perran Beach
Shown within Cornwall (mainland)
Area of Search	Cornwall
Grid reference	SW771572
Coordinates	50°22′22″N 5°08′07″W / 50.3728°N 5.1353°W / 50.3728; -5.1353Coordinates: 50°22′22″N 5°08′07″W / 50.3728°N 5.1353°W / 50.3728; -5.1353
Interest	Biological
Area	1,070.4 hectares (10.7 km2; 4.13 sq mi)
Notification	1953 (1953)
Natural England website

Penhale Sands (Cornish: Peran Treth, meaning St Piran's sands), or Penhale Dunes, is a complex of sand dunes and protected area for its wildlife, on the north Cornwall coast in England, UK. It is the most extensive system of sand dunes in Cornwall and is believed to be the landing site of Saint Piran. Penhale Camp, dating from 1939 is found to the north of the complex.

History

St Piran

Building covering the partly excavated St Piran's Oratory in 1952

Penhale Sands and Perran Beach are believed to be the 6th century landing site of Saint Piran from Ireland, regarded the bringer of Christianity to, and the patron saint of Cornwall.^[1] On this site, situated in a hollow, St Piran's Oratory was built around this time. It is thought to be the oldest Christian site in Cornwall and was abandoned in the tenth century due to the encroachment of sand. The replacement church was built further inland and abandoned in 1795.^[2] The oratory site was excavated in 1910 but the remains of the stone building are once again buried in the sand.^[3]

Penhale Camp

Penhale Camp in 2009

Penhale Camp was established in 1939, to the north of the dunes, as a World War II emergency measure to train anti-aircraft gunners. There still remains evidence of the gun sites, searchlight batteries and defensive positions such as pillboxes and trenches.^[4]

On 7 June 1940 the camp was bombed by a single German bomber, probably looking for the nearby St Eval airfield; 22 British soldiers were killed in the raid, most were subsequently buried in nearby Perranporth.^[5] In 1943 the camp was occupied by the United States Army Corps of Engineers^[6] as part of the build up to Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings. The engineers built the 14 Nissen huts on the Camp; still used today as accommodation for training units. In 1955, three Royal Artillerymen drowned while swimming in the sea at Perran Corner. Those highly dangerous waters, with treacherous rip tides, have also claimed the lives of at least 2 civilians.

In April 2010, the camp was closed by the Ministry of Defence^[7] and was sold in September that year for £1.5million.^[4][8] However, the area is still governed by Ministry of Defence Byelaws^{[9] [10]}

Today, Penhale Camp and the associated training area are available to all Arms and Services wishing to carry out low level infantry skills training, cadre courses, communications and CPX training. The surrounding area provides opportunities for all recognised adventurous training activities and the newer extreme sports such as power kiting and coasteering. Now established in Penhale Camp is EBO Adventure Centre which provides a diverse range of training activities including Military Resettlement.^{[citation needed]}

Protected area

In 1953 the area was designated as the Perran Dunes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), changed to Penhale Dunes in 1967 after a site expansion. In 2004 it was designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).^[11][12]

Geography

The sands are located 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of the town of Newquay, in the civil parish of Perranzabuloe, stretching for over 2.5 miles (4.0 km) between Perranporth in the south and Holywell to the north, with the Atlantic Ocean and Perran Beach to the west. The system, of over 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres), extends for more than 1 mile (1.6 km) inland and includes Reen Sands, Gear Sands and Perransands. This SSSI is contiguous with Kelsey Head SSSI, to the north.^[13][14]

The South West Coast Path runs along the coast through the dunes.^[14] Penhale Sands are the largest dune system within Cornwall and has a maximum depth of 48 metres (157 ft) of sand.^[11]

Wildlife and ecology

The dune soil is calcareous because of the high percentage of seashell fragments which leads to a flora with lime loving plants that are otherwise rare in Cornwall. The flora also includes at least 66 species of moss, making it one of richest sites in Cornwall. A number of rare plant species have been recorded on the site, these include Babington's Leek (Allium babingtonii), Brackish Water Buttercup (Ranunculus baudotii), Cornish Gentian (Gentianella anglica subsp. cornubiensis), Fragrant Evening-primrose (Oenothera stricta), Italian Lords-and-Ladies (Arum italicum), Portland Spurge (Euphorbia portlandica), Shore-dock (Rumex rupestris), Slender Spike Rush (Eleocharis acicularis), Variegated Horsetail (Equisetum variegatum) and Wild Leek (Allium ampeloprasum).^[11] Due to its importance as a site for lichens and rare plant species, Plantlife have designated the dunes an Important Plant Area.^[15]

It is also an important site for its insect fauna, especially lepidoptera, with the Silver-studded Blue Butterfly sometimes counted in thousands. Twenty seven species of butterfly and 107 species of moth have been discovered on the dunes.^[11][16]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Penhale Sands.

External links

• List of species groups on the National Biodiversity Network's Gateway
• St Piran Trust

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