Land's End

For other uses, see Land's End (disambiguation).
Land's End
Cornish: Penn an Wlas / Pedn an Wlas

Land's End
Land's End
 Land's End shown within Cornwall
OS grid referenceSW 34177 25339
Unitary authorityCornwall
Ceremonial countyCornwall
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Cornwall
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall

Coordinates: 50°04′07″N 5°42′58″W / 50.068611°N 5.716111°W

A 1946 map of Land's End

Land's End (Cornish: Penn an Wlas or Pedn an Wlas)[1] is a headland and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England. It is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England, is within the Penwith peninsula and is about eight miles (13 km) west-southwest of Penzance at the starting and finishing point of the A30 road.[2]

Geography

Land's End has a particular resonance because it is often used to suggest distance. Land's End to John o' Groats in Scotland is a distance of 838 miles (1,349 km) by road and this Land's End to John o' Groats distance is often used to define charitable events such as end-to-end walks and races in the UK.

There are two varieties of granite represented at Land's End. Adjacent to the hotel the granite is coarse-grained with large phenocrysts of orthoclase, sometimes more than 5 in (13 cm) in length. To the north, at the First and Last House, there is a finer grained granite with fewer and smaller phenocrysts, and the different granites can be seen from a distance by the smoother weathering of the finer variety. The granite dates to 268–275 million years ago of the Permian period.[3] The contact zone between the Land's End granite pluton and the altered ″country rocks″ is nearby and the Longships Lighthouse, offshore, is built on the country rock.[3] The Longships, a group of rocky islets are just over 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore, and together with the Seven Stones Reef and the Isles of Scilly which lie approximately 28 miles (45 km) southwest — are part of the mythical lost land of Lyonesse, referred to in Arthurian literature.

The headland has been designated part of an Important Plant Area, by the organisation Plantlife, for rare species of flora.[4]

History

In 1769, the antiquarian William Borlase wrote:

"Of this time we are to understand what Edward I. says (Sheringham. p. 129.) that Britain, Wales, and Cornwall, were the portion of Belinus, elder son of Dunwallo, and that that part of the Island, afterwards called England, was divided in three shares, viz. Britain, which reached from the Tweed, Westward, as far as the river Ex; Wales inclosed by the rivers Severn, and Dee; and Cornwall from the river Ex to the Land's-End".

In 1987 Peter de Savary purchased Land’s End for almost £7 million from David Goldstone.[5] He had two new buildings erected and much of the present theme park development was instigated by him. He sold both Land's End and John o' Groats to businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey in 1991.[6] The current owners purchased Land’s End in 1996 and formed a company named Heritage Great Britain PLC. Attractions at the theme park include children's playgrounds and recorded music. Twice a week in August, Land's End hosts 'Magic in the Skies', a night-time firework spectacular with music by British composer Christopher Bond and narrated by actress Miriam Margolyes. Within the complex is the Land's End Hotel.[7]

In May 2012, Land's End received worldwide publicity as the starting point of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.[8]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ An English-Cornish Glossary in the Standard Written Form (gives both Penn an Wlas and Pedn an Wlas)
  2. ↑ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hall, A (1994). Second, ed. Geologist's Association Guide No. 19. West Cornwall. London:: Geologists' Association. p. 50. ISBN 0 900717 57 2.
  4. ↑ "Land's End". Plantlife. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "1987: Millionaire's big plans for English landmark". BBC. 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2011. Land's End in Cornwall has been sold for nearly £7m to the property tycoon, Peter de Savary.
  6. ↑ "1987: Millionaire's big plans for English landmark". BBC. 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2011. Peter de Savary sold both Land's End and John o'Groats in 1991 for an undisclosed sum to businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey.
  7. ↑ Clegg, David (2005) Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly; 2nd ed. Leicester: Matador; pp. 123–24
  8. ↑ "Olympic torch: Flame arrives at Land's End". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2012.


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