cornwallnaturalist-blog

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The End of Cornwallnaturalist

This has been a difficult decision to make, but after what I found in the cave I’m confident in my choice to end the blog. I don’t want to know anything more about what creatures live in Portheras Cove. I don’t want anything to do with what that creature is getting up to with it’s slinking around Pendeen. 

No one in the village believes me. They think I’m just a senile old man who’s spent too much time baking out in the sun on a fishing boat. But Beatrice believes me, and so do you fellow bloggers. Now you know what lives in Portheras Cove. I urge you to stay away. Some scientific discoveries aren’t worth the cost. 

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This is what I saw at the entrance of the cave. Looking back out at me. I’m safe now at home, I ran for my life when I saw this thing. I’m worried about going back down to the cove, about telling Beatrice about all this. What is this thing!?!? I know I’m not imagining it because I’ve got the proof right here. Will anyone in the village believe me? 

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I panicked. I’m not proud of it, being a grown man, but that’s the truth. I heard a great sloshing sound coming from behind me as I made my way out of the cave and I ran for it. I took this photo accidentally as I tripped right outside the cave. This is probably the best way to update you now on what that cave was like. That sound...it was like a huge creature was swallowing, moving up behind me. The moss on the cave walls seemed to sway towards me as I brushed past it. What is this stuff!?

Now I’m just trying to catch my breath. I might try to peer back into the entrance of the cave. I have to know what that thing was! 

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Eventually the cave lowers down into a long pool of water. The end of this tunnel is so far in the distance that I can’t even see it with my flashlight on full beam. The only living things in this portion of the cave are me and that glowing sludge. 

I took this picture shining my light into water. Doesn’t it look like some of that slime it coming out of the pool? The water is so murky I can’t really make anything out but I’m sure that’s what I saw. Can you see it in the photo? 

I think I’m going to head back out now. The air in here smells really odd and I’m running out of service on my phone. I can barely see the entrance behind me. 

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Right off the bat there’s some incredible finds in this cave! There’s a large metal hook protruding from the wall (top right photo). This tells me that this cave might of been used by smugglers! They would have moored their boat within the cave and then followed the cave into a safe exit location in the village. Fascinating stuff! 

Unfortunately that green moving sludge seems to be thriving in here. In the darkness of the cave it’s practically neon. Curiously other organisms seem to be drawn to it. Plants grow in or around it and small creatures like snails flock to it. 

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Here I go! ...Can you also see that glowing green inside the cave? 

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My gear for the cave exploration. I’ve got a flashlight, a granola bar, a water bottle, my keys and a raincoat all in my backpack. Should be enough for me to get some good pictures inside and maybe even some samples! 

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Today at the cove I noticed a new cave has opened up! This happens often as the cliff erodes. Sometimes it’s due to sea caves, abandoned mines, or just a natural way the rock has formed. I’m going to go back to the house and pick up some gear to explore it.

No sign of any of that green sludge down here yet. I couldn’t find any information at the library about it. 

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My path to the cove goes directly by the Pendeen Lighthouse. It is one of the many constant landmarks of the village, its familiar silhouette can be seen from the houses with a coastal view.  

Today I noticed some strange algae/lichen/moss(?) growing in odd spots on the lighthouse. The substance is glowing a faint green and seems to be moving slowly like it’s breathing. Fellow naturalists help me out! I have no idea what this plant matter is (is it even plant matter or some kind of sea creature?). In my 73 years of living here I haven’t seen anything remotely like this before! Maybe an invasive species? Whatever this thing is, I’ve been spotting it in other places around the village, namely by Geevore Tin Mine. It follows that this might be something originating from the coast, and is working its way inland. Whatever it is I’m certain it’s alive, and not some kind of toxic waste. The way it moves is uncanny. 

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Saw some interesting creatures on my walk down to the cove today. I need some help identifying the species of the caterpillar and the beetle. The beetle appears to be species of dung beetle but it doesn’t look as compact as the common Dor beetle (Geotrupes stercorarius). I’ve seen this unidentified species several times near my neighbor’s farm. Perhaps it’s just one of the many variations within the Dor species. The caterpillar might be a type of moth species that I haven’t encountered before.

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Not too long after Beatrice and I were at Land’s End they had an art event. What a great idea!

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Spent a day out a Land’s End with Beatrice! Land’s End is just a short drive from Pendeen and a great place to spend a day out. Didn’t get many pictures of the coastline, but I promise it looked amazing. It’s really packed with tourists at the moment, being the end of August. It’s wonderful that people want to come out and see more of Cornwall but I wish they wouldn’t litter so much! That seagull stole one of my chips. He looks very smug about it.

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Recording of waves hitting the sand. This is my favourite place to be after a long day. 

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Some details from that same day. Found some colourful seaweed and limpets by the rock pools in on the west side of the cove. Maybe it’s time for me to start learning about different species of seaweed!

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Spent the day down at Portheras cove! If you catch the tide at the right time you can spend hours wandering up and down the beach. Sights of the day include a seal cautiously watching some surfers, and a flock of small finches making nests in the eroding soil of the cliff. 

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Enjoyed this article about local fisherman. I’ve worked many different types of fishing jobs over my nearly 50 years at sea, from ring netting, to longline, crab potting, trawling and anything else I could get my hands on. In the beginning of my career I was mostly just working crew for whatever captain would take me. That was up until I got my own thing going with mussel fishing. These interviews give great insight into the daily life of a fisherman and all the different career options for any young person looking to get into the fishing industry. I especially liked the videos with Tim Vinnicombe and Chris Ranger, both traditional mussel fisherman.

This site also has some great articles about the sustainability of different types of fishing employed in Cornwall. That’s something I’ve given a lot more thought to recently, especially as I began to take more note of the wildlife living on the coast. Rest assured, traditional mussel fishing is one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly fishing options out there!

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Here’s a photo of my mussel fishing boat just outside of Portheras Cove. I’ve been fishing for about 50 years now, around 30 of those under sail and oar. I’ve found traditional oyster fishing to be a tough but satisfying way to earn a living. It’s been a shame not being able to go out on Matilda (my boat) everyday anymore, given my knees are what they are, but every now and then I take my wife Beatrice, my son Daniel and the grandkids out for a day trip. There’s nothing like spending a day out on the ocean.