Gurnard's Head

Gurnard's Head promontory from the southeast
Gurnard's Head is in the care of the National Trust

Gurnard's Head (Cornish: Ynyal, meaning desolate one) (grid reference SW432386) is a prominent headland on the north coast of the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.[1] The name is supposed to reflect the fact that the rocky peninsula resembles the head of the gurnard fish. It is near the hamlet of Treen in the parish of Zennor, one mile to the west of Zennor Head. Almost entirely owned by the National Trust, the headland is within the Aire Point to Carrick Du SSSI and the South West Coast Path crosses the southern part of the headland. The area is designated as part of the Penwith Heritage Coast and also designated as part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A pub and hotel on the coast road shares a name with the settlement.[2]

History

The Gurnard's Head Hotel, viewed from the road.

The headland is the site of an Iron Age promontory fort known as Trereen Dinas.[3]

In 1870 the Gurnard's Head seine fishery was worth an estimated £800 per year and employed twenty-four men with ten boats and two seines.[4] The pilchards were sold locally as fresh pilchards rather than salted and sold as fumadoes for the Mediterranean market.[5] There are two small coves to the west of Gurnard's Head; Treen Cove and Rose-an-Hale Cove.[6]

References

  1. ↑ OS Explorer Map 102 - Land's End (B2 ed.). Southampton: Ordnance Survey. 2010. ISBN 978 0 319 24116 5.
  2. ↑ "The Gurnard's Head". EATDRINKSLEEP. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Craig Weatherhill Cornovia: Ancient Sites of Cornwall & Scilly (Alison Hodge 1985; Halsgrove 1997, 2000)
  4. ↑ Anon (April 1872). "Spring Meeting 1871". Journal of the Institute of Cornwall XIII.
  5. ↑ Anon (24 October 1878). "The Harvest of the Sea". The Cornishman (15). p. 4.
  6. ↑ 1:10,000 Sheet Gurnard's Head. Ordnance Survey.

External links

Coordinates: 50°11′30″N 5°35′57″W / 50.19160°N 5.59922°W / 50.19160; -5.59922

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