St Michael's Mount.

It has been a very wet day. When we went out to the farm the ground was so soft Peter couldn't get the camper out to take it to the garage. We tried putting stones and wood under the wheels with no luck so we gave up. Peter phoned Mike the owner of the farm and he said he'd get the camper out and leave it in the concrete yard for us. Back home we went and then having only worked out yesterday that tomorrow is our wedding anniversary I found an excuse to go to the supermarket to get a card and some beer for Peter which I hid in the tool cupboard.

Back now to Cornwall with photos of the exterior of the castle.

As it was low tide we were able to walk across the granite stone causeway to St. Michael's Mount.

Although privately owned the island is maintained by the National Trust so the houses and other buildings, the remains of a much larger village, are in good condition and there were plenty of NT guides/volunteers? around to tell you about the history of the island. The wind was getting up and the rain increasing so we took the advice of one of the guides and headed up to the castle before it was closed due to the weather conditions. It was a very long way up on an uneven granite stone path, sometimes clambering over rocks without a handrail in places. Of course I was wearing flip-flops not the most sensible footwear for the conditions. Later I spotted an even granite roadway which wasn't for public use.

Very wet and windswept we walked through some of the castle rooms before coming out onto the south terrace. Although it looked like a courtyard it was a roof terrace above 4 floors of the castle. 

This had been much restored in Victorian times and everything was in good condition. The original buildings date back to the 11thC when it was a monastery but it is believed there was a monastery there from the 8thC. It was later turned into a castle and then bought by the current owners' family in the 17thC. after the Civil War.

I have to say that both inside and out this is one of the most 'castley' castles I've visited.

There were plenty of lookout places to view the sea and the gardens below. 

Walking around the corner we came to the north terrace with its views to Penzance and Marazion. 

Interior photos tomorrow.