There are probably very few International Airport car parks in England where you can sit quietly and listen to the noise of cattle in nearby fields. Newquay Cornwall International Airport, as its marketing department would have us call it, is one such. Situated on the North Cornwall coast just a few miles north-east of Newquay, and with the end of the runway within a mile or so of the sea, it is a very typical small regional airport with only one terminal serving both domestic and international flights.
For our journey today, no passports are required, although most of the flight will be over water. If the passengers are lucky, the winds will favour a departure from the westerly runway at Newquay. This allows the little twin turbo-prop to climb out over Watergate Bay, which now houses the Cornish branch of Jamie Oliver's "fifteen" restaurant, before heading west towards Newquay itself and its famous Fistral Beach, the home of many international surfing competitions. From Newquay, the 17-seat De-Havilland DHC-6 (aka "Dash 6" or "Twin Otter") levels at around 1,000' above the sea as it picks up the coastline and starts making its way along the dramatic North Cornwall coast towards St Mary’s airport on the Isles of Scilly.
The next town passed is Perranporth, with the town lying in a gap between the hills down by the beach, followed shortly by the exposed airport sitting on the top of the cliffs overlooking the sea.
Only a short while later, those passengers sitting on the left hand side of the aircraft are treated to the sight of Godrevy Lighthouse, at the north-eastern end of St Ives bay, standing guard over the Stones, a reef stretching out for 1.5 miles. The lighthouse first lit up on 1st March 1859, and was built at a cost of £7,082 15s 7d. In 1939 the keepers were withdrawn when the lighthouse was made automatic. Since 1995 it has been solar powered, and is monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations Control Centre at Harwich in Essex.
As the passengers' eyes follow the large bay around, they see the town of Hayle in the middle of the bay and then St Ives itself at the south-western end of the bay. The large white building overlooking the beach is the Tate St Ives. The passengers who rushed to take the twin seats on the right hand side of the aircraft rather than the single seats on the left are probably realising by now that their views for pretty much the whole trip between Newquay and St Mary’s will be Atlantic Ocean and little else - although possibly with one exception.
Continuing down past St Ives, the aircraft passes just to the north of Gurnards Head, apparently so called because the outcrop of rock resembles that of the fish known as a Gurnard. Anticipation heightens as the aircraft rushes towards Pendeen Watch, the last lighthouse on the Northern coast of Cornwall, and also monitored and controlled from Harwich. From here, on a clear day, the passengers can look south towards the town of St Just, the most westerly town in England and one of the most ancient mining districts in Cornwall. A little further in the distance Land’s End airport can be seen, followed quickly by Sennen Cove with its beautiful sandy beach and then Cape Cornwall, the point at which the Atlantic splits into the Bristol Channel and Irish Sea or the English Channel. Only four miles south from Cape Cornwall lies Lands End, the most westerly point of mainland England.
That's it, the mainland passes away behind, and from here to St Mary’s airport the sights from the left of the aircraft are Longships Lighthouse - with a dramatic looking helipad on the top, and then Wolfe Rock further away to the south. Around 17 miles out to sea from Land’s End, those sitting on the right hand side of the aircraft may find that they are looking down on the Seven Stones lightship, which marks the reef where the Torrey Canyon ran aground on 18 March 1967, with the resultant oil spills devastating wildlife in Cornwall and Northern France. The Seven Stones Reef is also the presumed site of the mythical City of Lions of the sunken lands of the Lyonesse.
Some 30 minutes after leaving Newquay, the Twin Otter touches down at St Mary’s airport, sometimes an interesting experience given that the airport slopes away on sides sides from its centre, and can be very susceptible to the strong Atlantic winds.
It would not do justice to the Isles of Scilly to summarise the many things to see and do around the islands in this article, so this can wait for another time. For those wishing to visit the Isles of Scilly, there are really only three options. Isles of Scilly Skybus flies from Newquay and Land’s End to St Mary’s year-round, and additionally from Bristol, Exeter and Southampton from around March to November, Isles of Scilly Steamship Company operates a seasonal ferry service from Penzance to St Mary’s (www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk).
First publised in VISA 78 (Apr08)
