Land's End and the legend of Lyonesse

Land's End is a headland located at the westernmost point of Cornwall. It's very popular with tourists because of its unique location and beautiful scenery. The headland consists of rugged cliffs, rock arches, sea stacks and off-shore rocky islets.

Land's End was formed around 270 million years ago and it's composed of two varieties of granite. Granite is an igneous rock, which means they are resistant to weathering and usually have steep cliff faces. The beautiful rocky coastal scenery is the result of a mass of boiling granite that forced its way through the overlying softer rocks to the surface.

Discoveries found on-site prove that people have been traveling to and living at Land's End since the Mesolithic Period. These prehistoric settlers were probably attracted by the metal ores found across Cornwall.

Many legends surround Land's End. One of them is the legend of Lyonesse. The Longships are a group of off-shore rocky islets situated over 1 mile west of Land's End. Legend has it that the Longships islets together with the Seven Stones Reef and the Isles of Scilly are part of the lost land of Lyonesse, which was swallowed by the ocean in a single night after a horrific storm. Lyonesse is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan (one of the Knights of the Round Table).

Land's End is the starting point of one of the most iconic British routes. The route is known as "Land's End to John o' Groats" and it transverses the whole length of the island, between the two extremities. John o' Groats is located in Scotland and lies on Great Britain's northeastern tip.

Land's End is known as the end of the land but in fact, Lizard Point is the southernmost point of mainland England. Land's End is located eight miles west of the town of Penzance.




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