While we were in the South West, the weather was lovely so we thought we'd end up having a sunny or at least dry. Even the forecast of showers didn't put us off, after all, a shower ends pretty quickly, right? Unfortunately, we forgot that a shower in Cornwall essentially means that you're going to get drenched.
There's a special type of rain in Cornwall called mizzle. This rain looks like nothing more than a drizzle until you step out in it and find that the fine drops of water can work their way through the fibres of all your clothing to leave you soaking wet in 30 seconds flat. By the time we had walked the ten minutes from the car to the nearest cafe for a coffee, we were both drenched.
To add insult to injury, the mist rolled in and obscured St Michael's Mount from view so my dream of taking glorious photos was sadly dashed. We didn't let the weather ruin the day for us though - especially as I had driven for over an hour to get there and had already paid for parking - so we carried on with our plan to visit the island.
This worked out well, partly because the thought of having to go across on a boat was not appealing but mostly because we got to watch as St Michael's Mount appeared out of the mist with every step we took. By the time we reached the look out point part way down the path, we could clearly see the castle at the top of the hill.
I've been to the mount before - on a much sunnier day - but the walk across the causeway seemed a lot shorter than I remembered. While it won't be easy if you have mobility issues - I have balance problems and I struggled on the slippery, uneven stones - it is worth timing your visit to walk to or from the island as it's a great experience.
As we knew the path would be incredibly slippery with rain, we wouldn't get very good photos of the view and we'd be cold and miserable by the time we reached the castle, we decided to skip the trip up the hill. Instead, we explored the little harbour, which has a few interesting things to see.
One of these is the plaque marking Queen Victoria's visit to the island, which is something I remember from my last trip to St Michael's Mount. As well as a sign on the wall giving the date of her visit, there is a brass shoe print showing where she stepped onto the island. This is shaped just like the bottom of her shoe that day and it has always amazed me how absolutely tiny her feet were.
On the opposite side of the harbour, there are two similar brass footprints to mark Queen Elizabeth's and Prince Phillip's first visit to thee island. Their feet are, apparently, average size so not quite as interesting, but it's still a nice touch.
By this point, we were both feeling like we'd never be dry again so we headed back to the mainland to get out of the rain and find the nearest drive through restaurant.
While it wasn't quite the day we'd planned, St Michael's Mount was still beautiful and worth the visit. We're both determined to go again next year on a day with better weather so that this time we can make it up to the castle. Hopefully, this will mean I can write a more detailed blog and say more than 'we got wet'.
If you're ever in Cornwall, planning a trip to St Michael's Mount is definitely a great idea, as is checking the times so you can walk across the causeway at least once. Of course, you might also want to check the weather and avoid going when showers aka mizzle are forecast!