St Michael's Mount

This beautiful island set in Mounts Bay is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Cornwall and as such is often used an icon to symbolise Cornwall itself. St. Michael's Mount has always captured the imagination, Charles II visited and so did Queen Victoria & Albert in 1846. Today it remains one of the most visited National Trust Properties in the whole of England.

From Marazion there is access at low tide to the island, on foot, over a paved 1200ft. causeway. During the holiday season the island can also be reached via boat at high tide.

The castle was purchased by Colonel John St. Aubyn in 1659 and remained with the Aubyn family until 1954 when it was given to the National Trust by the 3rd Lord St. Levan. The Castle  is still lived in by the Aubyn's and the gardens are still owned by the family.

Over the centuries the original Monastry was first fortified as a castle and then later extended as a House The Victorian improvements, including an underground railway which travels from the village to the to the Castle, led to the island being used much more as a home by the family.

The Mount is granite crag which rises 221 feet above sea level (excluding the buildings) with fantastic views from the summit. It is an island castle with a garden on its slopes. The 10 acres of gardens (English Heritage Grade II) have had to evolve in the face of adversity, they are open to the Atlantic gales, salt spray, bare rock and have sand for soil. On the north side sparse woods of sycamores and pines grant limited protection for camellias, azaleas and hydrangeas.  It has walks and terraces planted with windswept but often subtropical plants. The walled garden dates from the eighteenth century. A notable recent addition to the garden was the creation of the Terrace garden in 1987.