Mullion

Mullion is the largest village on the Lizard, sitting on the western side about a mile back from the coast. It’s a proper working village rather than a tourist creation — there’s a good village shop, a couple of pubs, a church with a fine collection of carved bench ends, and the kind of community atmosphere that’s been lost in many Cornish coastal hotspots.

The star of the show is Mullion Cove, a short drive or walk from the village. The tiny harbour, protected by granite walls built in the 1890s and now maintained by the National Trust, is wedged into the cliffs with just enough room for a handful of boats. It’s a working harbour that happens to be wedged into one of the most dramatic settings on the Lizard — fishermen still go out from here. The beach at the cove is small and shingly, but the dramatic cliff scenery more than compensates. Mullion Island, just offshore, is a nesting site for seabirds including guillemots and cormorants.

From Mullion you can easily walk the coast path south to Kynance Cove — widely considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the country — or north along the cliffs towards Gunwalloe and Church Cove. The the Lizard as a whole has a wilder, less commercialised feel than much of Cornwall, and Mullion makes an excellent base for exploring it. The Marconi Centre at Poldhu, where the first transatlantic radio signal was sent in 1901, is just up the coast.