Porthgwarra - The Lover's Cove
Many Years ago, Nell, a young barmaiden at the Red Horse Inn, fell in love with a sailor named William whose ship came into port one day. Her parents disapproved of him and the two lovers were forbidden to ever meet again. The night before the sailor was due to leave on his ship, the pair managed one last meeting by the rocks on the beach. They vowed that they would be true to one another forever and, living or dead, they would one day meet again. The young sailor left port the next day and no news came from him for many months. Nell, growing more melancholy every day, watched for his ship from Hella Point under the old tree, which later became know as Nell's Point. Eventually, she became quite mad and did little else but lament the loss of her lover. One moonlit night, an old woman sitting up on the clifftop saw Nell walk down onto the beach and sit on a rock that was partially surrounded by water. The tide began to rise but Nell continued to gaze out to sea. The old woman, seeing the danger the girl was in, decided to go down and warn her of the dangerous rising water. When she arrived down on the beach, the old woman was surprised to see a sailor beside the young girl with his arm round her. Believing Nell to be safe, the old woman sat down to watch the couple, and she noticed a think mist forming. But the lovers did not move and, with increasing concern, the old woman called out to them. Neither of the lovers heeded her warning. The old woman started over to them, but to her astonishment the lovers suddenly appeared to float off over the sea and vanish into the mist. Nell was never ever seen again, and word came the next day that William's ship had gone down in a storm the night before with the loss of all life.