Cornwall: areas of outstanding natural beauty: head to any of Cornwall's 12 AONBs to see rugged coastal scenery, open moorland, Cornish hedges and perhaps even the county's favorite bird

Geographical, July, 2007 by Natalie Hoare

"Keep an eye on that cave opening, they've been darting in and out every 35-40 minutes since dawn," says a muffled west-country accent from behind a turned-up collar and hood, tightly fastened against the brisk on shore winds. It's nearly 3pm. Had this Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) volunteer really been standing on a well chosen spot between the car park and the National Trust booth since dawn?

Lizard Point, one of Cornwall's most famous (and arguably most tacky) tourist spots, seemed an unlikely spot to find one of England's rarest birds. But, during the past few years, the Lizard has become a Mecca for birdwatchers, after the glossy black Cornish chough, identifiable by its bright-red beak and legs and characteristic aerobatic flight, returned to here after a 50-year absence from England.

It was once believed that the spirit of King Arthur lived on in a chough, and the bird appears on the Cornish coat of arms two facts that have sealed its status as Cornwall's favourite bird. Residents of the region revelled in the news that a pair of choughs had successfully bred on the Lizard peninsula in 2001 and again in 2004, when two pairs of choughs raised chicks on the Cornish coast. Today, the total population has swelled to 11 birds.

As the chough's preferred habitat is rocky coastlines and caves, it comes as no great surprise that the birds have chosen to settle in Cornwall, with its 645 kilometres of coastline. Cornwall's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is unique in that its total area of 958 square kilometres is divided into 12 separate areas. All, with the exception of Bodmin Moor, are located next to the sea, and display some of the UK's most picturesque coastal scenery.

Cornish essence

The essence of the Cornwall AONB is, of course, defined by the sea. Tiny sheltered villages, once thriving fishing communities, nestle between rugged, weather-beaten headlands. Along the northern coast, spectacular exposed cliff faces contrast with the softer, more tranquil, tree-lined estuaries, sand bars and sheltered creeks of the south, where rare and exotic plants that don't grow anywhere else in the British Isles thrive. But inland, the exposed landscapes create a sense of wilderness that is somehow reinforced by a lack of trees, curious rock formations and the remnants of past industries.

Much of the landscape of Cornwall and West Devon was transformed during the 18th and early 19th centuries as a result of the rapid growth of the copper and tin mining industries. Its deep underground mines, engine houses, foundries, smallholdings, ports and harbours together represent an age of significant innovation that, during the early 19th century, enabled the region to produce two thirds of the world's copper. The substantial remains in Cornwall and West Devon were added to UNESCO's World Heritage list last year.

"We have 12 different areas, which must have four or five separate landscape types within them," explains Paul Walton, Cornwall's AONB partnership manager. "Bodmin Moor, parts of West Penwith and parts of the Lizards are quite similar: open exposed, historic, upland landscape; the stretches along the north hug the coastline and are associated with the sea and seaward views--it's rugged and remote with some of Cornwall's highest parts. There's also the estuarine river valley landscape, with the Helford, Fal and Fowey rivers flowing out of the south coast and the Camel estuary in the north. On the south coast, you have a much softer landscape, where you get extensive, lush gardens such as those at Trelowarren and around Falmouth--sort of Mediterranean gardens."

In fact, the elements of the area's flora should, I'm told, technically be described as Lusitanian, rather than Mediterranean, the former denoting flora or fauna characteristically found only in the warm, moist, west facing coastal regions of Portugal, Spain and France and the west and southwest-facing coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. In May, the time of my visit, the whole place is literally bursting at the seams, as the seasonal vegetation came back it life. Campion, violets, bluebells and cow parsley create splashes of pink, blue and white against a backdrop of leafy green ferns, grasses and other foliage. Recent spring showers seem to imbue the wooded, sheltered retreats of the Lizard with a deep and satisfying scent of moist, fertile soil, peppered with the distinct hint of wild garlic.

It's easy to get lost in the tangled network of narrow country lanes while exploring the AONB's 12 sections, but it's here that another characteristic and botanically important feature of Cornwall can be seen--Cornish hedges. These aren't really hedges, but rather plant-covered dry-stone walls, topped with wonderfully tangled wind sculpted bramble, gorse or heather. Bursting into life at the start of spring, they become a riot of colour, as flowers such as dog's mercury and wood sorrel bloom.

Important wildlife habitats, the hedges are also of archaeological importance as they display a number of different styles, depending on their location and age. An impressive 48,280 kilometres of hedges still criss-cross Cornwall, the earliest dating back 4,000-6,000 years.