Rugged cliffs that plunge into the Atlantic on a stretch of Cornish coast renowned for its legendary links to King Arthur are to be turned into a haven for flora and fauna.
The National Trust has acquired two plots of land, totalling 22 hectares (55 acres), bordering the remarkable Tintagel Castle, where Arthur was (so one of the many stories about him goes) conceived.
Known by the rather un-Cornish name of Smith’s Cliff, the area includes the steep rock face and farmers’ fields that slope more gently towards the ocean and the vision is to turn the area into a mosaic of species-rich wildflower and grassland, scrub and trees.
The trust says its work there will benefit maritime plants such as rock sea lavender and golden samphire, insects including the small copper butterfly and the black-headed mining bee as well as birds such as the linnet, skylark and fulmar.
Trust managers are pleased because the cliffs and farmlands form a link between two other headlands it owns, the shovel-shaped promontory Barras Nose and Willapark.
“It’s already a beautiful spot,” said Jon Stewart, the National Trust general manager for north Cornwall. “At different times of year you have different wildflowers coming through – bell heather, the purples of betony, the yellows of kidney vetch – lovely floral displays.
“It’s a piece of land we’ve wanted to buy for a while. By joining it together with the other land we own, we can manage at scale and nature will benefit at scale. The bigger, the better.”
A key ethos for the trust in the south-west of England is to create “wilder and wider” coastal strips, which give more room for nature to flourish – focusing not just on the cliff edges but on the land running up to them.
The trust says that as well as protecting the cliffs it will make the fields that have been intensively farmed for decades richer in wildlife and plant-life.
Stewart said: “This acquisition is made even more special as Barras Nose was the first piece of coastal land in Cornwall and England to be acquired by subscription for the National Trust in 1897.”
One of the less spectacular aspects of the site is the name – Smith’s Cliff. “We don’t know who Smith was,” said Stewart. “I imagine he might have been a farmer back in the day. It’s not exactly a standard Cornish name but Tintagel is one of the early places for tourism in Britain so there may have been lots of English people moving in.”
Smith’s Cliff is rich in history with eight known archaeological sites and occupation by humans likely to date back to the Mesolithic age.
Aerial photos also reveal medieval strip fields, an ancient agricultural system that may have similarities to the Forrabury Stitches at nearby Boscastle, where a series of fields divided into 42 plots of farmland.
The new acquisition was made possible by five donations, and by several gifts in wills, some of which were left specifically to support the charity’s work in north Cornwall.
Mike Simmonds, the National Trust’s lead ranger for the area, said: “We’re working hard to bring back these vital species-rich grasslands on many parts of the north Cornwall coast, and wildlife surveys show the positive difference this kind of conservation work can make.
“To have the opportunity to extend these wildlife habitats at Tintagel is fantastic. We also look forward to improving visitor access, particularly on existing footpaths and rights of way, to help local people and visitors enjoy this very special place.”
