Looking at these photos I can hear your mind questioning away.
Where is this? Is this Greece?
And I’d forgive you for questioning it.
But believe it or not, this beautiful place is actually in England.
Cornwall to be precise!
I know I know, those blue skies were incredibly deceiving!
I recently took a trip to Cornwall to enjoy one of England’s most beautiful coastlines for a mini break and whilst I had originally planned to go and see The Isles of Scilly, I overslept and missed the time slot. So instead I went to explore The Minack Theatre.
The Minack Theatre is an open-air theatre carved into the side of a cliff and was the cultivation of the imagination of Rowena Cade, a lady who dedicated many of her years to building out her vision. Her dream started when she moved to Porthcurno during the World War and built her own house, for the bargain price of £100.
It was in 1929 when a group of local villagers put on a reenactment of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a nearby meadow, that Miss Cade offered her garden to be the next location of their show, The Tempest, as it was right beside the sea. Miss Cade and her gardener, Billy Rawlings, set about cultivating the land and hauled materials from Minack house and the beach below. They made a terrace and a rough seating and the performance of The Tempest against the dramatic backdrop was a huge success.
After this Rowena Cade dedicated her time to improving the theatre.
Her right-hand man, Billy Rawlings, and later Charles Angove, were fundamental in the theatre’s development, however, Rowena Cade never thought herself about work, and spent her days sharing the workload.
Since then the theatre has gone from strength to strength with numerous performances and an abundance of work going into the structure you see today. Sure if somebody from the very first performance in 1932 happened to stop by, they’d say it looks a great deal different, but they’d still recognise the place and the significance it holds to the area’s history.
Unfortunately I didn’t see the show as I was just there to explore the grounds, but sitting upon the concrete throne and staring out over the horizon has to be one of the most peaceful ways to spend a morning. I sat there for hours, just snapping pictures and staring at the surroundings and it was only when my stomach began to growl, that it was time to move on.
I can only imagine how glorious it must be to watch the sunset from here.
