Lizard Peninsula

The Lizard peninsula (12mi/19km south) is the most southerly point of Britain. The landscape of steep and rugged coasts, fishing villages and sandy bays, retains something of its ancient character, its beauty owed to the rocks of which it is formed. Green serpentine mixed in with gneiss and red granite, often clothed with gorse and heather, contributes to a delightful medley of color. For centuries the fisherfolk of the Lizard made a lucrative second living from the spoils of reef piracy, looting the many ships wrecked on the treacherous rocky shores. The first lighthouse on Lizard Point, the southern tip of the peninsula, was only constructed in 1752.