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Land's End
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Land's End
Land's End (Cornish: Penn an Wlas or Pedn an Wlas) is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about eight miles (13 km) west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is the English Channel, and to the west the Celtic Sea.
Land's End is the most westerly point of mainland England. However, it is not the westernmost point on mainland Great Britain. This title narrowly goes to Corrachadh Mòr in the Scottish Highlands.
The actual Land's End, or Peal Point, is a modest headland compared with nearby headlands such as Pedn-men-dhu overlooking Sennen Cove and Pordenack, to the south. The present hotel and tourist complex is at Carn Kez, 200 yards (180 m) south of the actual Land's End. Land's End has a particular resonance because it is often used to suggest distance. Land's End to John o' Groats in Scotland is a distance of 838 miles (1,349 km) by road and this Land's End to John o' Groats distance is often used to define charitable events such as end-to-end walks and races in the UK. Land's End to the northernmost point of England is a distance of 556 miles (895 km) by road.
The westernmost promontory at Land's End is known as Dr Syntax's Head. The character Dr Syntax was invented by the writer William Combe in his 1809 comic verse The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque, which satirised the work of seekers of the "picturesque" such as William Gilpin. A nearby promontory is called Dr Johnson's Head after Samuel Johnson, who referred to a hypothetical Cornish declaration of independence in his 1775 essay Taxation no Tyranny.
The area around Land's End has been designated part of an Important Plant Area, by the organisation Plantlife, for rare species of flora.
Land's End is a popular venue for rock climbers.
The Longships, a group of rocky islets are just over 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore, and together with the Seven Stones Reef and the Isles of Scilly which lie about 28 miles (45 km) southwest – are part of the mythical lost land of Lyonesse, referred to in Arthurian literature.
The cliffs are made of granite, an igneous rock, which means they are resistant to weathering, and have steep cliff faces. There are two varieties of granite represented at Land's End. Adjacent to the hotel the granite is coarse-grained with large phenocrysts of orthoclase, sometimes more than 5 in (13 cm) in length. To the north, at the First and Last House, there is a finer-grained granite with fewer and smaller phenocrysts, and the different granites can be seen from a distance by the smoother weathering of the finer variety. The granite dates to 268–275 million years ago of the Permian period. The contact zone between the Land's End granite pluton and the altered "country rocks" is nearby and the Longships Lighthouse, offshore, is built on the country rock.
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Land's End
Land's End (Cornish: Penn an Wlas or Pedn an Wlas) is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about eight miles (13 km) west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is the English Channel, and to the west the Celtic Sea.
Land's End is the most westerly point of mainland England. However, it is not the westernmost point on mainland Great Britain. This title narrowly goes to Corrachadh Mòr in the Scottish Highlands.
The actual Land's End, or Peal Point, is a modest headland compared with nearby headlands such as Pedn-men-dhu overlooking Sennen Cove and Pordenack, to the south. The present hotel and tourist complex is at Carn Kez, 200 yards (180 m) south of the actual Land's End. Land's End has a particular resonance because it is often used to suggest distance. Land's End to John o' Groats in Scotland is a distance of 838 miles (1,349 km) by road and this Land's End to John o' Groats distance is often used to define charitable events such as end-to-end walks and races in the UK. Land's End to the northernmost point of England is a distance of 556 miles (895 km) by road.
The westernmost promontory at Land's End is known as Dr Syntax's Head. The character Dr Syntax was invented by the writer William Combe in his 1809 comic verse The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque, which satirised the work of seekers of the "picturesque" such as William Gilpin. A nearby promontory is called Dr Johnson's Head after Samuel Johnson, who referred to a hypothetical Cornish declaration of independence in his 1775 essay Taxation no Tyranny.
The area around Land's End has been designated part of an Important Plant Area, by the organisation Plantlife, for rare species of flora.
Land's End is a popular venue for rock climbers.
The Longships, a group of rocky islets are just over 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore, and together with the Seven Stones Reef and the Isles of Scilly which lie about 28 miles (45 km) southwest – are part of the mythical lost land of Lyonesse, referred to in Arthurian literature.
The cliffs are made of granite, an igneous rock, which means they are resistant to weathering, and have steep cliff faces. There are two varieties of granite represented at Land's End. Adjacent to the hotel the granite is coarse-grained with large phenocrysts of orthoclase, sometimes more than 5 in (13 cm) in length. To the north, at the First and Last House, there is a finer-grained granite with fewer and smaller phenocrysts, and the different granites can be seen from a distance by the smoother weathering of the finer variety. The granite dates to 268–275 million years ago of the Permian period. The contact zone between the Land's End granite pluton and the altered "country rocks" is nearby and the Longships Lighthouse, offshore, is built on the country rock.
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