Storm Goretti has been devastating for the trees of Penwith and other places in Cornwall. Penzance and St Micheal’s Mount (Marazion) were particularly badly hit, with hundreds of mature trees and ancient hedgerows* pulled down. Unprecedented wind speeds of up to 123mph were recorded on the coast. The following photos show only a fraction of what I alone witnessed of the devastation to this particular area of Cornwall. ** Update 13th January ** many people are still without electricity and without water due to the storm, following the water treatment centre in Helston losing power, and landline phone networks are down for many too. There has been such widespread destruction that the county could be said to be in a state of emergency.
Contact me to purchase images.
* The first Cornish hedges were Neolithic, made 4000–6000 years ago, and newer ones are still built in the same style. Cornish hedges are havens for wildlife, “In 1971, just before the arrival of the flail type of hedge-trimmer wiped out around 85% of them, nearly two hundred flowering species were counted in just one mile of an ordinary roadside hedge. An estimated ten thousand species of insects can be supported by the floral and habitat diversity in Cornwall’s hedges. This brings mammals, birds and reptiles to forage and to hide their homes and nests in the greenery and stony crevices.” Find out more about the Cornish Hedge