Looe Island may look insignificant, but its history stretches back thousands of years, once being called St. Michaels Island, with stories of Jesus himself visiting it.
Evidence of habitation dates to the Iron Age, with Roman coins, amphora fragments, anchors, and even a bronze ingot all been discovered nearby. During the Dark Ages it became an early Christian site, later coming under the control of Glastonbury Abbey in the medieval period.
Centuries later, smugglers used the island to avoid British revenue cutters, before it was accidentally bombed during WWII after reportedly being mistaken for a ship by the Luftwaffe.
Modernly, it was bought by two sisters who lived on the island, and following their death, was donated to the Cornish Wildlife Trust, where it is to stay in perpetuity with wardens living on the island to protect its wild character.
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For over 160 years, Falmouth was at the centre of Britain’s global communication network and a huge player in its global trade.
From around 1689 to 1851, the Packet Station handled overseas mail across Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. At its peak, around 30–40 ships operated from the port, carrying letters, government dispatches, and trade information on journeys that could take weeks or months.
Its third largest in the world deep natural harbour and direct Atlantic access made it the ideal location, helping Britain stay connected to the wider world long before telegraphs or modern communication.
Today, the packet service is gone, but its legacy still shaped Falmouth into the major port and maritime centre it is today.
Not to mention it has a wetherspoons named after it 😏
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Have you ever heard of the Sword of Saint Michael, or the Saint Michael's line?
Its a near perfect straight line formed by transecting monasteries and churches that are dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, the commander of heaven's forces against darkness, in Europe and the Middle East, as well as another one across the UK.
The European one, with the second point at St. Michaels Mount in Marazion, is particularly odd, with Mont Saint-Michel in France, Sacra di San Michele in Val di Susa and Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo in Gargano, all being equidistant from each other.
The map across the UK connects over 7 sites, including many smaller stone sites in Cornwall such as Boscawen-Un Stone Circle and The Hurlers.
According to legend, the Sacred Line of Saint Michael represents the blow the Saint inflicted upon the Devil when he cast him into Hell. However, it is more likely that the collection of so many sites made these lines a coincidence and were later presumed to be correlated.
What do you think?
1946 footage of Luckett Mine reopening as tin prices went back up, making the ore worth extracting again.
Initially known as Great Wheal Martha, the mine commenced operations before 1844. In 1850, the mine reorganized and underwent several name changes: in 1861, it became New Wheal Martha, and by 1867, it was known as New Great Consols. After a period of dormancy, there was an attempt to reopen the mine in 1946, shortly after World War II, however the mine struggled to achieve sustainable profitability, amongst a few accidents, and eventually ceased operations.
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One of the largest hospitals in the world, and the largest in Africa, the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital has a direct link back to Cornwall, using Cornish language in its name.
Part of its name comes from John Albert Baragwanath, a Cornish-born immigrant who set up a refreshment site/inn during South Africa’s gold rush. The area where he operated became known as Baragwanath after him, and the hospital later took that name during the 1940's when South Africa built new war hospitals to cope wth demand.
In 1997, it was renamed to also honour Chris Hani, reflecting both its origins and modern history.
Over 5,500 miles from Cornwall, yet we can say the largest hospital in Africa has Cornish language in its title.
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Here is the 2021 Train Sim World 2: West Cornwall Local trailer, an add on the a train simulator game where you can drive your very own train across Penzance – St. Austell & St Ives, capturing the line in the 1990s in the pre-British Rail privatisation era.
They also have the same line in the much newer Train Sim World 6 game that released in 2025, but I was unable to find a trailer for it.
Do you recognise any locations? Are you going to give the game a go?
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The word 'emmet' is a popular Cornish term used to describe holidaymakers and tourists, usually when they commit obnoxious acts, however, you'd probably be surprised to hear that the term isn't actually from the Cornish language, but rather old English.
The word is derived from the old English "ǣmete", meaning ant today, likely describing the abundance of tourists, and was used around 450-1200 AD, picking up popularity in the Cornish tourism boom of the mid 20th century, but with uncertain beginnings.
The Cornish language word for ant and ants respectively is "moryonen" and "moryon", yet with the popularity of the word emmet, only those who look into its history really learn its old English origins, with the vast majority of holiday makers unaware of the term's meaning.
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