St Loy's Cove
Encyclopedia
St Loy's Cove is a small wooded valley and beach in the civil parish
of St Buryan
in Cornwall
, UK. It's located two miles to the south of St Buryan churchtown, and between Penberth
and Lamorna
. There are just a few buildings in the cove, one of which, Cove Cottage, provides bed and breakfast and a cafe. St Loy's is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB), the Boscawen SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest
) and is part of a GCR Geological Conservation Review
site. The South West Coast Path
passes through the cove.
backed by soft orange–brown cliffs of head deposits formed by solifluction
when the climate was similar to that of Greenland's today. These cliffs are easily eroded and amongst the rounded boulders on the beach are irregular shaped granite stones that have fallen from the cliff. The Boscawen SSSI "is a nationally important site for Quaternary
geomorphology
and Quaternary stratigraphy
. Coastal exposures at the site show a sequence of granitic shore platform overlain in turn by raised beach deposits and head deposits".
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of St Buryan
St Buryan
St Buryan is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The village of St Buryan is situated approximately five miles west of Penzance along the B3283 towards Land's End...
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, UK. It's located two miles to the south of St Buryan churchtown, and between Penberth
Penberth
Penberth is a coastal village and cove on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately seven miles southwest of Penzance.Penberth Cove is one of the last remaining traditional fishing coves in Cornwall...
and Lamorna
Lamorna
Lamorna is a fishing village and cove in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penwith peninsula approximately four miles south of Penzance.-Newlyn School of Art and the Lamorna Colony:...
. There are just a few buildings in the cove, one of which, Cove Cottage, provides bed and breakfast and a cafe. St Loy's is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
(AONB), the Boscawen SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
) and is part of a GCR Geological Conservation Review
Geological Conservation Review
The Geological Conservation Review is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological and geomorphological features of Britain...
site. The South West Coast Path
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
passes through the cove.
Geography
The stream at the bottom of the valley flows out to sea under a boulder storm beachStorm beach
A storm beach is a beach affected by particularly fierce waves, usually with a very long fetch. The resultant landform is often a very steep beach composed of rounded cobbles, shingle and occasionally sand...
backed by soft orange–brown cliffs of head deposits formed by solifluction
Solifluction
In geology, solifluction, also known as soil fluction, is a type of mass wasting where waterlogged sediment moves slowly downslope, over impermeable material. It occurs in periglacial environments where melting during the warm season leads to water saturation in the thawed surface material ,...
when the climate was similar to that of Greenland's today. These cliffs are easily eroded and amongst the rounded boulders on the beach are irregular shaped granite stones that have fallen from the cliff. The Boscawen SSSI "is a nationally important site for Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
geomorphology
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
and Quaternary stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
. Coastal exposures at the site show a sequence of granitic shore platform overlain in turn by raised beach deposits and head deposits".