A Journey Through Holy Week in Cornwall

POST 6/2026, CARBIS BAY CORNWALL UK . . . Holy Week in Christian observance is a big thing. Since Palm Sunday the week has been a walk with Jesus toward his destiny. It’s bleak, agonizing, pain-filled, a dark time followers are tempted to sidestep.

Priest Gorran, in last Sunday’s worship guide, contrasted the exaltation of Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem with the reality of what Christ encountered. “It’s harder to remain with him as the week progresses, when betrayal and arrest and ignominy beset Jesus, and he eventually suffers an agonizing and humiliating public execution by crucifixion, and when everything seems to have gone wrong and failed.”

He continued, “One disciple betrayed him. Another denied ever having known him. They all fell asleep at the critical moment; and they ran away and abandoned him when it got dangerous. . . .”

This somber week for us included the news of three deaths. The losses include the daughter of a friend in Carbis Bay. We also lost our long-time friend, Hubert S., in Lansdale, PA; and close friend of 14 years, Margaret C., in Carbis Bay. Rest in peace, dear ones.

We attended a Maundy Thursday meal at St. John’s of the Fields in St Ives. We also went to the Good Friday service of Stations of the Cross at St Anta & All Saints.

Stations of the Cross

Priest Gorran led the mid-afternoon service for an assembly of some 30 people. We moved to 14 stations. At each station we paused for scripture, reflection, prayer, and sang one stanza of a hymn.

Priest Gorran: “This is a very poignant moment, when mother and son are reunited as Jesus passes Mary on the road. Perhaps she remembered the promise made long ago by Simeon that her own soul would be pierced, and her heart would break. But when many of the disciples had run away, Mary is still in Jerusalem near her son. So we think about our own families, relations, and closest friends. Do we take their love for granted? Do we return to them some of the love, thoughtfulness and goodness they show towards us? Are we, like Mary, full of understanding for our loved ones, even when they have to follow paths we don’t fully understand, and which cause them pain and us pain?

From the opening prayer: “Give us the spirit of true penitence, and help us to receive with joy all the crosses and humiliations which come to us during our earthly pilgrimage, knowing that we are following you. We ask this for your names sake.”

Joy is both now and waits in the wings for Jesus’ Resurrection.

The week’s gallery

Marsh Marigolds in the Marazion Marsh Nature Reserve. The town itself is a designated historic conservation area known for its dense medieval layout and listed buildings.

Leaving St Michael’s Mount. It’s about a 15-minute walk in a four-hour window from low tide before the tide covers the causeway. Otherwise you take a boat.

St Michael’s Mount is a tidal island. In ancient times, it was a trading post for tin. Later, it became a place of worship in the era of the Celtic saints. Then, it served as a place of pilgrimage and a Benedictine priory. It transformed into a military stronghold. Eventually, it became a home for the St Aubyn family. The family gifted the Mount to the National Trust. They retained only the Victorian wing and some of the gardens on a 999-year lease for their own private use. The Mount and castle are open for seasonal visits and Sunday worship services in the castle chapel.

Trencrom Hill, according to Wikipedia, “is a prominent hill fort, owned by the National Trust, near Lelant, Cornwall. It is crowned by an univallate Neolithic tor enclosure and was re-used as a hill fort in the Iron Age. From the top you can see across this part of the county to the Atlantic and the English Channel.

Trink Dairy, seen from our walk to Nance Lakes. Nance Lakes is a fine rural destinations for Moomaid by the Lake breakfast, lunch and, of course, Moomaid ice cream.

End of an era

Carol Kirkwood on April 1 (no fooling) completed 28 years as weather person on the BBC. She has been a constant during our years in the UK. Always cheerful, personable, reassuring that whatever the weather, all will be well.

Walk from Helford Village

Once upon a time, like 14 years ago, we walked into tiny Helford Village on the Lizard in Cornwall. We had just completed two days of walking the South West Coast Path with a niece and her husband. We expected to take a bus back to Helston and two other buses to St Ives. No bus. From a phone booth we called for a taxi.

This week, it was wonderful to introduce friends Steve and Marilyn to the area. village and walk. We did a circular walk to Frenchman’s Creek. Before setting out for the walk we had coffee and a pastry at the Holy Mackerel Cafe. Tasty and atmospheric.We had a late lunch at the local pub. \