Penhale Sands

Building covering the partly excavated St Piran's Oratory in 1952

Penhale Sands and Perran Beach are believed to be the 6th century landing site of Saint Piran from Ireland, regarded the bringer of Christianity to, and the patron saint of Cornwall.[6] On this site, situated in a hollow, St Piran's Oratory was built around this time. It is thought to be the oldest Christian site in Cornwall and one of the oldest in Britain. The church was abandoned in the tenth century due to the encroachment of sand. A replacement church was built further inland and abandoned in 1795.[7] The oratory site was excavated in 1835 and 1843 before the remains were encased in a large concrete structure in 1910. The concrete structure was removed in 1980 and the delicate site buried in sand for its protection.[8] In 2014 the sand was removed to reveal the remains of the church.[1]

Penhale Camp in 2009

Penhale Camp was established in 1939, to the north of the dunes, as a World War II emergency measure to train anti-aircraft gunners. There still remains evidence of the gun sites, searchlight batteries and defensive positions such as pillboxes and trenches.[9] On 7 June 1940 the camp was bombed by a single German bomber, probably looking for the nearby St Eval airfield; twenty-two British soldiers were killed in the raid, most were subsequently buried in nearby Perranporth.[10] In 1943 the camp was occupied by the United States Army Corps of Engineers[11] as part of the buildup to Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings. The engineers built the fourteen Nissen huts on the Camp; still used today as accommodation for training units. In 1955, three Royal Artillery men drowned while swimming in the sea at Perran Corner. These dangerous waters, with treacherous rip tides, have also claimed the lives of at least two civilians.

The sand dunes have for many years been used by naturists, as an unofficial naturist beach. Over the years, the Ministry of Defence have complained about nude sunbathers, but a compromise was reached with the land owner in 2007 [12]

In April 2010, the camp was closed by the Ministry of Defence[13] and was sold in September that year for £1.5million.[9][14] However, the area is still governed by Ministry of Defence Byelaws[15][16] Today, Penhale Camp and the associated training area are available to all Arms and Services wishing to carry out low level infantry skills training, cadre courses, communications and CPX training. The surrounding area provides opportunities for all recognised adventurous training activities and the newer extreme sports such as power kiting and coasteering. Now established in Penhale Camp is EBO Adventure Centre which provides a diverse range of training activities including Military Resettlement.

The dune soil is calcareous because of the high percentage of seashell fragments which leads to a flora with lime-loving plants that are otherwise rare in Cornwall. The flora also includes at least sixty-six species of moss, making it one of richest sites in Cornwall. A number of rare plant species have been recorded on the site, these include Babington's leek (Allium babingtonii), brackish water buttercup (Ranunculus baudotii), Cornish gentian (Gentianella anglica subsp. cornubiensis), fragrant evening-primrose (Oenothera stricta), Italian lords-and-ladies (Arum italicum), Portland spurge (Euphorbia portlandica), shore-dock (Rumex rupestris), slender spike rush (Eleocharis acicularis), variegated horsetail (Equisetum variegatum) and wild leek (Allium ampeloprasum).[2] Due to its importance as a site for lichens and rare plant species, Plantlife has designated the dunes an Important Plant Area.[18]

It is also an important site for its insect fauna, especially Lepidoptera, with the silver-studded blue butterfly sometimes counted in thousands. Twenty-seven species of butterfly and one hundred and seven species of moth have been recorded on the dunes.[2][19] The exclusion of the public in the restricted military area of Penhale Camp has protected the nature conservation interest of this area.[20]

Penhale Sands is said to be the site of the legendary sunken town of Langarroc. On stormy nights the bells of Langarroc's seven churches are still heard to toll beneath the dunes.[22]