Author: raysurridge

The seas around The Lizard are teeming with all kinds of marine life, from Basking Sharks, whales and Oceanic Sunfish in the summer, to migrating and foraging sea and shoreline birds. The coastline and seas around the peninsula are an important habitat for seals, particularly Grey Seals, 38% of the global population of which make…

The Lizard has many examples of temporary ponds – sometimes called ephemeral pools – that are inundated with water in the winter but dry out in the summer. Some of these ‘ponds’ are not much more than muddy puddles associated with the trackways that criss-cross the heaths, but there are also larger pools, such as…

While The Lizard is not significantly wooded, there is woodland around the Helford River and its creeks, where some of the woods are classified as temperate rainforest. There are also other examples of deciduous woodland at the rear of the Kennack Sands dunes, and significant wood cover around the Loe on the Penrose Estate, where…

Much of The Lizard’s coastline is dominated by tall rocky cliffs, particularly on the more exposed west coast of the peninsula which faces the Atlantic head on. Here you will find plants with a more stunted habit – such as Ox-eye Daisy – than they would in more sheltered places. Some plants thrive on the…

Lowland grassland or meadow has a rich plant biodiversity; you will find several grass species, and other plants such as Knapweed, Ox-eye Daisy, Chamomile and Bird’s-foot Trefoil. On The Lizard, grassland is particularly noted for supporting several rare clover species, including Long-headed Clover, Western Clover and Twin headed Clover, and other rare plants, such as…

 An added factor on The Lizard is the underlying serpentine bedrock. This influences the soil composition, making it less acidic, and so plants that you would not expect to find on heathland, such as Bloody Crane’s-Bill and Cornish Heath – the latter of which is restricted to The Lizard in the UK – can be…