Saturday, 19 October 2019

Heading towards Beeny Cliff


After a short walk around the coastline from Boscastle, Pentargon Bay, a large black cliff face, and the Beeny promontory came into view:


Was glad to see that the footpath seemed to be well-protected:


The black cliff face was really menacing, a big vertical drop into the water:


In Discovering Hardy's Wessex, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 61) reveals that the black cliff face may be the model for the Henry Knight cliffhanger scene from 'A Pair of Blue Eyes', one of the first Thomas Hardy novels I read as a late teenager, about 35 years ago now.

Importantly, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 61-62) also informs that the black cliff face forms "part of the Beeny promontory".


It's a pity that the picture of the waterfall below is a bit blurred:


Anyway, Anne-Marie Edwards (1978/1982: 64) reveals that the waterfall was "one of the first places Hardy revisited" after his first wife Emma's death, and that in the 'After a Journey' poem, Hardy "imagines" Emma "leading him back" to the waterfall at Pentargon Bay.
 

Was an honour to visit yet another piece of wonderful Thomas Hardy memorabilia. How lucky I've been over the past four summers to visit Hardy settings all over Dorset, and for a day, in this remote part of north Cornwall.

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