Travel: Finding mermaid tears on a Cornwall beach
Fragments of the past are reborn as treasures on Cornwall’s shores, attracting collectors drawn to sea glass
A blustery cold day calls for huddling in front of a fireplace with hot chocolate, but the rhythmic sound of the waves and the thought of “treasure hunting" lure me out of my comfy hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, in the UK. Over the last few years, I have switched allegiance from the sea to mountains, from beaches to alpine forests. But in Cornwall, a ceremonial county bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east and the English Channel to the south, I find a whole new lens to look at the ocean.
Sea glass, a natural treasure that’s been shaped by time and tide.
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Cornwall is the UK’s southernmost county and diverges greatly in its geography. North Cornwall is rugged and wild with coast-hugging cliffs and sandy windswept beaches. South Cornwall is gentle and mild with a calm coast, sheltered coves and historic fishing villages.
As I step out of the hotel lobby, cap and gloves in place, I get a bird’s-eye view of the beautiful bay. The glistening blue waters and craggy cliffs embracing the smooth beach seem idyllic. The town is named for the “new quay" built in the mid-15th century. Once a fishing village, Newquay gained popularity as one of Britain’s favourite seaside destinations after the arrival of the railway in 1876.
I step on to the high path that looks down at the high cliffs, rolling sand dunes, and dramatic headlands that bookend Fistral Beach. “The many beaches, including Tolcarne, Towan, Great Western, Harbour, Lusty Glaze and Porth are ideal for sunbathing and surfing," says Lauren Fountain, the operations manager who’s manning the reception at Esplanade Hotel. “The powerful waves regularly reach heights of 6-8ft and draw surfers from across the country," she says.
I eschew the surface water sport in favour of long walks each morning, enjoying the salty sea air and the bracing winds. On my third day of winter walking, I spot something buried in the sand. Amid a gritty knot of seaweed lies nature’s treasure turned trash: a frosted, lightly pitted sliver of blueish-green sea glass.
Seaside lore goes that every time a sailor drowned at sea, mermaids would cry. Their “tears" would wash up on the shore as smooth frosted sea glass. The romantic story doesn’t reveal the real origins of sea glass, which begins life as discarded or broken glass from bottles and tableware that finds its way into the sea. The ocean’s movement and the abrasive effect of sand and rocks wear down the sharp edges to create the characteristic naturally frosted appearance.
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Glass was the container of choice starting from the early 20th century. Before the proliferation of single-use plastics, it was used for bottles, plates, bowls and more. After use, people would toss these containers, which eventually found their way into seas and oceans. Weathering turned fragile shards of old glass into frosted gems, with most sea glass spending at least a few decades on the seafloor. Rebecca Thompson, who runs artisan jewellery firm Sea Glass Company in Northumberland, says sea glass is a “living embodiment of times gone by". “(It) is formed when pieces of glass are tumbled and smoothed by the ocean waves over time. It comes in a variety of colours, shapes, and sizes; each piece is one of a kind," says the jewellery designer.
The variety of colours reveals the antecedents of the sea glass. The most commonly found colours are blue, green, brown and white but dedicated sea glass hunters have found hues of red, orange, dark blue and purple.
“Milk, beer, wine and soda bottles produce aqua, green, brown and white sea glass. Deep blue shards are likely to have come from glass jars used for ink wells and medicine jars used by doctors of the 1890s," Thompson says. Pink, lavender, and purple shards may have once been perfume bottles or art glass, and the rare orange fragment comes from vases, tableware or red warning lights used on ships. After a few conversations with locals, I learn that beach combing during low tide will up my chances of finding sea glass. “Or after a storm as the rough waves cough up fragments on to the beach," Fountain says.
Cornwall has numerous options to find beach bounty: Watergate Bay, Trebar with Strand, Carbis Bay, Kynance Cove, and beaches like Perranporth, Portreath Beach, St Ives Harbour, Porthmeor, Porthcurno, Gyllyngvase, and Pentewan. “Sennen Cove, near Land’s End, the most westerly point in mainland England, is a great beach for finding sea glass during low tide," says Conan Enys, the server at nearby Lewinnick Lodge, a boutique restaurant where I stop for lunch.
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I forage for these natural gems, mostly unsuccessfully, but find that the combination of fresh air, waves lapping at the shore and focus on finding sea glass is grounding in nature. As I finally chance upon an elusive shard, I begin to notice things: the edges rounded by the water, the way the light catches the colours, the feeling of the pitted surface against my fingers. It also lets the imagination run wild. Was my sea glass part of a liquor bottle that a pirate tossed at sea? Was it a milk bottle delivered to a family’s doorstep?
The history and mystery that shroud sea glass draw collectors to shorelines around the world. It’s astounding how brokenness leads to beauty in nature. Discarded glass—broken pieces of a former whole—are tossed and must live through a few hard knocks till they emerge from the sea, smooth, glistening, and beautiful. Cindy Bilbao, in Sea Glass: Treasures from the Tide, writes that sea glass holds intrinsic value because of the mysteries it carries. “Questions about what it used to be in its original form, where it came from, and how it ended up on a particular beach all beg to be answered for the person who found it."
Cornwall is extremely popular as a summer destination. But in winter, when the temperature plummets, and the beach is practically empty, walking the coastline can turn up unexpected treasures and quiet the mind.
Teja Lele writes on travel and lifestyle.
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