Bass Point (England) facts for kids
Bass Point is a piece of land that sticks out into the sea, found on the coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It's located at the very southern end of the Lizard peninsula. This area was super important for sending messages a long time ago, especially during the time of Queen Victoria. It had the Lloyds Signal Station, which opened in 1872 to help ships talk to people on land. Also, Guglielmo Marconi did some of his first wireless radio experiments here!
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Exploring Bass Point's Location
The land at Bass Point is owned by the National Trust, a group that protects special places. It's about 1 mile east of Lizard Point, Cornwall, which is the most southerly spot on mainland Great Britain. Between these two points, you can see the Lizard Lighthouse and Housel Cove. Just under a mile north is Church Cove.
You can get to Bass Point by driving from Helston on the A3083 road all the way to Lizard village. From there, it's about a mile walk along Lloyds Road to the coast. The South West Coast Path also goes across Bass Point. This whole area is part of the beautiful Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
A Look Back: Bass Point's History
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How Ships Talked to Shore
Before the telegraph was invented, ships couldn't easily talk to their owners. They could only send messages using flags, called semaphore, when they were very close to land.
The telegraph cable reached Falmouth, Cornwall in 1857. A company called G. C. Fox & Company then built a signal station at Bass Point. They planned to lay a telegraph cable from Falmouth to Bass Point.
The Lloyds Signal Station Opens
The Post Office stepped in, and the Lloyds Signal Station officially opened on April 1, 1872. At first, ships used flags to send messages to the station. These messages were then sent to Helston by mail or by someone riding a horse.
On June 2, 1872, a telegraph cable finally reached the signal station. This meant the Post Office could open an office right there. By November 1872, they started using lights, guns, rockets, and steam whistles to send signals at night. Another company, William Broad & Sons, also opened an office next door.
The two companies joined forces in 1875. By 1877, more than one hundred ships each month were using the station! Today, the station has been fixed up to look like its original radio room, and you can visit it.
Marconi's Wireless Experiments
Guglielmo Marconi built two wireless radio stations on the Lizard peninsula. The main, bigger station was at Poldhu on the west coast. In 1900, Marconi made history here. He sent the first ever "over the horizon" radio signal all the way to the Isle of Wight! This was a huge step for radio communication.
National Coastwatch Institution
The old HM Coastguard station at Bass Point was the very first place to be fixed up by the National Coastwatch Institution. This is a group of volunteers. They started their work in 1994 after two local fishermen sadly died near Bass Point.
Nature at Bass Point
Bass Point is part of a special area called the Caerthillian to Kennack Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Since August 2016, it's also included in The Lizard National Nature Reserve (NNR). In recent years, the National Trust has been working to remove a plant called Hottentot fig (Carpobrotus edulis). This plant was brought here from somewhere else and can spread quickly, covering the natural coastal grassland.
