A tour of Polperro, alias Saxton

On a very hot day last summer I made a trip to Polperro on the south coat of Cornwall. I’d been meaning to go there for a long time – not just because it’s such a picturesque place, but because it’s the main inspiration for the fictional town of Saxton in Jonathan Boakes’s adventure game The Lost Crown.

I’ve written enthusiastically about The Lost Crown before (see this blog post from 2014), so all I’ll say here is that it’s acquired something of a cult following due to its quirky storyline and characters. I suspect that anyone who enjoyed playing the game will have vivid memories of Saxton and its surroundings, so for their benefit the following pictures focus on sights that were used in the game. For everyone else – just enjoy the views!

To start with here’s Harbour Cottage, the run-down hovel rented by the game’s protagonist, Nigel Danvers. In the real world it’s a nice, well-kept little house called Studio Cottage:

And here’s Saxton Museum – just a commercial establishment in the real world (the sign that says “Harbour & Smuggling Museum” is referring to something else):

I was looking forward to visiting “Celtic Corner”, because in the game it’s just the sort of incense-burning, hippie shop I like. In the real world, however, it’s just somebody’s house:

Here’s the entrance to “Saxton Caverns” – actually just a small cave on Polperro beach:

And here’s the Net Hut, which is the scene of some gruesome goings-on in The Lost Crown:

Looking back towards the town from the Net Hut:

And here’s the little lighthouse – which as far as I can tell really is a little lighthouse!

Here’s a final piece of trivia for fans of The Lost Crown. The best character in the game (the only sane one) is called Lucy Reubens, which is quite an unusual surname. So it’s interesting to see that Polperro has a real-world Reubens Walk:

Pictures by Andrew May, June 2017.

Some Random Rocks

Here are a couple of interesting rock simulacra that I have encountered. The first is a pebble that I found in my garden back in May 2012. The pebble immediately stood out to me as it was a good likeness of a classic “Gray” extra-terrestrial, with the typical large eyes and small mouth and nose. As good a simulacrum as it seemed to me, it was unfortunately deemed “not striking enough” for Fortean Times' “Simulacra Corner”, but has featured on Andrew May's Forteana Blog.

The second rock is described as a “Cocke (or Cock) Rock” and it is plain to see why it is so named. This particular rock was photographed in the Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft this year. As the caption accompanying the rock says “This phallic shaped flint has been used as a fertility aid in the donor's family for several generations. As late as the 1920s women wishing to conceive would place the stone under their pillow on the night of the full moon. They would be “with child” within nine months.” Whether the Cocke Rock actually worked it is hard to say, but given the rock's shape, it certainly would not have been easy to sleep with it under your pillow.

Pictures, Wiltshire (May 2012) and Cornwall (August 2013).

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Roche Rock

The below pictures were taken in the Cornish village of Roche, and show “Roche Rock“. Roche Rock, is an isolated stone outcrop onto which a small chapel (dedicated to St Micheal) was built in the 15th Century. Roche Rock exudes a spooky and mysterious air. The surrounding countryside is flat and green, and Roche Rock stands isolated within this landscape, giving the impression that it does not really belong. This unnatural apperance is probably why the rock is linked to a number of local legends. It is most notably linked to the 12th century lovers Tristan and Iseult (who sought refuge at the rock from Iseult’s angry husband), and the unscrupulous 17th centruy magistrate Jan Tregeagle (who’s soul sought refuge at the rock from pursuing otherworldly terrors).

Roche Rock has also featured on Andrew May’s Forteana Blog.

Pictures, Cornwall (September 2006).