Near the southwest tip of England, where the region of Cornwall meets the Atlantic, is Longrock Beach.
It's
part of the mythical coastline around Penzance -- a liminal space where
the sky meets the ocean, dotted with prehistoric monuments. Off the
shore from Longrock, an island topped by a fairytale castle rises up
from the water: St. Michael's Mount.
Longrock is idyllic -- safe and family friendly, with shallow water, and "favored with Penzance locals," according to the tourist board.
Last
week it was rather less so. Longrock was one of 100 beaches around
England which had raw sewage disgorged into the sea during the peak
summer period.
In Cornwall alone, 14 of 80 bathing beaches were off limits due to sewage.
And
Longrock has been hit again this week, with a pollution warning in
place on August 26, just in time for the August Bank Holiday, which will
see Brits heading for the coast.
A
beach in Brighton and Hove, perhaps the most popular seaside escape for
Londoners, is also closed for this peak weekend. According to charity Surfers Against Sewage, the southern coast is the worst affected. "Brighton and Hove seem to be deluged over and over again," says CEO Hugo Tagholm.
So
far this bathing season, Surfers Against Sewage has logged 654
notifications of sewage overspill from 171 locations. Longrock is joint
top, with 19 separate incidents since May.
"It doesn't do us any favors in terms of perception," says Malcolm Bell, CEO of Visit Cornwall, the tourist board.
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