Prussia Cove - Cudden Point To Prussia Cove SSSI

Cudden Point To Prussia Cove SSSI

Cudden Point is a prominent headland, owned by the National Trust which can be clearly seen from most of Mount's Bay. Together with Little Cudden and Piskies Cove, the area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is listed, for its national importance, in the Geological Conservation Review. The SSSI notification reads:

″This is the best example in Cornwall of a mildly metamorphosed, differentiated tholeiitic intrusive greenstone that retains good relict igneous textures and mineralogy. It is characteristic of relatively large intrusive dolerite-gabbro sills in Cornwall and unique in that it is of tholeiitic composition and not alkaline. It is also internally differentiated and contains rare relicts of primary brown amphibole. The sheared and deformed marginal facies has a chemistry indicative of contact metamorphism by hidden, shallow granite extension from the nearby Godolphin diapir.″

The vegetation consists of small patches of coastal grassland with colonies of the Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus), Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) and Grayling (Hipparchia semele) butterflies. Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and bramble (Rubus fruticosus) dominate on the more fertile soils. Above the headland is ″The Lookout″ built by the Government in the 1914-18 war for coastal observation and now used as holiday accommodation.