St Michael's Mount with kids - a causeway at low tide and crabs under the stones

How do you get to St Michael's Mount? On foot only at low tide: the stone causeway from Marazion comes out of the sea for about 2 hours before and 2 hours after low tide. At high tide, small boats take visitors across. We walked over the causeway on Sunday, 18 August 2019, and the best part was looking for crabs under the stones on the sea bed.

We came to Cornwall from Lady's Mile campsite in Dawlish. The plan of the whole trip is in our post UK road trip with kids.

From Dawlish to Marazion

From Lady's Mile we drove 200 km, which took 2 hours 40 minutes. We parked in Marazion, a small town on the shore of the bay, opposite the island. After many rainy days the sun finally came out, but the wind was so strong that you can hardly hear us in the video.

The causeway to St Michael's Mount

On the board at the start of the causeway we checked the tide times. That day you had to be back on the shore by 19:34 at the latest, unless you wanted to come back by boat. The causeway is a stone path across the bottom of the bay, with wet sand, rocks and seaweed on both sides. With every step the island with the castle on top got bigger.

The island harbour and a boat on wheels

On the island we had a look at the small harbour with its stone walls. The kids quickly spotted a strange vehicle: something between a boat and a truck, on big wheels. It is an amphibious vehicle that the owners' family and the islanders use to cross the bay. Boards next to it tell its story. In 2013 Queen Elizabeth II rode in it when she visited the island.

Crab hunting

At low tide a big part of the sea bed appears, full of rocks and seaweed. People say you only need to move a stone, and there should be crabs under it. And there were. Crabs, small and quite big ones, were hiding under the stones, waiting for the water to come back. We were not the only ones: lots of families with kids were looking for them across the bay.

The kids learned how to hold a crab so it does not pinch, and watched it run away sideways. We put the crab we caught back into the water, and it came to life at once and hid under the seaweed. It was great fun.

Fun fact

The castle on top of the island belongs to the National Trust, but the St Aubyn family still lives there. The island is a bit like Mont-Saint-Michel in France: they share the name, and the tide cuts both of them off from the land.

Further west

In the afternoon we drove to Tower Park campsite in St Buryan, and in the evening to Land's End, the most westerly point of mainland England. More about it in the next post: Land's End and Porthcurno with kids.

Practical info

• Tides: the causeway times change every day with the tides. Check them before you go on the St Michael's Mount website or on the board in Marazion. The causeway is open about 2 hours before and 2 hours after low tide.
• At high tide, paid boats take people to the island and back.
• Parking: we left the car in Marazion, where the causeway starts.
• Shoes: for the causeway and crab hunting, wear shoes that can get wet. Rocks with seaweed are slippery.
• Crabs: after you look at them, put them back where you found them, best into the water.
• Wind: it is very windy by the bay, even on a sunny day, so bring jackets.