Day 201 - The Black Prince Flower Boat May Day Procession

The village houses were decked out for May Day.

If there is one thing true about Cornwall, it is that it is steeped in tradition that is celebrated with immense enthusiasm. May Day is no exception.Today, the villages of Millbrook (just over the hill), Kingsand and Cawsand share a celebration known as The Black Prince Flower Boat May Day Procession. It is meant to banish winter, welcome the warmth of spring and summer, and hope for a good harvest. Mother nature was paying attention, and blessed the UK with record-breaking sunny weather for the entire weekend.

Edward, the Black Prince, was the eldest son of Edward III. He was the first Duke of Cornwall (Prince Charles is the current Duke, and Camilla the current Duchess). Edward died before his father, and thus did not become king, but his son Richard the II did instead at the age of 10.

Rankings from the local HMS Raleigh Naval Training site
carry the Black Prince through the villages.

In the May Day celebrations here, a model boat named the Black Prince is decorated with flowers and carried through the three villages by naval ratings from the local HMS Raleigh. HMS Raleigh is the largest Royal Navy training establishment in the South West of England.

Today's festivities began in Millbrook, and Phil and I walked there this morning (about 1.5 miles), arriving just in time for the blessing of the boat and the start of the procession around the village. The town crier was atop a balcony calling out to the crowd and organizing the parade.

We followed the procession dancers, musicians and children dressed in red and white carrying flower baskets, garlands and small model boats. Many of the houses and fishermen’s cottages lining the route were bedecked with flags and decorations to add to the fun.

The crowd outside The Mark of
Friendship Pub in Millbrook.

The procession's first stop was the aptly named Mark of Friendship Pub. Here, each set of dancers entertained the crowd, with a few stopping in to the pub. From here, the procession continued to the next pub, the Devon and Corwall in the village's High Street. Then it was off to the car park area for Morris dancing by the town's children.

Phil and I then walked back to Kingsand, where a fete was underway at the village hall. We enjoyed a burger and a chat with a local lady who was raffling a cake modelled on the Black Prince boat. As is often the case, she had a tie to Canada...visiting family in Welland and having a lifelong dream of living in Niagara on the Lake. We told her that we all have that dream.

The village fete in Kingsand gets underway.

The procession passes by our
cottage in Cawsand.

In the afternoon, the procession made its way through Kingsand, stopping at The Rising Sun Pub, then The Halfway House Inn. In this period of the day, we admit to taking a nap...all that time in the glorious sun had taken its toll. But we awoke in time to see the procession pass by our cottage as it wound its way through the narrow streets to end up at Cawsand's village square in front of The Cross Keys Inn.

We joined the festivities here, including watching children dancing around a Maypole.

A few of the local children dancing around the maypole.

The Black Prince is carried to the water's edge on
Cawsand Beach.

After more dancing, the boat was carried down to Cawsand beach and set adrift (later picked up on Kingsand beach) to the crowd singing a song to welcome summer. Of course, given the weather, the small local beach was packed.

The Black Prince finally gets its chance to sail the seas.

Combined with the festivities, the queue for the last ferry of the day was massive. The ferry can hold 62 people and two crew ... and it left close to 40 more on shore with a promise to make an extra return trip. Many sat calmly in the sand to wait the hour plus it would take the ferry to return. But, I think they were happy to have an excuse to enjoy more of the beautiful day ... and a Cornish ice cream cone or two.