‘It has destroyed years of work’: Cornish beauty spot loses 80% of its trees to Storm Goretti | Cornwall

The tidal island of St Michael’s Mount, in the far southwest of Britain, is generally a place of peace and tranquility.

But it has become a hive of noisy activity as gardeners equipped with chainsaws and wood chippers deal with the devastating damage caused by Storm Goretti.

The latest count shows 119 large trees were felled, including live oaks, hollies, sycamores and Monterey pines the size of a four-story house. About 80% of the island’s forest cover has disappeared.

“When I got here the next morning it was still dark but I could see the tree line had changed,” said head gardener Darren Little. “As dawn broke, the scale became clear: it is devastating. In a matter of hours, it destroyed years of work and changed the profile of the island.”

Tens of thousands of trees were toppled across west Cornwall as strong winds blew from the northwest, their unusual strength and direction making them more vulnerable.

Little has never seen a storm like this in his 25 years living and working on St Michael’s Mount – a granite outcrop near Penzance topped by a castle and accessible at low tide by a causeway, sometimes by amphibious craft. “We’re used to one or two trees falling in storms, but nothing like this,” he said while showing the Guardian around on Wednesday.

Its weather station recorded a gust of 180mph on the night of January 8, although the Met Office said the highest speed in Cornwall was 99mph.

Some trees have survived, including a twisted sycamore on the east of the island, a favorite subject for visiting photographers. The elms also did well. “I think they whip with the wind,” Little said.

But a holm oak planted to mark the birth of Prince Harry in 1984 has been uprooted. It’s not possible to put these trees back and expect them to recover because the ground is too shallow – another reason why the island was hit so hard.

The concern is that other trees may have been compromised by the saltwater spray that covered the island at the height of the storm and that more may fall or need to be cut down in the coming months.

Little looks for the positives. The Cornish name of the island – Karrek Loos yn Koos (gray rock in a wood) – suggests that the outcrop was once surrounded by forest.

However, the climate crisis is leading to more severe storms, wetter winters and drier summers in the UK. “We’ll have to keep that in mind as we redesign and redevelop,” Little said.

On the continent, woods and groves important for wildlife have been damaged. A belt of pine trees near Penzance known as Bog Plantation has been razed. Bird watchers flocked to this area last January when a booted eagle, a rare visitor to the UK, arrived.

Further inland, trees fell in Friendship Woods, an important refuge for starlings and rooks, as well as a popular dog walking spot.

Henry Mathews, of St Aubyn Estates, owner of Bog Plantation and Friendship Woods and managing St Michael’s Mount with the National Trust, estimated he lost 500 large trees on his 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of land. “The loss of trees and habitat is immense,” he said. “There is a feeling of great sadness.”

He highlighted how the outlook had changed, with cars heading towards Penzance now visible from St Michael’s Mount due to the loss of many trees. “The trees quietly helped shape the landscape and suddenly it changed,” he said.

Beloved trees have fallen across west Cornwall, including one on the Isles of Scilly which had a popular rope swing.

Ian Marsh, the National Trust’s deputy director for the south west, said the number of trees lost on his properties could be in the tens of thousands.

“One of the long-term impacts is the loss of specimen trees that people really identify with,” he said. “If you walk your dog and pass a particular tree every day, it becomes part of your landscape and you have memories associated with it. There’s no replacing that.”

Other places visited include Penlee Park in Penzance, the setting of an art gallery which houses paintings by members of the Newlyn School, and the Growing Links community garden near Penzance.

Despite the devastation, Cornwall residents have vowed to replant and restore their landscapes.

At the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, which offer views of Mount St. Michael, magnificent trees, including a wooded avenue of mature beech trees, have been lost.

But Polly Bolitho, who works in the gardens, said they were looking forward to it. “Even in this moment of loss, this garden is still evolving,” she added. “It is in the spaces between light and darkness that new ideas are born. From storm to history, we look to the next chapter.”