Maen Castle - Cliff Castle near Land's End
When I was last here - in September 2005 - I could never have guessed that Maen Castle was perhaps the most impressive cliff castle in Cornwall, Treryn Dinas notwithstanding. Then the whole site, except the entrance, was covered in bracken and furze and, had I not been looking for the wreck of the RMS Mulheim in Castle Zawn, I would never even have spotted the tiny National Trust sign. On this occasion, in April 2008, I was pleased to discover that the National Trust had cleared the site, exposing what seems to be four concentric rings of wall. The main stone-built wall, through which you enter, must have been absolutely massive; its six to eight foot width suggests a considerable height. Clearly there has been a great deal of cliff erosion - this is probably the most storm-swept part of the Cornish coast - and I guess this must have been a gigantic fort in its day. It is generally believed that it was constructed in around 500 BC and remained in occupation for almost 1000 years. Access along the coast path is fairly easy. It is about halfway between Sennen Cove and Land's End. There is an easy 200 foot climb from Sennen Cove; from Land's End it is more or less level walking. The best place to eat nearby is Sennen Cove where, at one end of the front is the relatively expensive The Beach caf�, at the other end is a caf� with good value breakfast type food.
Maen Castle, the walls seen from the north
Marked on OS Explorer sheet 102
I have been back since and found the site very overgrown again. Perhaps it depends on the time of year.
More in Antiquities
Men-an-Tol Stones
Off the narrow road from Morvah to Penzance is one of Cornwall's most fascinating ancient monuments, Men-an-Tol. Park opposite the small former chapel at Bosullow and walk up a well-made farm track, leading towards Nine Maidens Common, to find the site which is signed over a stile on the right halfway along the track. Two rather phallic uprights stand either side of an upright circular stone with a large hole through it. It is this 'stone with a hole' that gives the site its name. Almost certainly formerly part of a burial chamber, the present upright stones stand either side of the circular stone which would probably have been the entrance to the grave. The stones are said to have curative rather than fertility properties. Passing through the hole will cure a child of tuberculosis or rickets, an adult of rheumatism. On the way along the lane, elaborate stone walls enclose small fields, close to a ruined farmstead and a recently abandoned one. Further up the lane, on the way to the Nine Maidens, Men Scryfa, an inscribed stone, stands in a field on the left. You can also follow the road towards Penzance to encounter other ancient sites - Lanyon Quoit just a mile on, Madron Chapel and Wishing Well another 1� miles. The well is one of those where people tie strips of cloth in the trees, in prayer for the sick or in memory of the dead.
Nine Maidens Stone Circle in West Penwith
Not to be confused with Nine Stones of Altarnun or with Nine Maidens stone alignment near Wadebridge
Online Mapping - Cornwall Council's Mapping Web Site
Mapping Web Site