Miscellanea
The harbours, headlands, beaches and one-off curiosities that defy tidy categories.
47 places reviewed by Oliver Howes
Showing 47 of 47
And Even More Thrussell
Even More Thrussell
And yet more Thrussell
Thrussell
Billy Bray - Cornwall's fiery Methodist preacher
Bray - Cornwall's fiery Methodist preacher
Boundary Stones
I first learned about boundary stones when walking the Copper Trail in winter 2006. Thanks to Mark Camp, I was able to find an Altarnun parish boundary stone when walking between F
Bridges - Prehistoric, Medieval and Modern
We have a remarkable variety of bridges in Cornwall, everything from the prehistoric age through to the modern era, though we do lack the kind of 21st century 'millennium' project
Christmas Lights at Mousehole and Newlyn
Lights at Mousehole and Newlyn
Cliff Castles
Where other parts have their iron age hill forts - and indeed Cornwall has a number of these, most notably Castle an Dinas and Warbstowbury - Cornwall is unusual in having a vast n
Cornish Crosses
Crosses
Cornish Cyder Farm (now Healey's Cider Farm)
Cyder Farm (now Healey's Cider Farm)
Cornish Emblems - 1
Emblems - 1
Cornish Emblems - 2
The old Cornwall County Council coat of arms, granted in the 1940's, nicely sums up some of the history of the county. The supporters represent Cornwall's two historic trades, fish
Cornish Food
Food
Cornish Place Names
Cornish places names are a constant source of puzzlement to most visitors and, indeed, many of the Cornish. Pronunciation is a major puzzle to many, as is the close proximity of En
Cornish Stiles
Stiles
Cowslip Quilting Workshops at Newhouse Farm near Launceston
This may seem like an odd image to use in an item about quilting workshops but then Jo Colwill's business runs in and from a purpose built workshop set in the midst of farm buildin
Daniel Gumb - Stonemason. self-taught mathematician
Gumb - Stonemason. self-taught mathematician
Ed Prynn and his Prynnhenge
Prynn and his Prynnhenge
Ferries - some for cars, most just for passengers
With a coastline so indented by rivers and tidal creeks, particularly in the south, it is no surprise that many ferries operate, mostly across south coast inlets. Only three carry
Harvey's of Hayle - The Great Cornish Engineers
Walking around the run-down town of Hayle these days, you would never guess that the industrial heart of Cornwall once beat strongest here. Yet in the mid-18th century Hayle boaste
John Carter, King of Prussia
King of Prussia
John Opie (1761-1807) - Portrait painter to Georgian society
Opie (1761-1807) - Portrait painter to Georgian society
King Harry Ferry
Harry Ferry
Land's End - and why not to go there
It is difficult to find words to express the shame for what has been done to Land's End. Both Jane and I remember it from our childhood as a place of magic with an end-of-the-world
Landscapes of King Arthur
You may or not believe in King Arthur - there is no physical evidence and scant contemporary record of the British hero killed in battle around AD500 - but he has had a hold on the
Literary Cornwall - 1 - Fowey - mostly Daphne du Maurier
Fowey is best known for its connection with Daphne du Maurier. In 1926 her parents bought 'Ferryside' at Bodinnick and she fell in love with it and Fowey. In 1932 she married Boy B
Literary Cornwall - 2 - A Miscellany
A. L. Rowse - he would have wanted to be first in the list - was born of a poor family in Clay Country, won a place at Oxford and became a Fellow of All Souls. Major historian, Sha
Literary Cornwall - 3 - Winston Graham and the Poldark Novels
Poldark Novels
Literary Cornwall - 4 - A. L. Rowse
Rowse
Man Engine
Cornishman Will Coleman is author, film maker, musician, educationalist and former director of Cornwall's renowned Kneehigh Theatre. He is also founder of Golden Tree Productions w
Minack Theatre at Porthcurno
This is a pretty remote and often windswept part of Cornwall, in West Penwith beyond Penzance and not far from Land's End. All the more remarkable therefore that this should be the
More Old Direction Signs
In 2008 Ian Thompson, the Cornish representative of the Milestone Society, started restoring Cornwall's milestones. He is clearing growth, limewashing the stone and blacking the le
More Thrussell and Thrussell - and even more Thrussell
Thrussell and Thrussell - and even more Thrussell
Old Direction Signs and Milestones
Signs and Milestones
Parson Hawker
Robert Stephen Hawker was a graduate of Oxford where he won the Newdigate Poetry Prize. Vicar of Morwenstow for 40 years from 1834, he was a colourful, independent, charitable man.
Preaching Pits
Everyone knows about the famous preaching pit, Gwennap Pit at Busveal near St. Day. This was created from the circular hollow caused by a collapsed mine shaft and became famous whe
Retallack
In late May 2016 we decided to have a look at, and try a meal at, the Pickwick Inn near St. Issey above the Camel Estuary upstream from Padstow. Just before noon we were greeted by
Richard Trevithick
Trevithick
Serpentine - The Lizard's Unique (to England) and Colourful Rock
To give it its full geological name, serpentinised mantle peridodites is found nowhere else in England, only on the east coast of the far-flung Lizard Peninsula between Landewadnac
Sir Goldsworthy Gurney
Gurney
The Chough - Another Emblem of Cornwall
Chough - Another Emblem of Cornwall
The Cornish Hedge - not quite what you might expect
Hedge - not quite what you might expect
The Cornish Language
Language
The Tamar Bridges
The River Tamar forms a natural barrier, and in consequence boundary, between Cornwall and England. In medieval times it was easier to sail to London than to make the journey by ro
Thrussell and Thrussell - Artist Metalsmiths
I first encountered the work of the Thrussells, father and son Gary and Thomas, in 2005 when Jane and I started walking the Clay Trails, around Bugle and Wheal Martyn. At beginning
Trevithick Day in Camborne
We would have gone to Trevithick Day in Camborne in 2005 but the steam parade had been cancelled for 'health and safety' reasons. Happily, such nonsense didn't happen in April 2006
William Murdoch - Scottish born but invented in Cornwall
Murdoch - Scottish born but invented in Cornwall
Wind Turbines - What a waste of money and effort
An unexpected and controversial feature of the Cornish landscape is the wind farm. Unexpected because you somehow assume you will find wind turbines in remote Scottish or Welsh pla