Gwithian
A tiny village on the road from Hayle to Godrevy, Hell's Mouth and Portreath, you are almost through Gwithian before you realise it. But it is worth stopping for a closer look. At the Hayle end of the village are the attractive Gwithian Farm, handsome Churchtown House, a thatched Methodist Chapel, recently restored and the rather ugly Red River Inn which (2015) has apparently had a makeover and is much improved with enterprising food. The inn, originally the Pendarves Arms, was renamed for the river that reaches the sea here, discoloured by mine spoil. At the Godrevy end is another handsome house, Churchtown Farm, and a charming church with a Cornish cross in the graveyard. The church remembers the 5th/6th century St. Gwithian or Gocianus. The saint's remains were said to have been found in the sands in the 19th century but lost again. The present church was originally built in the 15th century. It was rebuilt in 1866 though the tower is original. Gwithian Towans (dunes) lie between the village and the sea. The beach runs from just south of Godrevy Point for three miles to the mouth of the Hayle River. It is popular with surfers, swimmers and families.
From A30, heading west, take Hayle turning and then Ist right
Gwithian Church; Cornish Cross in the graveyard
More in Towns & Villages
Halsetown near St. Ives
I had driven past Halsetown many times, on the B3311 road from St. Ives to Penzance, but knew nothing about it except that it has a car park and a pub. Then, in November 2007, I took a walk, with my sisters Mary and Frances, that took in Rosewall Hill, Trink Hill and Halsetown. Fascinated by what seemed to be, unusually for Cornwall, a planned village, I did a little research and came up with the following (which I have re-interpreted somewhat) discovered on Genuki and St. Ives Trust web sites.
Hayle
We have a soft spot for run-down places - early industrial sites and shabby towns like Bude and Portreath. Despite proximity to colourful, lively St. Ives, Hayle has something of both. It takes its name from the estuary ('heyl') on which it stands. From prehistoric days of tin and copper trading it was a trans-shipment point, providing safe passage for men and materials across the peninsula to the port at St. Michael's Mount, avoiding the perils of Land's End. In early Christian times missionaries travelled through on their way from Ireland and Wales to Brittany. There was no town until the 18th century when copper smelting and heavy engineering, later explosives manufacture on Upton Towans created a boom town. The Cornish Copper Company is long gone but there are still remnants of Harvey's great foundry that built the massive beam engines for the mines, built Richard Trevithick's steam locomotives and later built ships. Harvey's remained in business well into the 20th century and Hayle continued as a port until the 1970s when the power station closed. The derelict former foundry buildings are now the centrepiece of a vast regeneration project going on in Hayle. In addition to the foundry, financial multi-national ING plans to regenerate the harbour area. King George V Memorial Walk, on the north side of Copperhouse Pool, has been colourfully restored. Walk to the head of North Quay to enjoy views of sweeping beaches, tall dunes, holiday shacks, St. Ives and Godrevy Lighthouse.
Helland and Helland Bridge
It was a dull Saturday at the very end of September. I had been planning to travel down west to Penzance, to find the Cornish Cross in Morrab Gardens, but decided not to take a chance on the forecast rain but to give myself a shorter journey - to Helland, just off the Washaway - Camelford road. It was as well that I did; by the time I left Helland the rain had started. I went first to Helland village, where the church, Old Rectory and cottages stand on a hill. The Old Rectory and Churchtown Cottages were attractive, the latter best seen from inside the churchyard. As so often, the church was closed so I rely on Pevsner but in vain. All he has to say refers to a medievaL font and a 16th century grave slab. I then headed down to Helland Bridge, where a 4-arch, 15th century bridge described by Pevsner as "one of the best in the county", crosses the River Camel. A little way up the hill towards Helland village the Camel Trail crosses the road, on either side of it attractive cottages, Cobblers and Silverstream. A little down the hill is the old forge, now a home with a couple of unusual roof-lights, and across the road a stile into the grounds of Riversmead, home to Studio Potter Paul Jackson. There is little on the other side of the bridge, except the old Mill House and a couple of fairly attractive cottages.