Poundstock
Less than half-a-mile from the busy A39, the so-called Atlantic Highway, Poundstock is a remarkable little hamlet. A lane loops through it from the A39 but otherwise goes nowhere. Yet this was once an important place, mentioned in Domesday Book but in existence as a manor for long before that. Even if you include nearby Trekinnard and Bangors the population is tiny yet the impressive church, set in a lovely sloping churchyard, might seem to belong to a much larger village than this. The church as it is today dates largely from the fifteenth century, though there are scant Norman remains. It is dedicated to St. Winwaloe; can this really be the same Winwaloe as on the Lizard, at Towednack and at St. Germans? Confusingly, a nearby well is dedicated to St. Neot, as in Bodmin Moor. There are some treasures inside: a late Norman font, an octagonal Jacobean pulpit, a panel from the original rood screen, a 16th century chest, parts of a wall painting, saved and exhibited against the north wall, and some early inscribed slate tomb slabs. Sadly there are almost no bench ends but there is an interesting bench in the chancel. Perhaps the greatest treasure of all is at the south end of the graveyard, a restored late medieval gildhouse (church hall), the only example in Cornwall. In the churchyard are more early inscribed slate tomb slabs. St Neot’s Well is off a track that heads NNW to Great Wanson. Up the lane to Bangors is a large free car park.
Round walk Poundstock to Penfound. Round walk Penhalt Cliff via Poundstock.
Gildhouse and Church at Poundstock
From A39 at Bangors go L, sign Poundstock, car park � mile on L
More in Towns & Villages
Praa Sands - Surf and Sand Resort between Helston and Penzance
To us, who live on Cornwall's north coast, surfing automatically means Bude, Newquay's Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach, Porthtowan, Portreath and Whitesand Bay near Land's End. So, when I walked between Prussia Cove and Porthleven, it was something of a surprise to discover a good surfing beach on the south coast. The original settlement here was half-a-mile inland at Pengersick where the remnant of a great Tudor fortified manor still stands. It was the late 19th century advent of the railway in Cornwall that brought Victorian sun seekers in search of good beaches. In the 20th century a small settlement of holiday chalets grew up above the beach and a holiday park opened. The village of Praa Sands is not very prepossessing but the beach is glorious. A curving mile of soft sand stretches from Sydney Cove to Lesceave Rocks. In the summer this is part family beach holiday territory and part young surfers paradise. The beach is well served by lifeguards and divided between surfers, bodyboarders and swimmers. There is a surf shop in the village and a small surf school trains youngsters. There is ample parking and just above the beach is Beachcombers beach caf�, a decent pub and a restaurant.
Probus
What sticks most strongly in my mind, and upsets me most, about Probus, is the destruction of the wonderful Demonstration Garden that stood at the east end of the village. Trelawney Garden Centre of Wadebridge bought the site, complete with garden, with promises to open a garden centre, keeping and improving the Demonstration Garden. In 2014 they repeated their promise and said the work was just about to start. Now, in July 2020 there has been little action on the site. What is due to happen is unclear. I just hope that, in addition to a new garden centre, they will keep their promise about the garden. At present, the site is a wreck.
Quethiock
This does seem to be an oddly named village, but less oddly when you understand that it is a variation on "coit" and therefore means wood or woodland, not that there is much woodland here these days. According to Genuki, the name was originally Gwydhek and, in its present form, is pronounced "Gwithick". I was there, in mid-September 2017, essentially to see the Cornish Cross, a tall wheel-headed cross in three sections, probably medieval rather than earlier. In the event I was pleasantly surprised by the church interior which retains some early features. Behind the altar is an elaborate and colourful reredos. The nave and aisle ceilings are wagon roofed with carved bosses; the chancel ceiling is wonderfully patterned and coloured. Most unusually the rood stairs are still in place, though the loft and screen are long gone. In the chapel in the south transept a number of brasses are displayed, the oldest, to Roger Kyngdon, of 1471. Another brass is to Johann Rooke Fletcher. The quire pew has an elaborately carved back, scenes including the crucifixion. I also visited Pillaton and Tideford, the latter often mispronounced as spelt but really Tiddyford for its river, the Tiddy.