St. Agnes

It is amazing what tourism, second homers, coast path walkers and surfers have done for some Cornish towns and villages - St. Agnes more than most. When Jane first knew it in the 1960s, St. Agnes was a dull, run-down former mining village. Now it is considerably revitalised, bright and colourful. Shops seem to flourish - local stores as well as art and craft galleries. The beach at Trevaunance Cove attracts families and surfers. Chapel Porth has one of the great beach caf�s, with a simple but unusual menu - and their renowned hedgehog ice cream. Walking is good here, too. The coast path from St. Agnes to Chapel Porth is one of the most gloriously scenic sections with high cliffs and ruined mine engine houses; highlight is Towanroath engine house, part of Wheal Coates mine. Views from the path and from 629 foot St. Agnes Beacon stretch from St. Ives to Trevose Head by Padstow. And, if you want to walk up a steep hill, try Stippy Stappy, picured on the left. Tin workings at Blue Hills Sett, above Trevellas Porth, have been restored. Once tin was streamed in this valley; the mine closed in 1897 but the Wills family have continued tin streaming. A short tour of the works demonstrates processes - panning, vanning and jigging! At the top of town a village museum covers 'Tin Mining, Turtles, Fishing, Folklore'.

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Stippy Stappy in St. Agnes

B34277 from A30 at Chiverton Cross roundabout

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Agnes

I revisited St. Agnes at the end of December 2016, primarily to photograph the Cornish Cross in the churchyard. First, however, I parked down at Trevaunance Cove where I chatted to the stonemason, he with high-vis jacket and tricolour collie in the photo below right. I then drove back up to St. Agnes village and parked in the donation car park near the museum. I walked through the village and down Stippy Stappy, the steep street of Georgian cottages. That made it quite a steep climb back up into the village. When I reached the church, I got my photo of the Cornish Cross but was, as so often, disapppointed to find the church bolted and barred. In principl;e, I can understand remote rural churches being closed by why on earth should the Diocese of Truro allow a church in the middle of a busy village to be closed in the middle of the day. Very unfriendly and, to my mind, most un-Christian!

St. Agnes Church Spire and Bank House

Trevaunance Cove, below St. Agnes

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