Inland Walks

This is a fairly new page, all inland, no coast, started only in November 2013

Other major walks pages are Oliver's Cornish Coast Path, Oliver's Coastal Round Walks and Bodmin Moor Walks

To Bude on the quiet cycleway, back along the Bude Canal towpath. And slightly longer variation.

Fields down to New Mill, tracks up to Penfound, quiet lane back to Poundstock

A walk up the Valency Valley, through Peters Wood to Minster Church, fields and lanes back

From Jeffreys Pit, by Trenouth, Pengelly, Delabole Slate to Medrose and back by Bowithick Hill

From Jeffreys Pit, by Backways Cove, coast, Trebarwith Strand, Treknow and Mill Floor

Short easy round walk, mostly on tracks, by way of Helland Barton and Newhall Green

Figure-of-eight walk from Davidstow Airfield, includes Tremail and Davidstow Church and Holy Well

Along the River Camel, by Advent Church and Watergate to Moorgate Longstone and Treclago

A short easy walk down a wooded valley then back by Wetherham house and culverhouse

Round walk to Perran Round and back, mixed easy to strenuous. Divides into the two walks below.

By the Ellenglaze Valley to Stampas, Treamble and Treworthen, returning by the Smugglers Den

By Wheal Hope Cottages, North Treamble, Stampas, Hendravossan and Lower Rose

Sometimes difficult walk by Belowda Beacon, Castle-an-Dinas and a path along the former A30

Mining Trails and Bridleways by Cambrose, Wheal Peevor ( + Wheal Rose village for total 7.10 miles)

Tresavean Mining Trail and Carn Marth. Short varied walk with interest and panoramic views

A short but challenging walk up Carn Brea. Bassett Monument, Carn Brea Castle, panoramic views

A long steady climb to Baldhu, some steep descent on the way back down by Wheal Jane and Nangiles

Mostly waterside to Malpas and St. Clement. ( Detour to Tresillian for total 6.19 miles)

By Chycoose and Penpol to Come-to-Good Meeting House; back by Higher and Middle Devoran

Mostly in the woods, includes Ladyvale clapper bridge, Milltown, Deviock Cross and Callybarrett

Mostly in the woods, includes Ladyvale, Lidcutt Wood, Deviock Cross, Cardinham Church, Milltown

Includes Milltown, Cardinham, Castle Farm and back on an old coach road over Long Downs

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Online Mapping - Cornwall Council's Mapping Website

'Right to Roam' legislation, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, - long agitated for by the Ramblers Association, and initially opposed by many landowners - has resulted in vast areas of land all over England, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall being opened up to the general public. Essentially these rights are for walkers only - suits me. I used to find the Countryside Agency's Open Access website an immense help in my Cornwall moorland walking, not just on Bodmin Moor but also in West Penwith. Unfortunately the site, now Natural England, has been messed around with and although the maximum scale is acceptable, maps are too small and navigation is quite awkward. As a result, it is no longer worth, as a walker, using it in its current CRoW Access form. Fortunately, Cornwall Council has an excellent mapping web site, which I find better than the Open Access site ever was. It is easy to use, shows Open Access land, rights of way, cycle trails, path numbers should you wish to report problems, and is zoomable up to large scale. A word of warning on Open Access land. I soon discovered that this may not be quite as straightforward as that. I have encountered barbed wire fences, locked gates and even one gate on Bodmin Moor, leading to access land, that has a 'no walkers' sign on it. And, in West Penwith, where moorland is lower, I have found impenetrable furze and bramble. So don't expect it always to be easy.

OS Explorer maps now show Open Access land as yellow

Ordnance Survey Maps - The 1:25000 Landranger Series

My earliest walking was done with Jane with the Independent Ramblers, based in Ealing. With them we learned to love the Chilterns and the Cotswolds. But we soon graduated to our own independent walks, first from walk books, later of our own devising. The Ordnance Survey 1:25000 series became our bible. The current 2005 Explorer series still is my bible (to a degree) particularly as it now shows Open Access land. But, as with the Bible, you learn not to believe every word. I use OS maps, GPS and compass on most walks, especially on Bodmin Moor and on the moors of West Penwith. But I have lost some trust in OS. Since completing Mark Camp's Copper Trail during winter 2006, I have been walking routes of my own devising on Bodmin Moor and have been horrified to discover just how unreliable the Ordnance Survey can be. A couple of walks in December 2006 proved that. A path shown from Butterstor to Garrow simply does not exist yet OS quite fails to show a well waymarked path from Brown Willy to Garrow (and on to King Arthur's Hall). Below Garrow the OS fails to mark a footbridge over the De Lank River. It also fails to show a footbridge and clapper bridge that cross the river at the southern foot of Garrow Tor. Elsewhere I have found marsh that isn't shown, probably because it is not low-lying. So be advised, take your map, take your compass and expect the unexpected.

Don't expect all antiquities to be marked either

Walking TrailBooks - Our Preferred Guides

Jarrold Pathfinder Cornwall Walks: 28 walks, most include coast, distances 4 to 11 miles. Good large scale Ordnance Survey maps, good descriptions and information.

AA 50 Walks in Cornwall: Mostly coast but includes about 10 inland, 3 to 8 miles. Good descriptions and information, sketch maps could be much better, good on severity.

Classic Walks in Cornwall: 2 volumes, each of 60 walks, all but 5 include coast, 3 to 6 miles. Good descriptions and information, poor sketch maps, good on severity.

Circular Coast Walks Cornwall: by Moor, Dale and Mountain Press. 36 walks, 3 to 10 miles. Good information, routes not too clear, sketch maps.

Ramblers Association Cornwall: has published 14 volumes, each of 6 or so walks.

Bodmin Moor Walks: Best of Bodmin Moor by Mark Camp; 18 short walks in three volumes.

The Cornish Coast Path: There are too many of these to recommend one.

Saints Way: 30 miles, Coast to Coast, Padstow to Fowey. The original guide, very informative, was written by Michael Gill. A more recent guide, published by Cornwall Council has excellent walk cards.

National Trust Leaflets: Series of 25 + trails (8 to 16 pages) on NT coast and inland property.

Camel Trail: Follows old rail tracks 18 miles inland from Padstow, brief guide from TICs.

Mining Trails (formerly Mineral Tramways): Download the Mining Trails leaflet

Smugglers Way: Coast-to-Coast route from Boscastle to Looe, devised by Frank Squibb.

Copper Trail: by Mark Camp - 60 mile circuit round Bodmin Moor. Official Copper Trail web site is down!

WALKABOUT WEST Mark Camp offers guided walks generally in Cornwall and especially on Bodmin Moor. Mark is one of the experts on Bodmin Moor: its history, its antiquities and its industries - tin and copper mining, granite quarrying aned china clay production. Mark has also published a number of books about Bodmin Moor - three books of Short Walks, a new (March 2009) Introductory Guide and a guide to the trail that he devised, the 60 mile Copper Trail around the moor.

Mark's WalkaboutWest ENCOUNTER CORNWALL This was new to me when I spotted it in April 2009. I had a good browse of their web site and thought it well worth bringing to your attention. Then they organised walking tours They used to organise Walking Tours on the Coast Path, The Copper Trail and the three major Coast-to-Coast trails (Saints Way, St. Michaels Way and Smugglers Way) and some one centre breaks. Encounter Cornwall organises Canoe and Kayak tours on the Fowey River- self-guided and supported.

I am sure there are many others but I don't know them

St. Ives - Porthminster Beach & The Island

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Helebridge, Bude and the Bude Canal - 4.02 or 4.57 miles

This walk makes use of the new cycleway which links Helebridge with Bude, mostly on the east side of the River Neet, and the towpath of the Bude Canal, free now of the cycles that once used it. It starts from the little car park alongside the canal in Helebridge, follows the cycleway into Bude but extends along the east bank of the Bude Canal Basin as far as the sea lock, and returns straightforwardly along the canal tow path to Helebridge. There is a good amount of interest along the way, much of it clearly explained by good storyboards. Once in Bude, there is a Canal Heritage Centre in the TIC in the main car park. The walk follows the canal all the way to the sea lock where, tides permitting, boats can leave the canal for the sea. There are ample eating places in Bude though some are seasonal; if all else fails the bar of the Falcon Hotel is always a good standby. The return, following the canal tow path is happily cycle free but is popular with dog walkers. At the end of the walk, The Weir, seen on your right before you go under the busy main road back to the start, is recommended as a place for a light snack or for a full meal. A longer version of this walk includes an additional short section of canal, the former inclined plane, the foundry that served the canal, some field walking and the hamlet of Hele.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics & Info - Directions

All of the Bude Canal that is walkable is described on my Rivers page

Helebridge, Bude and the Bude Canal - Oliver's Diary

I have lost count of the number of times I have walked along the Bude Canal - with Jane, with Meg the Collie, with my sister Mary. Some of the walks have been of the canal only, some have been in the course of a Coastal Round Walk from Bude, some as Neet Valley round walks, like this one which I researched in November 2013. We were delighted when a cycleway route was added to the National Cycle Network, linking Helebridge to nBude; it meant that cycles could be banned from the canal towpath. Unfortunately, at about the same time, the towpath was tarmacked, making the former resilient surface rather unforgiving. I suppose there is a reason, this obsession with making everything accessible to wheelchairs; the silly thing is it was perfectly usable by wheelchairs previously, all the "improvement" has done is make it harder on walkers' feet. When I did this research walk I decided that the little bit of canal east of the main road, the inclined plane and the old foundry buildings should be included, so I devised a detour that included these plus the hamlet of Hele, joining the main walk only 150 yards from its start. Unlike the main route, all on dry level surfaces, this detour includes some hill and some field walking, something I enjoy but not all will choose to do.

Description - Interest - Statistics & Information - Directions

Helebridge, Bude and the Bude Canal - Interest

Helebridge: An attractive hamlet on the River Neet. If you take the alternative cycle route back to Bude you will go through Hele, where there is a small car park. The Inclined Plane: If, instead of joining the Bude Canal for the return leg, you follow the canal route through Helebridge towards Marhamchurch, you will first encounter some former canal buildings – barge workshops, stables and iron foundry – then what remains of the former inclined plane. The climb up to Marhamchurch was too steep for a flight of locks, so goods were transferred to tub boats and winched up by a waterwheel powered mechanism at the head of the inclined plane. A couple of miles further on from Marhamchurch is another inclined plane, Thurlibeer at Hobbacott Down. Marhamchurch: If you feel like an additional detour from the top of the inclined plane. An attractive village, worth the detour to visit for its generally Victorian aspect, and a couple of cob-walled thatched cottages. St. Marwenna’s church has a sanctuary knocker on the oak door from the porch, Norman stonework in the south transept, a 17th century pulpit with tester, and an unusual window in a niche in the west wall, thought to be from an anchorite’s cell. Public car park, toilets and shop. The Bullers Arms Hotel does home made food Tues to Sat lunchtime and evenings. Efford Cottage: Continue beyond the sea-lock in Bude and look to your left to Efford Cottage. Part of the Ebbingford (Efford) estate, originally owned by the Arundells then by the Aclands, the cottage was built by Sir Thomas Acland in the 1820s and was used as a summer home. Whalesborough: The 500 acre farm, just off the route, has luxury self-catering accommodation and operates The Weir, an excellent all day caf�/bistro, incorporating a wildlife centre.

When the railway arrived in 1898 Bude developed as as resort, with hotels and villas with sea views. After World War II it went badly downhill and until 2011 had no quality hotel but catered rather only to the lower end of the bus tour trade. However, Bude still had many saving graces, not the least its superb Summerleaze Beach, where the tide recedes a full quarter mile. A sea lock there is the start of the Bude Canal (2 miles restored) that once carried sand inland. Behind the beach look out for the Castle; in front of it the Bude Light sculpture remembers Sir Goldsworthy Gurney who lived in the castle, built a steam road vehicle in 1829, and devised a complex system of arc lights and mirrors which lighted Parliament for 60 years before electricity. Now Bude makes a far better impression. The Quay is smarter, the Castle is now combination Heritage Centre, gallery, museum and restaurant, and there are boutique hotel with some pretensions, The Beach and Hebasca. New cobbling along the Quay makes it feel more spacious and there is now a row of craft and similar shops. The Olive Tree bistro there is good value. The town has now taken full advantage of the possibilities of the Castle. There are exhibitions on Bude as port, resort and surf centre; a Sir Goldsworthy Gurney exhibition; a research centre; an art gallery; a shop and helpful staff. There is good wheelchair access. The Castle Restaurant was strongly recommended. It closed; has it re-opened?

Description - Diary - Interest - Statistics & Info - Directions

We have walked the Bude Canal on many occasions, often as part of a round walk from Bude, on one occasion walking a different section starting from Tamar Lakes. Conceived in 1774, the original plan was for a 95 mile canal from Bude to Calstock on the River Tamar. What was finally completed in 1825 was a three armed canal, to Tamar Lakes, to Launceston and to Holsworthy. It essential purpose was to carry sea-sand inland to enrich poor acidic farming soil. Never much of a commercial success, the coming of the railway to Bude in 1898 (that has long gone) reduced canal trade drastically and it closed in 1901. Ironically, the railway may be gone but some of the canal is again open. In the 21st century a major regeneration project, at a cost of �3.8 million, cleared the canal for its 2 miles to Helebridge, restoring the two locks. Beyond Helebridge an inclined plane carried goods up to Marhamchurch in tub boats. While there is no question of the Marhamchurch inclined plane being restored, the towpath has been improved all the way to the lower inclined plane and the 'Planekeepers Path' has been re-opened to Marhamchurch and beyond. One criticism is that, in the name of 'access' the towpath has been unnecessarily tarmaced. There were fears that cyclists might use it as a race track but happily there is now a dedicted cycleway on the other side of the canal and river.

Description - Diary - Interest - Statistics & Info- Directions

Helebridge, Bude and the Bude Canal -Statistics & Information

Distance: Basic walk 4.02 miles; to include the inclined plane detour 4.57 miles . Ascent: Basic walk is essentially level; with inclined plane detour about 1540 feet. Highest Point: 140 feet between Helebridge and Hele. Biggest Climb: On inclined planed detour moderate 100 feet on way to Hele. Steps: None. On inclined plane detour up 13. Stiles: None. On inclined plane detour 3. Gates: 1 only; on inclined plane detour 2. Footing: Almost all on well-made or tarmac tracks. On inclined plane detour some easy field walking. Difficulty: Easy with no ascents of any note. Map: OS Explorer 111 Bude, Boscastle & Tintagel.

Parking: Park in Helebridge village, in a small car park (10 cars) at 21559/03680 at 35 feet, alongside the south bank of the Bude Canal. If full, you should be able to park on the lane opposite the car park. Getting there: From A39, 1 mile south of southern branch of A3072 into Bude, and opposite the turning to The Weir, taker turning E into Helebridge village. Intermediate Parking: Large pay car park in Bude near the bridge over the canal. Refreshments: Bude, Falcon Inn and Olive Tree, both by canal. Helebridge, the excellent Weir caf�/bistro, owned by the up-market Whalesborough holiday complex. Toilets: Next to TIC in Bude main CP.

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Poundstock, New Mill and Penfound - 3.20 miles

Walk taken from John Alden's excellent and comprehensive iwalkcornwall web site

Only a short walk but it contains more interest than a walk of twice its length. It starts from the Poundstock village car park, an unexpectedly massive one for a tiny village, its size perhaps accounted for by the lottery funding that paid for it. First port of call is the churchyard. Both the medieval Church of St. Winwaloe and the early and, for Cornwall, unusual 14th century Gildhouse are well worth a closer look. The church, wth its wealth of ornament, is well worth spending time in. The Gildhouse, sadly, apart from functions, is open only on Wednesdays from May to October. The walk leaves the churchyard by a lower lych gate and climbs a quiet lane to cross the busy A39 at Treskinnick Cross. Next point of interest is the "Rebel Cinema" before a field route leads you down to New Mill, itself also worth exploring, especially for its barn with tallet steps. Now it's uphill on a track to Penfound; on the way a stream crossing may need wellies (I didn't). Early medieval Penfound Manor is difficult to see anything of without trespassing but the impressive Victorian barns of Penfound Farm are easier to see and admire. Though much of the route is in valley or through woodland, there are occasional good views, to Week St. Mary church and to the radomes and dishes of GCHQ on Steeple Point. From Penfound back to Poundstock is on quiet lanes. An enjoyable walk but, in wet weather, don't forget the wellies.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics and Info - Directions

Poundstock, New Mill and Penfound - Oliver's Dairy

I first did parts of this walk in 2006 as a "Three Manors Walk" that included New Mill and Penfound from this walk but also the skeletal ruins of Penhallam and the delightful East Hele Farm, pictured on the Three Manors Walk. In nine years since then - I did this walk in November 2015 - some things have changed radically. New Mill Manor is now virtually invisible from the road yet in 2006 I was able to get a good photo of it from the bridge where a plaque records the great flood of 16 August 2004; it wasn't only Boscastle that flooded then, the water here rose some 6 feet or so. I don't remember the stream that occurs after about 1 � miles and which you have to walk through for 20 yards or so. When I researched this walk the stream was no problem. However, only a week later I went back to repeat parts of the walk. This time I would have needed fairly high wellies to get through the stream. Further on, at Penfound, I must confess to a small trespass. To get a photo of part of Penfound Manor, otherwise invisible from the right-of-way, I let myself into a field just to the south of the manor. To my surprise I found, between me and the house, a tall Cornish cross; I have been unable to find any reference to it anywhere. Much as I enjoyed the interest and buildings along the way - the barn with tallet steps at New Mill and the Manor and manor farm at Penfound, I spent much of my time enjoying the intriguing antiquities in Poundstock Church and the exterior of its Gildhouse.

Description - Interest - Statistics and Infor - Directions

Poundstock, New Mill and Penfound - Interest

Poundstock: The spread out parish includes Trekennard, Treskinnick and Bangors but the interest is all in Poundstock itself. The medieval church of St. Winwaloe has a Gildhoue within its churchyard, at the foot of which is a lych gate and a restored wellhouse. St. Neot's Holy Well is just off a track towards Widemouth Bay. Click here for a fuller description of Poundstock. Rebel Cinema: You hardly expect to find a cinema just off a busy main road but in an almost non-existent village. Originally the site of a garden centre and caf�, the Reberl was purpose built as a single screen cinema back in 1988. The unusual frontage is in mock Greek style with a classical pediment It added a second screen in 2014 and updated its equipment at that time. New Mill: A tiny settlement that consists of litle more than the small manor house, its associated barns and a couple of cottages. Penfound: Another small settlement, this time consisting only of Penfound Manor, its associated farm and a bungalow. The manor house is medieval with Tudor and Jacobean additions and is Listed Grade II star. Sadly, it is only by trespassing into a field that you can get any sort of view of the house. In front of it is a large Cornish Cross of which, oddly, I can find no mention anywhere. The house is associated with several dubious claims; it is said to be the oldest continually inhabited home in England and there are claims that it is haunted. The gate carries the Penfound coat of arms, also to be found in Poundstock church. Set in the wall near the gate is Penfound's own Victorian post box. Bangors: Nothing to commend the small settlement except, perhaps, the organic farm shop and restaurant.

Poundstock, New Mill and Penfound - Statistics and Information

Distance: 3.20 miles. Ascent: About 450 feet. Highest Point: 390 feet just before Rebel Cinema. Biggest climb: 235 feet from New Mill up to past Penfound Farm. Steps: None. Stiles: 7, all wooden. Gates: 8, mostly wooden, includes 1 kissing gate: Going: Can be quite wet in fields down to New Mill and on track up to Penfound. Footing: Acceptable almost everywhere, may be a bit slippery on way up to Penfound. Stream at 1.70 miles may need wellies in wet weather. Map: OS Explorer 111 Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel.

Parking: Largechurch car park at Poundstock, entrance att 20407/99498. Getting there: From A39, Wadebridge to Bude, at Treskinnick Cross (2nd Poundstock turning) go L down hill � mile to car park on L. Intermediate parking: Room to park on other side of road from Penfound Farm. Refreshments: None. Toilets: None

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Boscastle, the Valency Valley, Peters Wood, Minster Church - 2.18 miles

Walk taken from John Alden's excellent and comprehensive iwalkcornwall web site.

This, I think, is the shortest walk on these pages. It is not, by any means, the least interesting. In little over 2 miles you encounter a delightful quiet river valley, an ancient woodland, an unusual and very isolated church, some pasture land, and the old part of Boscastle, far more interesting than what the seasonal visitor to these parts is likely to see. The walk starts from Boscastle's massive public car park and follows the Valency River up its wooded valley for the first four fifths of a mile. Note that after less than half-a-mile there are stepping stones and a waymark pointing to Minster Church. You could take this route but although much shorter it is also much steeper. You leave the river, crossing it on a recent wooden footbridge, for a longish but moderate climb up through National Trust owned Peters Wood to Minster Church. The location of the church is remarkable, tucked into a steep valley, the nearest habitation a farm � mile away. Interest there includes a holy well (if you can find it) and a witch's grave. Following a brief climb to around 500 feet after the church, the route is then all downhill, first on lanes, then over farmland, finally down the quiet streets of old Boscastle and back to the start. To summarize, a walk that is neither long nor difficult but has enough interest for a morning's or afternoon's stroll.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics, Info - Directions

Boscastle, Valency Valley, Peters Wood, Minster Church - Oliver's Diary

Having recently done several walks in the area around Boscastle, taking in some coast and the delightful estate village of Trevalga, I decided on an inland round walk out of Boscastle for a mid August 2015 exercise. So I downloaded and followed a walk from John Alden's excellent and comprehensive iwalkcornwall web site. Walks from Boscastle that involve coast path can be quite hard work in places, instance one walk that includes St. Juliot Church, Beeny Cliff, Pentargon and Penally Hill. This one, following the little Valency River upstream, climbing through woodland up to Minster Church and heading downhill all the way back to Boscastle, is not only short, it is very easy and, for those younger than me, would be little more than an hour or so's stroll. I found the route obvious, waymarking clear and easy to follow. Footing was good almost everywhere; just a little bit of slippery surface in Peters Wood. I was pleased at last to see Minster Church; amazingly, considering its remote location, this is Boscastle's parish church. Its setting is superb, at its best in spring. Inside are some fine monuments including, unusually for Cornwall, a brass to Hender Robarts. I easily found the grave of the witch Joan Wytte but I couldn't find the holy well which I think must have been hidden by luxuriant vegetation.

Description - Interest - Statistics and Info - Directions Trecarne Gate, for sale when I passed it

Boscastle, Valency Valley and Minster Church - Interest

Boscastle: See Towns page. Valency River: The little river rises near Otterham Station. A mere five miles or so later it joins the sea at Boscastle, between Penally Point and Willapark. In between it passes through no towns or villages though it comes close to St. Juliot Church and runs through the tiny settlement of Newmills; it's in hilly farmland at first but very soon becomes wooded, remaining so all the way to the edge of Boscastle. Minster: As a settlement Minster scarcely exists, just Minster Farm, Home Farm and Tolcarne Gate. Its importance is as the home of the mother church of Boscastle, and the hub of the parish of Minster and Forrabury. Minster Church: Near the head of a steep tight valley that runs down to the Valency River, the church is almost completely hidden from view. Driving past on the lane to Lesnewth, you would be unlikely to spot it, tucked below the lane. Outside graves are almost overwhelmed by luxuriant growth, full of daffodils in spring. Just off the path up through Peters Wood from the Valency River is the grave of Joan Wytte. Clairvoyant, diviner and healer, she was known as the 'fighting fairy woman'. Jailed for public brawling, she died in Bodmin Jail in 1813. Her skeleton was, for a while, displayed in Boscastle's Museum of Witchcraft but eventually reburied in a grave just outside Minster churchyard. Old Boscastle: The final � mile of the walk is along Fore Street, Dunn Street and Old Road in Boscastle. To the left the land rises to New Road, homes perched on its edge. To the right the land falls away to the Jordan Valley.

Boscastle, Valency Valley and Minster Church - Statistics and Information

Distance: 2.18 miles. Ascent: Just under 500 feet. Highest Point: 495 feet after Minster Farm. Biggest climb: Around 295 feet from Valency footbridge up to lane after Minster Farm. Steps: Up 13, Down 9. Stiles: 3, including 1 very high cattle stile. Gates: 5, including 3 kissing gates: Going: Generally good everywhere. Footing: Good almost everywhere, bit of slippery near top in Peters Wood. Map: OS Explorer 111 Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel.

Parking: Main Boscastle car park (fairly expensive). Getting there: From A39, Wadebridge to Camelford, at Valley Truckle shortly before Camelford, go L and follow B3266 all the way to Boscastle. Intermediate parking: Room for a car where track comes up to lane just E of Minster church. Refreshments: Pubs and caf�s in Boscastle. Toilets: By entrance to Boscastle car park.

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A Slate Walk from Jeffreys Pit near Trewarmett - 4.46 miles

A wooded valley, fields past Trenouth, a long wide path to Pengelly, round the massive pit of Delabole Slate Quarry and back to start by Medrose and Bowithick Hill.

Also a detour to see Prince of Wales Quarry and its restored engine house

Add this to the following Trebarwith walk for a varied figure of eight walk of 8.35 miles

This walk is of two separate but closely related parts, both geographically and in their nature. The main walk starts from Jeffreys Pit car park near Trewarmett. This follows a wooded valley and a steep field to Trenouth Farm, then crosses fields to pick up a wide path that looks like a bridleway but, with stiles at the ends and in the middle, proves to be only a footpath. This path takes you to the lower end of Delabole where you cross the road to follow Pengelly to Delabole Slate Quarry, once the largest hole in Europe. There is almost a full circuit of the quarry, plus a detour to see "Slatehenge" then the route heads through Medrose to cross fields before following steep Bowithick Hill most of the way back to Jeffries Pit. For the other part, you are best off avoiding walking on a busy main road by driving a short way to park below Prince of Wales Quarry. There an enjoyable, if in places a little steep and rocky, circuit takes you around the quarry and up to the restored Prince of Wales engine house. The round walk - actually a figure of eight - is about 4� miles; the circuit of POW Quarry around � mile. A couple of enjoyable walks with plenty of interest for the student of industrial history. There is interest for those who like stiles, too; there are rather a lot in the main walk, some of them quite odd, and quite redundant, in their set up.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics, Info - Directions

A Slate Walk from Jeffreys Pit near Trewarmett - Oliver's Diary

I found this walk on John Alden's excellent iwalkcornwall web site and did it in late May 2015. I had previously researched my own short Delabole walk, taking in Helland Barton and Newhall Green, but I liked the idea of John's slightly longer walk in a quite different area but also taking in Delabole's impressive quarry. I had originally planned to do this walk the previous Saturday but arrived at Jeffreys Pit car park in thick fog which persuaded me to do a familiar walk from Tintagel rather than this unfamiliar one. While I enjoyed this walk for its variety - pasture, woodland, small town, vast slate quarry - I didn't enjoy the stiles: a doxen in all, including some unnecessarily complex ones, combining for instance granite step or cattle stile with a superfluous wooden stile. Do farmers imagine that some modern mutation in cattle (for there are no sheep around here) enables them to climb old fashioned granite stiles. You can understand farmers replacing severely damaged granite stiles with wood but to add one or even two wooden stiles to an existing perfectly good cattle stile makes no sense. Before setting off on the walk I had made a brief investigation of Prince of Wales Quarry and its restored engine house. I shall return there for a fuller investigation to include the quarry itself and a pool in the former quarry.

Description - Interest - Statistics, Info - Directions

A Slate Walk from Jeffreys Pit near Trewarmett - Interest

Delabole Slate: See full item below. Prince of Wales Quarry: Entrance to car park at 07091/86095. Near Jeffries Pit. You could walk the � mile between the two but it is a busy road and there is a perfectly good car park at POW Quarry. The engine house in Prince of Wales Slate Quarry is the only one to have survived in North Cornwall. It once housed a Woolf Compound Beam Engine. The engine house was built in 1870 and the beam engine was installed in 1871. It was used to drive a wire ropeway to haul slate, and to pump water from the quarry pit. The engine house was restored in 1973. In 2015 the whole site was put up for auction by its then owner the Duchy of Cornwall with a guide price of �40,000 to �50,000. It achieved �81,000 from an anonymous telephone bid.

Slate Country - North Cornwall around Tintagel and Delabole

Slate is a Devonian metamorphic rock formed by pressure on mudstones or shales. Wales has always been Britain's main slate producer but North Cornwall has a belt of slate, the best of which is found in the area around Delabole, Tintagel and Trebarwith. Slate has certainly been quarried in Cornwall for 1000 years and more. Once men hung from the cliffs near Tintagel, hacking out the slate. Those quarries are long closed and slate, once a cheap roofing material, has become more of a luxury item.

Major working quarry is now Delabole which employed 1000 men in 1859. Now its workforce is just 40 producing, albeit it with much mechanisation, much the same output as then. The five Delabole quarries united as one in 1841. From 1977 to 1999 it was owned by multi-national RTZ but is now back in private local hands and producing the same 120 tons daily as in 1859, thanks to its modern equipment. The vast waste tip (modern quarrying produces little) has been landscaped with walks, seats with views and, on the top, a modern Slatehenge. A visitor centre offers a video and seasonal daily tours of the surface works. A walk round the quarry perimeter takes a good half-hour but what was once the largest hole in Cornwall is now dwarfed by some of the great china clay pits to the north of St. Austell.

Part of 'Slatehenge' above Delabole Quarry

A Slate Walk from Jeffries Pit near Trewarmett - Statistics & Information

Distance: 4.46 miles. Ascent: About 500 feet in all.

Highest Point: 745 feet at top of Bowithick Lane. Biggest Climb: 375 feet from Jeffries Pit to just beyond Trenouth Farm.

Steps: Up 8. Stiles: 14, a mix of granite, wood and strange hybrid. Gates: 7 plus 5 kissing gates. Footing: Can be muddy and slippery in first woodland section. Therafter generally good across pasture. Obviously good on several tarmac sections. Well made path around Delabole Quarry. Difficulty: Generally easy, after initial woodland and pasture climb to Trenouth Farm.

Road: 1.39 miles of quiet lanes. Map: OS Explorer 109 Bodmin Moor!

Parking: Park in large free car park in Jeffries Pit at 06767/86181. Getting there: From Wadebridge, follow B3314 to far end of Delabole. Go L towards Trebarwith. First R down Bowithick Hill to bottom. L on Tintagel road. Soon L on Trebarwith Strand road and shortly L into Jeffries Pit.

Intermediate Parking: Delabole Slate. Refreshments: Bettle and Chisel Inn, Delabole. Toilets: Delabole.

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Trebarwith Farm, Backways Cove, Trebarwith Strand, Treknow - 3.89 mls

Starts from Jeffreys Pit, includes short stretch of coast but almost all inland

Walk based on one from John Alden's excellent and comprehensive iwalkcornwall web site.

Add this to the previous Slate Walk for a varied figure of eight walk of 8.35 miles

I have also posted this on my Coastal Round Walks page, since it includes a short section of coast, but I choose to classify it as an Inland Walk since it starts inland, at Jeffreys Pit car park, as does the previous Delabole walk. And indeed this walk is mostly inland. From Jeffries Pit you use just a short stretch of the road towards Trebarwith Strand but turn off it at the driveway towards Fentafriddle. Field paths then lead to the interesting buildings of Trebarwith Farm and on to precipitous Backways Cove, on the coast path. There is then a steep climb of around 300 feet up to Dennis Point and an even steeper descent, with a flight of over 200 steps down to disappointing Trebarwith Cove. If you are looking for refreshments, the Port William Inn has a good lunchtime pub menu. From there the walk continues up the road for a short way before heading off up a valley to the village of Treknow and back by pasture and a woodland nature reserve. Apart from ascending and descending Dennis Point, this is quite an easy walk with a number of ravishing cosatal views. The older and less able (like me) may like to note that there are 22 stiles, some a bit awkward. Aat Trebarwith Cove, in addition to the Port William Inn, there are a couple of caf�s and toilets with seasonal opening.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics and Info - Directions

Gull Rock from terrace of the Port William Inn

Trebarwith Farm, Backways Cove, Trebarwith Strand, Treknow - Diary

Recently, for reasons not unconnected with age and health, I have tended to avoid Cornwall's Coast Path whern researching new walks. However, I had already researched a couple of walks in this area, one of them using the Coast Path between Trebarwith Strand and Tintagel, and I had already done a Slate Walk using Jeffreys Pit as my start and finish point. So I though that to do this walk from the same start point would offer more serious walkers the opportunity to add two short walks together to make a more challenging 8.35 mile walk. I was pleased that I had less difficulty than expected with the steep climb up to Dennis Point and the long, steep flight of steps down. What did give me trouble was the stiles, not so much the number as the nature. In several locations, where there are perfectly good cattle or sheep stiles over fairly high hedges, farmers have added an additional wooden barrier on top (acceptable) and high wooden stiles before and after the hedge, sometimes with barbed wire to trap the unwary. What on earth is the matter with them? Do they think their cows are Olympic athletes? Or do they resent public rights of way across their land and are deliberately making things difficult for walkers? It's so unnecessary: a proper Cornish stile in the right place is all that's needed.

Description - Interest - Statistics, Info - Directions

Trebarwith Farm, Backways , Trebarwith Strand, Treknow - Interest

Jeffreys Pit: A former slate quarry which closed in 1928. Cutting sheds were on the other side of the road. A stream runs down through the woodland where the walks starts. It is then covered by slate tips and re-emerges later to flow down the valley to Trebarwith Strand. Fentafriddle: As you walk up Fentafridle's driveway, you get the impression of a well-tended expensive estate. Verges are carefully mown, a wooden fence well maintaned. On a bank on the left is a topiary tea party. Barns have been converted to luxury holiday accommodation and it is also a wedding venue. Trebarwith Farm: The big farmhouse is rather dour looking. The adjacent attractive listed cottage is a holiday let - what else! The farmyard boasts an attractive cart shed. Trebarwith Strand: It's reputation as a beauty spot is hardly merited. At medium to high tide there is no beach. At low tide there are yards of potentially slippery rock to scramble over to get to the sand. All that is really outstanding is the view to Gull Rock. The Port William (the place's original name) pub is nicely located above the cove, with tables outside. Continue past the pub to find the small harbour. Port William's trade was in slate export from the quarries along the cliffs while sand from the beach was carried inland for soil enrichment. Treknow: (From Wikipedia) "Treknow is mentioned as a manor (under the name of 'Tretdeno') in Domesday Book. The acidic local soil was manured with beach sand from nearby Trebarwith Strand: the trade in sand led to road improvements in the early 19th century (the Trebarwith Strand to Condolden "Sanding Road"). Some buildings in the village display a marked Arts and Crafts influence, probably as a result of the work of architect Detmar Blow who is known to have worked on the Old Post Office in Tintagel for four years from 1896". Trebarwith Nature Reserve: Steeply sloping 3 acre site, at its best from late spring to autumn. Wildflowers, particularly speedwell, proliferate. You may be lucky enough to see brown trout in the stream near the clapper bridge. Old Millfloor: Presumably once a mill, now apparently a B&B and restaurant. Looks pretty difficult to get to! Prince of Wales Quarry: Not directly on the walk but near Jeffries Pit. Entrance to POW car park at 07091/86095. You could walk the � mile between the two but it is a busy road and there is a perfectly good car park at POW Quarry. The engine house in Prince of Wales Slate Quarry is the only one to have survived in North Cornwall. It once housed a Woolf Compound Beam Engine. The engine house was built in 1870 and the beam engine was installed in 1871. It was used to drive a wire ropeway to haul slate, and to pump water from the quarry pit. The engine house was restored in 1973. In 2015 the whole site was put up for auction by its then owner the Duchy of Cornwall with a guide price of �40,000 to �50,000. It achieved �81,000 from an anonymous telephone bid. See fuller posting

Trebarwith Farm, Backways , Trebarwith Strand, Treknow - Stats & Info

Distance: 3.89 miles. Ascent: About 500 feet in all. Highest Point: 485 feet after Fentafriddle. Biggest Climb: Easy 400 feet from Trebarwith Strand up through Treknow to the Camelford to Tintagel road. Tougher 280 feet from Backways Cove up to Dennis Point. Steps: Up 120. Down 208, includes 203 down to Trebarwith Strand. Stiles: 22, mostly wood but with a few proper Cornish granite or slate stiles. Gates: 10 plus 3 kissing gates. Footing: Generally good on pasture land. A little vertiginous on narrow path from Backways Cove up to Dennis Point. Long steep flight of steps down to Trebarwith Strand. Some uneven footing in Trebarwith Nature Reserve. Difficulty: Generally easy enough, though the climb up to, and steps down from, Dennis Point may be hard going. Road: 0.92 miles of quiet enough lanes, though the road down towards Trebarwith Strand can get rather busy at holiday times. Map: OS Explorer 109 Bodmin Moor and OS Explorer 111 Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel

Parking: Park in large free car park in Jeffreys Pit at 06767/86181. Getting there: From Wadebridge, follow B3314 to far end of Delabole. Go L towards Trebarwith. First R down Bowithick Hill to bottom. L on Tintagel road. Soon L on Trebarwith Strand road and shortly L into Jeffries Pit. Intermediate Parking: Trerbarwith Strand, 2 car parks. Refreshments: Trebarwith Strand, Port William Inn and caf�s. Toilets: Trebarwith Strand (seasonal).

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Delabole, Helland Barton and Newhall Green - 3.69 miles

This short and very easy walk from Delabole, the slate capital of Cornwall, makes a change from most of my walks as it is mainly on tracks with comparatively little in the way of field paths. Although less than four miles, if you want to make a little more of a walk of it, you can very easily add a full circuit of the massive Delabole Slate Quarry to bring the distance up to almost 5 miles. The walk starts in the Delabole Slate Quarry car park and does only a few yards on the road before heading south on tracks to Helland Barton and Newhall Green. Between those two, do look out for a small sluice that reminds one that Newhall Mill really was once a mill, and for the remains of a vaccary wall - see Intewrest section. A few more yards on a quiet road to the boundary of Trtewalder then north across a couple of fields to pick up another track that ends up on the road to Valley Truckle near Deli Farm - an interesting range of products there. The road, a quiet one, leads past Delabole Wind Farm, Britain’s very first, passing The Barton before crossing more fields back to the slate quarry. Back at the quarry, it’s worth making a circuit for a fuller walk and perhaps a visit to Delabole Slate’s showroom or even one of their tours. And, whatever you do, don’t fail to make the short detour, just before returning to the car park, to see ‘Slatehenge’.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics, Info- Directions

Delabole, Helland Barton and Newhall Green - Oliver's Diary

In my later 70s, and after two hospitalisations, my walking has become less strenuous than it was a few years ago. No more difficult moorland walks, though I still love to do the easier ones, and no more sections of the Coast Path that boast ascents of 4,000 feet in 10 miles, a bit like climbing Ben Nevis. So nowadays, I spend quite a bit of my time on Clay and Mining Trails – easy level walking – and looking for shorter countryside walks. This walk is very much one of the latter. Even with the extra circuit of Delabole Slate Quarry, there is less than 5 miles to cover and the ascent involved, a mere 450 feet, is mostly spread over almost a couple of miles of gentle climbing. Some of my recent research walks, from Camelford and St. Breward, have included rather a lot of stiles, so I was pleased to find only eight stiles along this route – and most of the gates were open anyway, probably permanently so. I was most entertained to find the remains of what appeared to be a vaccary wall between Helland Barton and Newhall Mill. My first encounter with one of these was at the lost village of Wycoller in Lancashire, when holidaying with Jane. I particularly enjoyed Newhall Green with its manorial buildings and attractive converted watermill. I have included the photo of Slatehenge to remind you not to miss it; the turbines have now been replaced by gigantic ones.

Description Interest Statistics and Info Directions

Slatehenge, old small wind turbines behind

Delabole, Helland Barton and Newhall Green - Interest

Delabole Slate Quarry: North Cornwall’s slate belt covers Delabole, Trebarwith and Tintagel. Slate has been quarried in Cornwall for 1000 years and more. Major working quarry is now Delabole which employed 1000 men in 1859. Now its workforce is just 40 producing, albeit it with much mechanisation, much the same output as then. The five Delabole quarries united as one in 1841. From 1977 to 1999 it was owned by RTZ but is now back in private local hands and producing the same 120 tons daily as in 1859, thanks to its modern equipment. The vast waste tip (modern quarrying produces little) has been landscaped with walks, seats with views and, on the top, a modern ‘Slatehenge’. A visitor centre complements seasonal daily tours. A walk round the quarry perimeter takes a good half-hour but what was once the largest hole in Cornwall is now dwarfed by some of the great china clay pits to the north of St. Austell.

Helland Barton: Still a small farm of arable, pasture and woodland; attractive farmhouse and several holiday cottages.

Vaccary Wall: Approaching Newhall Green you encounter the remains of a vaccary wall, constructed of upright slate slabs. The word ‘vaccarie’ meant a small scale commercial cattle farm, so a vaccary wall was a pasture wall or fence. Best known examples are at Wycoller in Lancashire and Kelmscott in Oxfordshire.

Newhall Mill: Part of the former Newhall Manor estate, the mill house is a handsome stone building with an attractive garden. Opposite are the buildings and barns of the manor. As you approach Newhall Manor you pass on your right a small sluice, part of the former mill’s system of water management . The village, Newhall Green is an attractive rural hamlet.

Deli Farm: Apparently a noted charcuterie – interesting products and web site.

Delabole Wind Farm: Opened in 1991 this was the first in Britain; it’s eight small turbines have since been replaced by four massive towers.

Delabole, Helland Barton and Newhall Green - Statistics & Information

Distance: 3.69 miles. Add a 1.23 miles full circuit of Delabole Slate Quarry for a 4.92 mile walk. Ascent: 450 feet. Biggest Climb: Newhall Green to Deli Farm 365 feet but relatively easy. Highest Point: 700 feet at The Barton. Gates: 10, many probably open. Stiles: 8, mix of cattle and wooden. Road: 0.65 miles of quiet lanes. Going: Generally good on paths, tracks and in some pasture. Map: OS 109 Bodmin Moor.

Getting there: From Wadebridge take B3314 to Delabole. Near beginning of village, turn R signed Delabole Slate and park in their car park. Parking: Delabole Quarry car park, entrance off Pengelly at 07305/83656. Intermediate Parking: You could probably park in Newehall Green village. Transport: Delabole is on Western Greyhound routes 584 Wadebridge to Camelford and 595 Camelford to Bude. Refreshments: Pubs in Delabole. Toilets: Delabole Slate visitor centre.

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Davidstow Church, Holy Well and Airfield - 4.33 miles

From Tremail, by Davidstow Airfield, Trewassa, Davidstow and Treworra

A variation on a walk from John Alden's excellent and comprehensive iwalkcornwall web site.

John Alden's iwalkcornwall web site classifies this as a Bodmin Moor Walk. I can understand why as Davidstow Moor is really part of the overall Bodmin Moor and for part of this walk you are in sight of and feel fairly close to Roughtor and Brown Willy. However, the former moorland north of the road across Davidstow Moor has long been disused airfield rather than moor, so I feel that this should be classified as an inland round walk rather than a Bodmin Moor walk. John's walk starts at Tremail Methodist Chapel but I was unhappy about parking in the village and opted to take the lane SSW to the airfield and park by the cattle grid. So my version of the walk starts and finishes on Davidstow Airfield. The walk is quite an easy one with no climbs to speak of and fairly good footing for most of the way. My route took me across the airfield, passing many derelict airfield buildings, then up a beech-lined track to Treworra and across fields to Davidstow church and holy well. I returned by lane to Treworra, fields to Tremail, and the lane from there back to my start. Interest is less than on most of my walks: Davidstow church has little to commend it except the holy well in a field behind. A visit to Cornwall at War Museum, open Easter to September, and incorporating a Davidstow Airfield Museum, would add about a mile to the walk.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics, Info- Directions

Davidstow Church, Holy Well and Airfield - Oliver's Diary

Having walked several of John Alden's iwalkcornwall walks around Tintagel and Trebarwith, I decided to look for possibilities inland. Looking on his Bodmin Moor page I happened upon this one in the Davidstow area. I briefly considered classifying the walk as Bodmin Moor but decided against doing so, despite the relative proximity of Roughtor and Brown Willy. However, what little moorland there is in the walk is now covered by the buildings and runways of the former Davidstow Airfield. Unlike John, who starts his walk from Tremail, I decided on an airfield start and finish, largely because of the ease of parking. I found less interest than I would normally find on a walk and was disappointed particularly by Davidstow church, despite important connections with St. David, St. Non and Altarnun. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to find the holy well in such good condition (as you can see from the photograph) and so easily accessible, despite reports to the contrary on Megalithic Portal. I should have completed this walk in one go. However, I was running late when I left Davidstow church so simply returned by lanes. I returned the following week to take the field route from Trewarra. I had hoped the weather would be warm and sunny to get some better photographs; instead I got soaked.

Description - Interest - Statistics and Info - Directions

Davidstow Church, Holy Well and Airfield - Interest

Davidstow Airfield: There must have been high expectations of Davidstow Airfield. It was completed in 1942 with three runways and a vast dispersal area. The RAF and Canadian Airforce operated from Davidstow and duties included U-boat and E-boat patrols, air-sea rescue and bombing missions. However, it was never a great success, thanks largely to the inevitable foggy moorland conditions. It closed soon after war ended and began to revert to grazed moorland. However, in 1952 a motor racing circuit was created and three Formula One races were held there. The circuit closed in 1955. Although it has largely reverted to nature, many buildings remain: the main control tower, bunkers, massive protective bunds, abandoned and derelict buiildings, and the buildings which now house the Davidstow Airfield and Cornwall at War Museum, open Easter to October. Davidstow Church: You might hope that a church associated with St. David, patron saint of Wales, and therefore also with St. Non and Altarnun, would be of great interest. Sadly, the church must be one of Cornwall's least interesting. It is best seen and pictured from the lych gate, from where you see nave and two aisles, large east windows and the tall, plain, three-stage tower. The interior was 'scraped' in Victorian times, removing any medieval features from the walls. Its only saving graces are a good but roofless lych gate; a nice font cover; a couple of old bench-ends, one of a bagpiper; a carved reredos; and a couple of brass plaques, one to Catherine Anne Buller. Davidstow Holy Well: Presumably the spring that feeds the present well house has been in use since well before the church was built. The well house has been restored several times, most recently in 1996. Reports on Megalithic Portal are well out of date. Treworra: Now calling itself Treworra Barton, the house is attractive, as is Owls Gate, just to its south. Inexcusably, the Right of Way through the property has been diverted, electric fenced paddocks blocking it, and the route now signed by green waymarks designed to look like permissive path WMs. A disgrace!

Davidstow Church, Holy Well and Airfield - Statistics &Information

Distance: 4.33 miles. Ascent: About 360 feet. Highest Point: 985 feet at start/finish point. Biggest Ascent: Easy 180 feet from valley after Treworra Barton back to Airfield. Stiles: 18 of mixed type but mostly cattle stiles. Gates: 6 plus 1 lych gate. Steps: Up 12, Down 8. Road: 0.25 miles plus traffic dead-end free lane 0.80 miles. Going: Good across airfield, some mud on track to Treworra, good in fields to Davidstow and to Tremail, tarmac lane back to Davidstow Airfield. Map: OS109 Bodmin Moor, 111 Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel.

Getting There: From A39 3 miles NE of Camelford go R on A395 (Launceston) for 1 mile to Davidstow church on L. Go R on minor road for about 1 mile to Tremail. Go R opposite phone box on lane for about 1 mile. Cross cattle grid on to Davidstow Moor and park on grass on R at 15484/85460. Parking: On Davidstow Moor on grass by cattle grid at 15484/85460. Intermediate Parking: By Davidstow church, near lych gate. Transport: Travel Cornwall bus 410 links Delabole, Camelford, Davidstow, Launceston. Refreshments: None. Toilets: None.

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Camelford, Advent Church, Moorgate Longstone - 5.32 miles

This walk combines the northern parts of a major Bodmin Moor Round Walk to provide an interesting shortish walk with a reasonable amount of interest. It starts and finishes in Camelford where, happily, parking is free. The walk begins by following the River Camel for � mile to Fenteroon Bridge. It then climbs out of the Camel Valley but descends to cross the river on its way to attractive Trethin, where you walk through part of the garden, and strangely isolated Advent Church – the church with a parish but no village. It is then cross-country and along a quiet lane with views to Watergate hamlet and a grassy climb to reach Moorgate Longstone, well worth a photograph with Roughtor and Brown Willy as a backdrop. From there a quiet lane leads to Moorgate, fields to Aldermoor, another quiet lane to Treclago and fields and lane back into Camelford. It is not at all a difficult walk but it is one with attractive scenery and occasional long views. Although there is about 1� miles of lane in the walk’s 5� mile length, those lanes are sufficiently quiet that you are unlikely to encounter more than the very occasional vehicle. If there is a drawback it is the proliferation of stiles. Altogether there are 44 and a fair number are triple stiles – a wooden stile, a granite cattle stile and another wooden stile.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics, Info- Directions

Camelford, Advent Church, Moorgate Longstone - Oliver's Diary

Through much of the winter of 2013/14 walking on fields, coast path and moorland has been made difficult by the stormy and soaking weather, so I have been walking mostly on trails: the Mining Trails and the Clay Trails have provided fairly dry underfoot conditions. Now, towards the end of March, and after a period of drying sunshine, I feel able to get back to field, coast and moor. I put this shortish walk together by combining the start of the much longer Camelford to St. Breward and back round walk with its finish, with just a very short linking section after Advent church. My next walk will be put together in similar fashion but will start and finish in St. Breward Churchtown and will be about 6� miles in all, including a detour to take in the lost Carwether Medieval Village. This walk has only a very short stretch of moorland; the St. Breward one will include quite a bit more. I like this walk; it’s delightfully rural despite lanes and there are some fine views. The one thing I don’t like is all the triple stiles. I wonder why on earth a farmer, having a perfectly good cattle stile over a hedge, should feel it necessary to add a wooden stile on each side, beats me. If you are younger than me, you may not mind these triple obstacles; at my age, and with a couple of hernias, they are hard work.

Description- Interest - Statistics & Info - Directions

Camelford, Advent Church, Moorgate Longstone -Interest

River Camel: One thinks of the Camel as a river of Bodmin Moor. Indeed you do encounter it on parts of the northern moor, but not on the heights and it cannot be said really to drain the moor, except that it is joined near Poley's Bridge by the De Lank River which really does drain a part of the north-western moor. The Camel itself rises on the very northern extremities of the moor near Davidstow. On its way to the town to which it gave its name it passes through Slaughterbridge, site of the Arthur Stone. After Camelford it runs through farmland and light woodland until it reaches Wenford Bridge. Here a trail joins it, the Camel Trail, as it continues through woodland all the way to Wadebridge, before the countryside opens out alongside the Camel Estuary until the river enters the Atlantic between Stepper Point and Pentire Point.

Fenteroon Bridge: This would once have been a massive clapper bridge but, like those at Bradford and Delford, it has been disguised by its modern tarmac surface.

Trethin: The handsome house, listed Grade II*, was built of the local stone in the 16th and 17th centuries. Farm buildings are now largely holiday rentals, as is the case also with Aldermoor further on in the walk.

Advent Church: Advent parish is a real oddity, mostly moorland with a population of only about 150. There is no village of Advent but the church is just � mile from the hamlet of Tresinney. The site is roughly circular and is clearly ancient. The church, dedicated to St. Adwenna, one of the many daughters of Welsh King Brychan, is mostly 15th century and is built of a dour grey stone but has a handsome tower with eight crocketed pinnacles. The south porch has a sundial and some good wooden roof bosses. Inside is very plain but a good arcade divides nave and aisle, both with wagon roofs. At the east end of the aisle are two slate tombstones and one of granite, its wording carved in high relief, no easy thing to do so well. Rood stairs are blocked; by the door is what may have been part of the rood screen. At the west end of the south aisle is a fine simple circular Norman font.

Watergate: Tiny attractive hamlet. As you approach on the lane past Quitecombe, you get a lovely view of nearby Highertown with Roughtor and Brown Willy behind. In the first field after Watergate you pass through an interesting L shaped enclosure, possibly connected with the ‘Settlement and Field System’ shown nearby on the map. There is a similar, but larger, enclosure between Heneward and Highsteps. Both are somewhat obscured by the trees growing on and around the banks.

Moorgate Longstone: The 10 foot menhir (Cornish for long stone) is said to be the tallest in the Bodmin Moor area though others elsewhere in Cornwall, such as the Pipers and G�n Rith in West Penwith, and Men Gurta near Wadebridge, are much taller. It photographs nicely with Roughtor and Brown Willy behind. The odd thing about this site is the rough unimproved area just to the north and west of the longstone. Here, mostly hidden by rank growth, are an ancient bank, many small standing stones, some aligned, massive stones that might once have stood, and groups of stones that once might have been part of cairns. Equally intriguing is the large area of rank nettles, usually a sign of former human habitation. Quarter-of-a-mile off to the east is a group of cairns, possibly associated.

Aldermoor: Like so many Cornish farms, Aldermoor now farms holidaymakers and their pasture land is let to neighbouring farmers. The attractive holiday cottages are highly rated.

Treclago: At the beginning of the farmyard, look out for the small stone drinking trough, fed by a spring that runs through the hedge.

Camelford, Advent Church, Moorgate Longstone - Statistics & Information

Distance: 5.32 miles. Ascent: Around 600 feet. Biggest climb: 200 feet up from after Trethin but mostly very gradual. Highest point: Moorgate Longstone at 870 feet. Gates: 15, of which 4 are kissing gates. Stiles: 44, of which 28 wood, 16 mixed slate and granite. Road: 1.89 miles of tarmac but all on very quiet lanes. Going: Generally good on grass, tracks and lanes. Map: OS 109 Bodmin Moor.

Parking: Large free car park in centre of Camelford, at foot of hill out towards Bude at 10719/83848. Intermediate parking: By Advent church. Transport: Western Greyhound 584 links Wadebridge and Camelford via Port Isaac. 595 links Wadebridge and Bude via Camelford. 510 links Wadebridge with Launceston and Exeter via Camelford. Webbers 251 links Bodmin, Wadebridge and Camelford by a country route. Refreshments: Pubs and caf�s in Camelford. Toilets: On R just after you leave the CP in Camelford.

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St. Tudy and Wetherham - an easy 2.33 miles

A walk from John Alden's excellent and comprehensive iwalkcornwall web site.

I chose this walk from John Alden's iwalkcornwall web site primarily because of the attraction of St. Tudy village itself. As it is only a short walk there was ample time to enjoy and photograph the village before undertaking what is, with one brief exception, a straightforward and easy walk. The exception was the gate off the lane from St. Mabyn to St. Tudy. Here there should have been a footpath sign but wasn't and the gate should have opened but had to be climbed, something that should be avoided for fear of unbalancing hinges. The walk starts at the war memorial by the Clink and passes through the churchyard and past the school to reach a field path down into the valley. There you enter woodland, mostly beech and alder, and follow an easy path for almost a mile, past Wetherham to pick up the lane from St. Mabyn. The route follows this for a short way uphill before the chained gate and a path down to Wetherham and its culverhouse. More woodland leads to the tarmac track from Wetherham to St. Tudy. You follow this uphill for � mile then take village paths back to the start point. This is a very pleasing walk of a fair degree of contrast and plenty of interest: village, fields, woods, a great house and culverhouse, more woods, a quiet lane and paths through the village. An easy, varied walk to be recommended to those who prefer shorter walks.

Oliver's Diary - Interest - Statistics, Info - Directions

I did this walk taken, as several others recently, from John Alden's excellent and comprehensive iwalkcornwall web site, in September 2015. First I spent some time in St.Tudy, photographing the church, the Clink, the old Forge and many attractive cottages. It's a lovely village but what a shame that power lines and telephone wires are strung across all over the place, detracting from the beauty of the village and making it quite difficult for the photographer to exclude them from his images. The weather was kind, sunny and reasonably warm so I was able to linger over the interesting parts of the village and the walk. I enjoyed the walk through the woods along the valley of the un-named stream. I liked the stream crossing past Wetherham, at the turning point of the walk, with its tiny clapper and slate cattle stile. I would have liked the chance to explore more of Wetherham and its lake and culverhouse; private ownership deterred me. What I didn't like was the gate where you leave the lane to St. Tudy. Chained shut and lacking any footpath sign or waymark, I really quite resented having to climb it, something I find much less easy than was once the case. Surely the chained gate and missing footpath sign or waymark are too much just to be coincidence; perhaps a farmer who doesn't like walkers crossing his land.

Description - Interest - Statistics, Info - Directions

St. Tudy: An attractive village with a handsome church, outlying manor houses, a good pub and attractive cottages. Click for fuller description. Wetherham: Beautifully situated Georgian country house with an ornamental lake, hydrangeas and a culverhouse. Apparently (September 2015) for sale with 35 acres through Savills.

St. Tudy and Wetherham - Statistics and Information

Distance: 2.33 miles. Ascent: Around 550 feet. Biggest climb: 210 feet up from turning point after Wetherham to gate off lane to St. Tudy. Highest point: 360 feet at start point. Gates: 7, of which 1 is chained closed, plus 1 kissing gate. Stiles: 11, mostly stone plus 1 lift barrier. Road: 0.32 miles of very quiet lane, plus a trmac track and some village paths. Going: Generally good on grass, tracks through woodland, and lanes. Map: OS 109 Bodmin Moor.

Getting There and Parking: From A39 Wadebridge to Camelford, take first turning R after St. Kew Highway and, after about 1� miles, take first turning R into St. Tudy. In centre go R to War Memorial. If unable to park there, use village hall car park, passed on R on way into the village from A39 at about 06534/76636. Intermediate parking: None. Transport: Webbers Bus 251 links St. Tudy with Camelford, Bodmin and Wadebridge. Refreshments: St. Tudy Inn; food lunchtime and evening but not Monday, not Sunday evening. Toilets: On Redvale road; From War Memorial go L past Clink. Toilets on R.

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Cubert, Mount, Stampas, Perran Round. Kings Ransom, Treamble

Here are two round walks, based on a Cubert walk from John Alden's iwalkcornwall site

The first starts from Cubert, taking in Mount, Stampas, Treamble, Treworthen and Smugglers Den

The second starts at Perran Round, taking in Hendra Farm, Hendravossan and Lower Rose