Trencrom offers one of the finest views in Cornwall. This ancient Iron Age Hill Fort gives you a 360 degree panorama of the Penwith. It is one of the few places from which you can see both the north and the south coast at the same time.
St Ives bay on one side . . . (above)
. . . and Mount’s Bay on the other. Can you spot the shadow of St Michael’s Mount?
The fort itself is now just a higgledy-piggledy pile of low rocky walls and huge natural outcrops covered at this time of year with wild flowers. But you can still make out its ancient fortress shape and there are two obvious gateways in to the enclosure which highlight man’s early influence on this landscape.
For anyone who has read some of my previous blogs you will know that whenever I am somewhere like this my imagination starts working overtime and I always find myself wondering about the people who have stood where I am standing and what that place meant to them.
Most of the early travel writers that produced guides to Cornwall, the kind of books I love and collect, waxed lyrical about the views from Trencrom. They weren’t wrong and I wonder how much the scene that I see today has changed, not too much I imagine. Although Robert Hunt seemed to think he could see the hills of St Austell (50 miles away) from here, he clearly had better eyesight than I do!
Home of Giants
Trencrom, also known as Trecrobbin meaning the round town in Cornish, is roughly 150m above sea level and as well as being a fortress it is also meant to have been the home of giants. Those giants according to legend buried a golden treasure here so in the past this hill has been the site of some furious digging!
But one aspect of this beautiful place is often overlooked however, the land was in fact given to the National Trust so that it would be a memorial to the men and women of Cornwall who gave their lives in the two World Wars.
In memorial
I have been to Trencrom many times before but on that day last week, looking for some peace and quiet, it was the first time that I noticed the weather-worn memorial plaque hidden in the shadow of a huge boulder. And it gave me all the perspective I needed.
Trencrom isn’t difficult to find, it is just a few miles from St Ives, take the road for Halsetown and turn off left when you see a signpost for Cripplesease. In less than a mile there is a narrow gateway on the right-hand-side of the road to a little car park. From here it is a short, but steep and uneven climb, to the fort. (TR27 6NP)
Further reading
For more posts like this try:
Chapel Carn Brea – Cornwall’s First and Last Hill
A History of St Loy Cove, Penwith
The Raising of Logan Rock and Remembering the Murder of Charlotte Dymond
I provide all the content on this blog completely FREE, there's no subscription fee. If however you enjoy my work and would like to contribute something towards helping me keep researching Cornwall's amazing history and then sharing it with you then you can DONATE BELOW. Thank you!
It’s a shame the memorial is so worn. Lovely to see Cornish sunshine, it’s so dreary in London at the moment!
Beautiful. My list of places to visit in West Cornwall is growing!
Pouring with rain; heavy grey skies overhead here in France and then…. there’s Trencom on your post!!! I lived at Towednack (Skillywadden) so these views are/were so familiar to me. The rainbow on my horizon today, is knowing that I’ll be over in late summer and will indeed visit.
Wishing you only blue skies for your visit 😃
I’m going back to Sydney soon but if I ever get to come back for an extended visit I intend to spend as much of it in the South West as I can. Thanks for all these inspiring posts.
My father until last month lived for thirty odd years just below the hill so it’s a place I know well in all weathers! I well remember experiencing the solar eclipse in torrential rain on Trencrom. There are stunning views from the top of both coasts as your photos show so clearly. They used to have open air church services on the top too… the piano being dragged up the hill from Ninnesbridge chapel!! Thanks for your post!
Loved this post and the photos. So glad I have discovered your blog. I grew up in Cornwall and miss it now that I no longer have a base there.
Thank you Barbara, glad you are enjoying it 🙂
I was at school with Barbara and am grateful to her for introducing me to this blog! These are superb photographs of our precious landscape at its very best. Thank you!
Wow! Lovely post, next few places for me to travel to in Cornwall!! Thank you for sharing! Great pictures and writing too👍