Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
I spend much of my time writing about and photographing the ancient monuments that our ancestors have left behind in the Cornish landscape. There are many well-known and enigmatic sites that captivate us, places that are the subject of the most study and the ones most likely to end up on Instagram! It isn’t very […]
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Dramatically situated on the cliffs close to Cape Cornwall, Ballowal Barrow is a unique monument. This ancient tomb was once the final resting place for Bronze Age man. And is actually part of a complex of burial cairns and cists in use from the Late Neolithic, around 5000 years ago. The monument would have been […]
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The narrow lane to Boleigh fogou takes you by surprise. Tucked away on a bend, just after the turning to Lamorna Cove, the entrance is narrow and one side lined with large granite boulders. Up until yesterday I had never been here before. The fact that you must pre-arrange a time to come and see […]
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You might say that this post is a little bit overdue. When I visited the stone circles in The Gambia, West Africa however, back in 2007, I didn’t have this outlet to describe and share what I had seen. Wassu Stone Circles: Credit Richard Williams The stones circles of the Gambia and Senegal are a […]
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We’ve all heard the stories. Unsuspecting travellers on some dark, remote road being led astray by strange lights, false paths or mysterious strangers and becoming hopelessly lost. The Cornish call it being piskie-led, (it often happens on the way home from the pub) and there are certain paths that were once famous for such misadventures. […]
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In the past writers have described the Goonhilly Downs on the Lizard peninsula as a bleak, remote and wild. Said to be the haunt of notorious highway men, travellers often complained of disorientating drifts of fog. But the day I visited the downs were beautiful. The only drifts were of pink and white heather. There […]
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This strange tumbled rock tor feels like an island as you approach it through the surrounding marshy ground. Looking up at the jutting outcrops of stone it appears like a castle, a fortress, rising above you into the blue sky. Helman, like the mighty Carn Brea or Trencrom further south, is an example of what […]
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Mysterious and unique to Cornwall, fogous have had archaeologists scratching their heads for hundreds of years and they are no closer to solving the mystery. These underground passages are only found the far west of Cornwall, usually close to an ancient settlement. Their name, pronounced foo-goo, means cave in Cornish but they are also known […]
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Chapel Carn Brea is said to be the first and last hill in Britain. Just south of St Just in Penwith it overlooks the dramatic rocky peninsula of Lands End and stunning Sennen coastline. This hill is a focal point in this part of Cornwall, and has been for thousands of years. The First and […]
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In recent weeks the local papers have been alive with the news of a unique discovery. A 4000 years old cremation urn was uncovered, beautifully complete, during an excavation of Hendersick Barrow, near Looe. There is understandably great excitement about what these remains can tell us. What they can uncover about our ancient ancestors and […]
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