Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
No one these days really knows what a collar stud is, let alone wears one but King George V certainly did and he is said to have kept his in a rather special place. Cornwall is not really known for its treasure troves, we live in hope of a discovery like Sutton Hoo to put […]
Read MoreTrencrom 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 . . […]
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The names spin by outside the car, Buryas Bridge, Drift, Catchall and then I see the tiny turning that I need and swing the car in, onto the dirt road. This is the track to Boscawen-un, one of the first ancient places on the Penwith that I ever came to.  That was probably 20 years ago […]
Read MoreDriving out of Zennor village towards St Ives there is a house known as the Eagles Nest perched on a crag looking out to sea.  It was in the valley below this house that D H Lawrence spent 1915 writing Women in Love and just opposite its white painted gate there is a track leading out across the downs. […]
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In Cornwall we have a special kind of geological feature that throughout history has given the Cornish folks bucket loads of joy. It is the natural phenomena known as the Logan Rock. The word logan comes from the Cornish ‘logging’, (pronounced log as in dog) meaning rocking and refers to a number of boulders which, through some a happy […]
Read MoreJust beside the road, not far from the much-visited Merry Maidens stone circle, is a fascinating ancient site. It is often over-looked as people whiz by it on their way to have their picture taken at Lands End. Tregiffian Barrow, which unfortunately is half covered by the road, is a prehistoric burial chamber. This site […]
Read MoreIf you were going to build a monument, perhaps in commemoration of someone or for some religious purpose, you would build it to last wouldn’t you? And when you designed it you would make sure that it was beautiful and that it stood out from its surroundings. After all you would hope that your monument would last for a […]
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When I was at school I distinctly remember being told that the Romans never conquered the Cornish. That the county and the people were too wild for them and, like the Scottish in the north, they decided we were best left alone. It is now common knowledge that that is not entirely true. I have […]
Read MoreIn the winter the Penwith landscape is all the muted tones of grey and soft brown as if the granite bedrock has leeched up into the vegetation. The bracken is burnt black with the cold winds. It is only when the sunlight spills across the ground that details in the countryside appear. Quite suddenly I am […]
Read MoreThe hedge towers above me, the moss is thick and bright green, lush ferns give the scene an ancient and almost topical feel. I am standing on Cornwall’s oldest ‘road’. The Giant’s Hedge This route once ran for 10 miles between Lerryn and Looe and was in use around 4000 years old. The road cuts so deep down into […]
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