According to local legend in 1895 Mevagissey became the first place in Cornwall, maybe even one of the first places in the UK, to have electric street lighting. Amazingly the harbour’s new power station was run entirely on pilchard oil. But this innovation is actually less surprising once you learn that this small fishing community […]

In 1848 the author Catherine Crowe published a book called The Night Side of Nature, it was an exploration of ‘ghosts and ghost seers’. The book quickly became a bestseller and interestingly it introduced its readers to a new word – Poltergeist. Originating in Germany in the mid-19th century poltergeist came from poltern meaning to […]

Beside the dead-end road to Restronguet Barton near Mylor, tucked away under trees and painted bright white, there is a stone cross. This small monument was erected here in 1948 by a group of Ukrainians who had been living and working in the area in the post-war era. This cross was as much a symbol […]

The Helford River is fringed by beautiful ancient woodland. Dominated by oak trees, each of these woods has its own name and its own history. There is Bonallack, Bosahan, Calamansack, Carminowe, Merthen and Roskymmer, old Cornish names that dance on the tongue. Most remain untouched, home to rabbits, the odd deer and perhaps a clamour […]

In a copse of trees known as the Rookery not far from the city of Truro there is a large granite column called the Pencalenick Obelisk. This isolated stone pillar has been the cause of speculation and rumour for more than a hundred years, since those who remember why it was built have all gone. […]