Captain John Piers – Cornish pirate

In early October 1581 the Cornish pirate John Piers and fifteen of his crew were arrested on a beach in Dorset. According to legend although Piers was very much a wanted man his capture was pure fluke. There had been no betrayal, no gem of intelligence that had led the arresting officer, Thomas Walshe, to […]

Read More

‘For the Fallen’ – the famous war poem written at Pentire Head

One day in early September 1914 the poet Laurence Binyon sat on the Cornish cliffs gazing out at the sea. It was the first few weeks of the First World War and the terrible news of the casualties in France must have weighed heavily on his mind. It was in that moment, so far from […]

Read More

Ralph’s Cupboard – Giants & Smugglers near Portreath

It is fair to say that if you look hard enough every nook and cranny of the Cornish coast has some tale or other to tell. Whether it is shipwrecks, mermaids, ancient cliff castles, strange geology or wily smugglers, it’s really hard to find a cove or cliff without some story attached to it. While […]

Read More

Warbstow Bury – Cornwall’s Finest Iron Age Fort

warbstow bury

Just when I think I am becoming familiar with our prehistory I discover somewhere new! Warbstow Bury is Cornwall’s second largest and best preserved Iron Age fort. Built around 2500 years ago the impressive concentric rings crown a spur of high ground in North Cornwall close to the River Ottery. On a clear day standing […]

Read More

St Clether Chapel & Holy Well

‘The story goes that one day the devil came to the Tamar from the Devon side and stood rubbing his chin and considering. ‘No,’ said he, ‘I won’t take the risk. Yonder every person is made into a saint and everything into a pie. I do not feel qualified for either position.’ It is true […]

Read More

The Huer’s Hut – Newquay

Beyond the bustle and bright lights of Newquay’s busy streets is the Huer’s Hut. It perches on the cliff top at Towan Head with the crashing sea below. This iconic white building is in part a historic, cultural monument to an industry that once meant so much to the Cornish people and Cornwall’s past prosperity. […]

Read More

Murder in Poundstock Church

The small hamlet of Poundstock huddles in a lush wooded valley between Boscastle and Bude. It is a picturesque place. Peaceful, timeless. But the quiet belies what was once a rather bloody past. A past which saw feuding Cornish families take up arms against each other and led to one of Cornwall’s most notorious murders. […]

Read More

Droskyn Point Prehistoric Galleries – Cornwall’s Oldest Mine

Droskyn Point towers above Perranporth beach. The crashing waves of the Atlantic beat its rocky cliffs. But this spectacular headland hides an ancient secret. Hidden down a steep, narrow path is thought to be the earliest known evidence of mining in Cornwall. Beginnings . . . The origins of tin mining in Cornwall are hazy […]

Read More

Porthtowan – ghosts, dragons & shipwrecks

“The seashore seems to be a potent spot for ghosts. Fishermen dread to walk anywhere near where a ship has foundered. The souls of drowned sailors are said to haunt such places and the ‘calling of the dead’ has frequently been heard . . .” James Turner, The Stone Peninsula, 1975. Fishermen and sailors are […]

Read More

Bedruthan Steps

“All the grandeur of the North Cornwall coast is here . . . It is truly a superb bit of scenery combining grand and fantastic rocks with a sea constantly varying in its blues, greens and purples . . . Those that stand above these cliffs must acknowledge that even Cornwall has not a finer […]

Read More