Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
For most people Saffron is a captivating and expensive spice which conjures up images of mysterious distant lands but for hundreds of years to the Cornish it has been a more homely than exotic ingredient. It is a story of much conjecture and hot debate as to when saffron first arrived in Cornwall. There are stories […]
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Today is the 5th March, Saint Piran’s Day, a festival celebrated across Cornwall with marches, parades, music and some delightfully over-enthusiastic nationalism. I went on the St Piran’s Day pilgrimage to the cross and chapel in the dunes near Perranporth today (2017) below are some of my pictures. I was freezing cold and the wind did […]
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Strangles is a pretty ominous name for anything. And it appears that this darkly beautiful beach, on arguably the most dramatic part of Cornwall’s northern coast, gets it’s name for equally ominous reasons. The dangerous currents and jagged rocks that surround Strangles make this a particularly treacherous part of our coastline. There is a much repeated local adage […]
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Winter, 1811 A gull’s wing tip topped the wave and just for a moment the air currents caught hold of its white feathers and the bird swung in the air, weightless as thistle-down. The sea twisted, turned and undulated but the stark unmoving line of the horizon didn’t alter. It was empty, a deep […]
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Lets face it most of the decisions you make in the pub are at best misguided and at worst dangerous. We have all read or heard about some crazy misadventure and thought to ourselves that decision was definately made after several pints of Spingo!? I have to admit that was my first thought when I […]
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It has taken me far too long to get around to writing this article and it is only the thought of getting back out on the moor again in a few days time that forced my thoughts to turn once again to this unwritten story. It actually began with this blog. A piece I wrote […]
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An interview with Bartholomew Patrick O’Farrell Driving down towards St Keverne on Cornwall’s isolated Lizard peninsula feels like drifting back in time. With the Autumnal fog rolling in from the sea and covering the Goonhilly Downs the whole scene can suddenly become rather otherworldly. Quite an appropriate place to meet a wizard. Bartholomew Patrick O’Farrell, […]
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Bodmin Moor feels like a place with secrets and stories to tell. Perhaps it’s the wildness, the wide open spaces and the distance that makes the visitor feel that this is a place that you will never really know completely or quite understand. I do know that it is under my skin. If I didn’t live […]
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Hanns, the custodian of the hotel shakes our hands warmly. There are no other guests so he is delighted to tell us we have been ungraded to a better room. Our window looks out on a typical German street of apartment blocks. The walls now warmly lit red in the setting sun. Halle an der […]
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Carwynnen quoit has fallen more than once. It’s giant stones have been raised up again and again, the first time 5000 years ago, then again in the 19th century and the last time in 2014. Yes, unfortunately it has taken me this long to get around to visiting but the twisting back roads led me to a impressive […]
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