Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of wayside crosses across Cornwall. You can find them on crossroads and in village squares and sometimes marking graves. They can, however, also pop up in unexpected places. Just above the churning seas that rumble against the rocks close to Lamorna Cove stands a small Celtic Cross. Carved into the […]
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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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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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Cot Valley is a magical place that feels a world away from the hustle of modern life. This beautiful valley even has its own micro-climate. As you walk down towards the V of blue sea enclosed by the valley walls, a stream winds it way beside the road, through sub-tropical plants and past ancient tin […]
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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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I really don’t remember the last time that I visited Lands End, for me the famous point that so many travel to see has been turned into some kind of strange theme park, expensive and overcrowded. I do however still love it’s sister headland, Cape Cornwall. In the summer it also has it’s fair share of visitors […]
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I grew up in a household where farm work and animals came first, above anything else. Don’t misunderstand, I am not complaining. I had a blessed childhood with a kind of freedom that sadly very few children experience today. It taught me not only independence but also the importance of hard work and taking responsibility. […]
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John Knill loved St Ives. And more than 2oo years after his death St Ives is still remembering him. This rather eccentric philanthropist (sometimes smuggler) wanted to provide for the people he had grown so fond of. And to also guarantee that his name would be remembered for all time in the town that he made […]
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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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