Home from home...

As the family have joined us on holiday for the next couple of days, trips out are very limited. We did manage to get out to Lanyon Quoit and Madron Well today though, which made a nice break and contrast to Camborne which we visited earlier in the day...

Madron Chapel had also been the subject of a clean up recently:

Day of rest

Today was a day of 'not much', which started with a trip over to Kenwyn Church to see the well there (the church was locked) before heading into Truro. The Royal Cornwall Museum has an exhibition of Batik work by Annabel Carey, 'Spirit of the Stones', depicting various ancient sites. The images were very evocative and thought provoking, but were let down but the lighting which threw hideous reflections not allowing a full appreciation of the work. Elsewhere in the museum, I found the Rialton Barton stone which we'd been unsuccessful in finding the other day when driving through Rialton Barton!

Fully sated on the various neolithic goodies in the museum, we headed off for Kea Church (also locked), before ending up in Pool where I purchased a graphics tablet in Tesco for the princely sum of £23. Before getting back to play with it though (much impressed BTW!) we diverted via Portreath for lunch in the Basset Arms and a quick walk on the sand.

Pottering in Penwith

As is now traditional for us, Wednesday is a day of rest when on holiday. Today was therefore spent wholly within West Penwith. We started the day with a slow drive around the coast road, from St Ives to Sennen, before heading back into Penzance for some much needed petrol and other shopping.

Then it was off to the first site of the day at Bodrifty. This is an ancient Iron Age village, and the landowner has constructed a reproduction roundhouse a short way off, to show what the site may have looked like back then. Very educational. I also needed to take some photos of nearby Brook Cottage for someone in New Zealand who had contacted me via email some weeks ago to ask if I had any pictures of where their grandfather lived. Photos will be in the mail as soon as we get home!


As it was getting near lunch, we headed for St Just again, for some wonderful home made soup and bread from the Cook Book in the town.

Then it was off again, this time to spend some time at Carn Euny, another IA village, and the nearby wells of Chapel Uny.

Finally, before heading back to the chalet for some tea, I visited the Boscawen-Un stone circle, and was very surprised to see the site almost totally cleared of gorse and bracken which usually swamps the stones. A small group of volunteers were working hard to get the site ready for bluebell season. I spoke with one of them, Chris Fry, who told me the work was being done in association with CASPN and English Heritage, as well as the landowner. We had a long chat about the difficulties and sensibilities of site protection and restoration, and I thanked him for his sterling efforts before heading back to the car to get ready for the evening's socialising.

Penhale to Truro

Early starts are a feature of our holiday timetable, and once again, we were on the road just before 8am and heading up the A30 and A3075 towards Newquay. We turned off the main road at Goonhavern, toward Perranporth, and past St Perran Round, an earthwork embankment with two entrances which I'd seen on a previous visit.

The first targets for the day were out on Penhale Sands: St Piran's Oratory and Cross. We drove through the holiday camp site, and parked at the end of the drive, near a sign explaining about the wildlife on the sands. I somehow managed to walk almost directly to the old cross which marks the site of the church ruins which have recently been uncovered from the sand. Walking directly west from here, I then found the location of the Oratory, marked by an engraved stone. I was surprised to find that I'd somehow actually circled round, and was quite close to where the car was parked.

Next scheduled stop was Crantock, with two wells and an interestingly restored church, which were all found with very little problem, other than trying to navigate around a closed road!

Next stop was a late addition to the itinerary: Lady Nance Well at SW870605. The approach lane was extremely narrow and very muddy, and the well itself was not immediately recognisable as such, hidden in the undergrowth. I wouldn't want to find this in high summer...


Just up the road was Colan church which was unfortunately locked. The Explorer 106 map shows an Inscribed Stone nearby around SW852620 near Rialton Barton. The lane is extremely narrow with very few places to stop and look around. The search was unsuccessful (and I later found that the stone is resident in the Royal Cornwall Museum at Truro), so we continued south to St Enoder church (which was also locked), and from there into Fraddon to the new Cornish Shopping Centre at Kingsley Village, where we had a very pleasant lunch in the restaurant.

St Dennis was a pleasant surprise: the church (locked again!) has an interesting old cross and is located within an Iron Age hillfort, which gives spectacular views all around, including the blot on the landscape that is the china clay workings to the south.

Truro was the penultimate stop of the day, for some additional retail therapy before heading back to Penzance and a final stop to climb to the top of Trencrom Hill, which had suffered a gorse fire. Signs were warning of possible unidentified mine workings, so it was a case of stick to the footpaths and enjoy the view before tea.

Around the Lizard

Another early breakfast saw us on the road by 8am and heading up the A30 to Redruth, then Stithians church, which sadly was locked at that time of the day. A couple of photos of the Repper's Mill Cross in the churchyard, then we were off to see the Tremehere Longstone a short distance away at SW748367. This sits just 3 fields from the road, and a footpath cuts across the corner of the field. Approaching the stone, a couple of overly friendly horses in the field came charging over, causing me to cut short my visit.

Next stop was further east, in Mylor Harbour. The church there not only has a Holy Well, but also the tallest Cross in Cornwall - seven feet of which is below ground!


Heading west again and back toward Helston, we stopped to try to find the Holy Well at Trelill. Unsuccessfully. I've tried to find this in the past. I know where it's supposed to be, but couldn't see it without trespassing onto farm land. We therefore continued on to St Mawgan-in-Meneage, stopping briefly to see the inscribed stone at SW706248 and the church before moving on to St Martin (another locked church). Next was Mannacan where parking difficulties meant I didn't get to see the church in the rain, but did see the well in the centre of the village.

Heading for home now, we headed for St Keverne, and stopped to see the Crousa Common stones - the hedges were cut much lower than during my last visit here, and I finally got to see the stones properly, albeit from a distance.


A retail stop in Porthleven also included a very pleasant lunch in the Harbour Inn, before further shopping in Helston and Redruth during the afternoon, returning to the chalet late in the afternoon.

On to Penzance

An early breakfast again, then we were packed and ready to hit the road once again.

Back down the A3254 led to Whitstone. The church there has a Holy Well, which has an interesting carved head set in the rear wall. Possible pagan origins?


Heading back toward the A39, took us through Warbstow where I stopped briefly to take a look at Warbstow Bury hillfort. Unfortunately, the rain and bitingly cold wind forced me back to the car. I'll be back!

It was then a simple journey A39, A30 straight to Penzance, and a much nicer chalet for the remainder of our holiday.

Conference day

An early breakfast saw us ready for the Conference opening at 9am. It was time for some retail therapy, and I bought a wonderful Archer's Sword for just £30. The first couple of talks were quite entertaining, but by lunch we were ready to hit the road for a short break, so we popped down to Bude for a snack. Refreshed, we set out for a short tour of some local churches at Poundstock, Marhamchurch and Launcells Barton, the first and third of which had Holy Wells close by. Then it was straight back to the Conference for the last talk of the day. Having taken photos of all the speakers during the day, once the conference had closed I handed over what I'd taken to one of the organisers.

Another evening meal, slightly late due to the increased numbers, led to an entertaining evening discussion.

Off to Cornwall

M3, A303, A30 to Exeter
A30 then A382 and B3212 across Dartmoor.
Continue to Yelverton then the A386 to Tavistock. Join the B3362, then A388 to Launceston, join the B3254 to Kilkhampton.

After a much longer journey than anticipated, we finally arrived at Penstowe Manor, where the Pagan Federation Conference was being held. Having a short time available, we took a quick run up to Morwenstow to check out the Holy Well at the church. Later, after saying our hellos, checking out the stalls being set up, and having a pleasant evening meal, we had an early night.