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.
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.
posted by Alan S. | 20:06
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