Bodmin Moor - a windswept blend of history, beauty and wilderness

Bodmin Moor is so much "more" than merely a huge expanse of seemingly barren landscape. It is an important area for conservation and also hosts many lovely villages tucked away far off the tourist trail. It has many streams that drain the area, most of these flowing to the south coast to be deposited into the St. Austell Bay area.

Be certain to explore the ancient stone circles at Minions, the finely balanced "Cheesewring" granite tor, the beautiful village of Altarnun, the dark and mystical Dozmary Pool, into which King Arthur’s "Excalibur" was reputedly flung, the world-famous Jamaica Inn at Bolventor, with its twin links to smuggling and, of course, to Daphne du Maurier.

Also be sure to see the open-air theatre at Upton Cross and the beautiful Golitha Falls, where the river tumbles swiftly down a narrow ravine clad in trees, mosses, and lichen, a haven for aquatic birds and striking wildflowers.

Don't miss the impressive Trevethy Quoit, a free-standing ancient burial site at Tremar, composed of several massive upright stones and topped with a sloping lintel.

Finally, Bodmin Moor represented the furthest point north in the Duchy where tin and copper mining flourished in the 19th century. The derelict engine houses are scattered across the Moor as lonely sentinels of a long-passed age, when the ground here was riddled with deep shafts and tunnels.

Quick Tips:

Although the Moor is surrounded by small towns and villages, most of the villages can offer local accommodations at the village pub or guesthouse at exceptionally low rates. I, however, use my traditional base of Polperro whenever exploring this area, which is only a 20-minute drive up to the Moor.

Best Way To Get Around:

Bodmin Moor is a large geographical area with only one main road that crosses from northwest to southeast. Once off this road, you will find yourself on very narrow lanes with few passing places.

All the villages are accessible by car, although some of the ancient landmarks are somewhat removed from the beaten track.

It is therefore best to view the Moor on foot, although the casual visitor should take certain precautions. The weather on the Moor can change in an instant, so always be sure you can get where you want to in the time allocated, particularly if dusk beckons. There are many very boggy areas and lots of deep water-filled gouges where old mine workings have collapsed, so caution is advised.

The Moor is large in every sense, and it is easy to walk for many miles without encountering a house, lane, or track, so a compass is essential, as are stout, waterproof boots and a reliable large-scale map (Ordnance Survey or similar).

Respect the fact that this is a wild area in every sense of the word.

Penryn House Hotel is situated in the lovely coastal village of Polperro. It makes a good base from where to explore any part of Cornwall and is only a 20-minute drive from here up onto Bodmin Moor. Accommodation is, of course, available in the villages on the moor but tends to be somewhat rustic, though comfortable.

Penryn House is situated halfway down the main road into Polperro on the left, accessible by way of a narrow bridge over the fast-flowing River Pol. It has recently been acquired by new owners, Chris and Anne Pidcock, who are, as we speak, renovating the hotel to a fine standard.

Room rates are very reasonable; a single room with breakfast will cost you £28, but at this time of year, I was able to avail myself of an en-suite double for £35. The rooms are clean and tidy, nicely furnished, and warm. My room had just had the bathroom redone and was luxurious, if a little compact and bijou!

Every room has a colour TV, tea and coffee-making facilities, and en-suite shower/tub, most with a shower due to limitations of space.

Downstairs there is a well-stocked bar and a restaurant for guests, although at this time of year, it was closed (understandably), as I was the only client. There is, however, a wide variety of eateries in the village that are open for business all year round.

Car parking is on site, a rarity for Polperro, and Chris, who doubles as the chef, is an attentive maitre d’ who will endeavour to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

In summer, a full à la carte menu is available, as are cream teas in the afternoon for the casual passersby.

Penryn House is a comfortable but affordable stopover, and I’m certain you will not be disappointed with any aspect of their service or facilities.

As a postscipt, I stayed here again in early February, this time I had room 16. It was airy, newly decorated and had a bathroom to die for.

The Sail Loft restaurant occupies one of the oldest buildings in Looe, just a 5-minute drive from where I stayed in Polperro whilst exploring the moors.

It is full of character, low beams, nautical paraphernalia, and atmosphere and is well-run, with excellent service to complement the superb food. The menu is simple, with not too many choices, and as I have posted a picture of the menu, I won’t dwell on it further.

I plumped for steak for a change and ordered the carpetbaggers, which is basically a prime fillet steak topped with delicious pate. I did choose to skip starters, as I was very hungry but didn’t want to risk filling up prior to the main course.

The steak was superbly cooked and served with a light sauce that complemented the taste without detracting from it at all, plus new Cornish potatoes and vegetables "du jour".

This was all washed down with a couple of pints of the local brew, and I have to say that the service was exemplary--no waiting between courses and no staring at empty plates once finished. Although not on the official menu, I asked for plain vanilla ice cream for dessert and was told, "No problem, sir".

The Sail Loft isn’t cheap by local standards, but the old adage of "you get what you pay for" is very evident here.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and one I hope to repeat very soon if I have my way.

Bodmin Moor is the smallest of the three west-country moors, the other two being Dartmoor and Exmoor, both in Devon.

Most of the moor sits at an altitude between 800 and 1,400 feet and covers an area of just 150 square miles. In spring, it is resplendent with yellow gorse, pink heathers, and lush green course grass, with buzzards and kestrels scouring the ground from their lofty aerial positions, ever on the lookout for an unwary hare or rabbit, and with the sunlight reflecting off the granite tors and crags that litter the landscape.

In winter, it can be so different--a dark, brooding place where the weather can change in an instant, bringing howling winds, driving rain, and many a pitfall for the careless or ill-advised trekker from the deeply scarred landscape, courtesy of the old mine workings left over from the 19th century.

The moor is bound at either end by towns: Bodmin in the southwest and Launceston in the northeast. One major road crosses the moor, the A30 trunk route that links these two towns and ultimately continues on its way to Lands End or London. Once off this road, tiny, narrow lanes take over, many of them delving deep into the moor, with several crossing all the way over to the north and south coasts.

Due to the topography of the moor, most of the settlements tend to congregate around the edges; the interior is simply too wild, with no main services such as water or electricity; plus, the height above sea level makes the land too hostile for any commercial use other than sheep-grazing.

As recently as the late eighties, a large area to the south of the A30 at Bolventor was dammed and flooded to form Colliford Lake, Cornwall’s largest reservoir and a welcome addition to serve the needs of the Duchy’s hundreds of thousands of seasonal visitors who place a huge strain on the county’s resources in summer.

Bodmin Moor has a wild, untamed beauty all its own, and in pre-historic times it was home to local Celts who left their marks on the landscape with stone circles and quoits at Minions and Tremar. These are all to be found in very remote settings and truly indicate the hardiness of these ancient peoples, who eked out a living on such an unforgiving landscape.

For obvious reasons, the moor is best seen in spring and summer, when it comes alive with colour and the blue skies stretch from horizon to horizon. Winter visitors should go prepared!

The world-famous Jamaica Inn is to be found in the windswept village of Bolventor, high on Bodmin Moor, about halfway between Launceston and Bodmin. The re-routed A30 trunk route now bypasses the village, lending a calmer, more enjoyable air to your visit. The inn is well signposted in both directions and has ample parking for cars and coaches.

The inn was first built in 1750 and has no doubt played host to numerous nefarious deeds back in the mists of time. It was originally a staging post for travellers who had the unenviable task of crossing the moor, braving not only the unpredictable weather, but also bands of cutthroats and brigands hell-bent on robbing any unwary passerby.

Being so remote, it quickly earned a reputation as a convenient bolt hole for the many smugglers who earned their livings from the contraband brought ashore along the wild Cornish coast. It has been estimated that as much as a half of all the brandy and a quarter of all the tea brought into England was illegally landed in the county, and the inn was an ideal hiding place, away from the all-too-inquisitive excise men. It is also believed that the inn took its name from the large quantities of Caribbean rum that passed through the hands of various lawless individuals here.

Perhaps the most famous aspect of the inn is that of being used as a backdrop for the novel by Daphne du Maurier, who spent just a single night there in 1930. It was the setting of the infamous Bodmin Moor, the atmosphere of the inn, and the myths and legends that surrounded it that inspired her work of the same name. She was entranced by Cornwall and spent much of her life in the county until her death in 1989. The inn features a memorial room dedicated to her, featuring her original Sheraton writing desk and other personal artifacts.

Nowadays, the inn is as popular as ever, albeit for predominantly legal pursuits! It is rumoured to have several ghosts, including that of Demon Davey, the vicar of the parish of Altarnun who resided in the old schoolhouse opposite the inn, as well as that of a local man who was summoned outside to face the wrath of a smuggler he’d betrayed for his own financial gain. The man apparently left his half-finished ale on the bar, only to be shot with a pistol out in the courtyard. He now regularly appears at the bar to "finish" his ale.

The inn features a smuggling museum and is, of course, available to book as a stopover for a night or two. It is full of genuine olde-worlde charm, with ageing low beams and a wonderful, time-forgotten atmosphere.

Not to be missed.

Very few villages throughout Cornwall can match the timeless beauty of Altarnun. The village is to be found just to the left of the A30 as you head north towards Launceston, the farthest point of the Moor in this direction.

The village lies sheltered in a wooded valley, high upon the Moor, and contains rows of granite cottages, as well as a very impressive church dedicated to St Nona. It is almost an oasis of greenery in the otherwise granite bleakness of the rest of the Moor.

Such is the scale St Nona’s that it has been known for several hundred years as "the cathedral of the moors" and from its lofted position within the village, makes a staggering centrepiece. A babbling stream cuts through the village centre and crosses beneath the old packhorse bridge that carries the road up onto the Moor. The church dates from 1470 and is built on the site of a former Norman one.

Altarnun means "the altar of St Non," a 6th century saint who was reputedly the mother of St David of Wales. St Non spent many years in Cornwall converting the local people to Christianity.

The parish of Altarnun covers an impressive 15,018 acres, making it easily the largest parish in Cornwall, although most of this area is contained within the Moor. John Wesley, the Cornish Methodist, was born in the village and his cottage still remains. Unfortunately, it was not open on the day of my visit.

A couple of miles east is the strangely named village of Polyphant, whose quarries provided much of the stone used to build Cornwall’s churches.

It’s likely that Altarnun would not be an automatic choice for the time-conscious visitor to this part of Cornwall, but an hour or so is all that is required to explore this most lovely of villages – it will reap untold rewards with its beauty and timeless feel of a totally unspoilt era.

Tremar is a tiny hamlet situated on the eastern extremities of the Moor. It is a typical village for the area, with its granite-built cottages huddled along impossibly narrow lanes, Cornish dry-stone walls, and gorse- and heather-covered hillsides that lead up to the impressive tors that dominate the skyline.

Follow the lane, however, to the next hamlet by the name of Darite and you will pick up the signs for Trevethy Quoit, which is tucked away in an open field behind some cottages between the two hamlets.

It is surely one of Cornwall's most spectacular examples of these prehistoric burial chambers that are to be found more commonly to the far west of the county. (Please see my Penwith Peninsula journal.)

Trevethy Quoit consists of several massive upright stones that comprise a rough oblong, on top of which is a huge slanted lintel that forms the "roof." The ground around the site is rough pasture and no one can remember if the chamber has ever been excavated, certainly not in living memory.

The folk of Cornwall hold such sites in great respect, so it is unlikely that such an event has occurred officially, less the dead are disturbed.

The Quoits of Cornwall are presumed to be the final resting place of tribal leaders and elders dating back to the prehistoric era, when the county was very much detached from the rest of the UK by way of geographic distances. Also, the Celts who resided in Cornwall at these times were known as fearsome warriors who would repel any attempt to invade their tribal homelands, hence, in latter times, they were left well alone by the Romans who conquered the rest of Britain but gave Kernow a wide berth.

I visited the Quoit on a clear blue January morning; there was no one else about. It is a strange mystical object that has done more than its fair share to prolong the ongoing myths and legends of this county.

Not far up the lanes from Tremar, you’ll find the small village of Minions, situated high up on the Moor and overlooking the impressive Caradon Hill, which, at 1216 feet above sea level, is one of the loftiest perches in the surrounding area.

Travel the short distance up through the narrow "high street" and you will spy a car park on the right, signposted for "The Hurlers" and "The Cheesewring".

Leave your car here and climb the half dozen steps up from the car park to see the wonderful vista of the true Bodmin Moor, a landscape of gorse, heather, bogs, and above all, several hundred yards walk away, the impressive stone circles known as The Hurlers.

The Hurlers consist of three Bronze Age circles dating from 2500 to 1800 B.C. They are unique in Cornwall and are part of this specific area of moorland that is rich in prehistoric remains. Much speculation has arisen as to their true purpose; an astronomical clock perhaps, a meeting place, or maybe a memorial to dead chiefs of the indigenous tribes of so long ago. Many of the stones have fallen throughout the centuries, and the true outline of the south circle is now difficult to define.

All of the remaining stones are no taller than 4 feet, so no mighty efforts as such were required to construct this as were needed for Stonehenge or Avebury. But it is the bleakness and the remote location that make these stones so mystical, standing alone in this otherwise devoid landscape with their only company being the derelict engine houses of the deep tin and copper mines that flourished here in the 19th century littering the windswept moorlands.

Walk a couple of miles or so north of The Hurlers you will encounter the Cheesewring, a fantastic rock formation resulting from thousands of years of weathering in the ever-changing moorland climate. Just as a long extinct volcano leaves behind a "plug" of weather-resistant lava, the Cheesewring has been formed by countless ages of freezing and thawing, leaving this wondrous granite formation that almost seems to defy gravity. Many of the stones weigh hundreds of tonnes and present an unforgettable natural spectacle.

Be warned – the walk to the Cheesewring from Minions is a substantial trek across wetlands riddled with many deep pools and unforgiving terrain. Allow yourself at least 2 to 3 hours for the roundtrip.

Dozmary Pool features strongly in the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, as do Camelford and Tintagel to the north of the county.

The pool is to found the south of the main A30, a mile or so down a twisty lane that begins right opposite the Jamaica Inn at Bolventor and winds its way into the heart of Bodwin Moor. Legend has it that King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, was hurled into the pool, only to reappear, held aloft by a ghostly arm, before disappearing beneath the dark surface forever. The pool is thought of by locals as bottomless, although it has been known to dry up completely during very hot, dry summers.

Situated at 1,000 feet above sea level, it is the highest lake in Cornwall but is positioned in a very bleak location, devoid of trees and much vegetation, which only goes to enhance its mystical connotations.

To the other side of the lane is Colliford Lake, or reservoir, built in the mid-eighties to ease Cornwall’s shortage of water during busy tourist seasons. It was probably Cornwall’s largest-ever engineering project, and during its construction, millions of tonnes of earth were moved in order to provide massive walls to contain the western end of the reservoir, the eastern end taking advantage of two natural valleys which, of course, were flooded once the work was completed.

It is now Cornwall’s largest lake, and plans are afoot to provide water sports and possibly summer accommodations along its western shorelines. It has quickly become a haven for wildlife, with pin-tailed ducks, dippers, grey wagtails, and sand martins eager to avail themselves of the peaceful location high up on the moors.

At present, it does seem an almost surreal spot, like Dozmary Pool, devoid of trees or any vegetation other than gorse and grass and, of course, human beings. It presents an almost eerie sensation to see such a huge body of water, dark and deep, so high up in what is an unrelenting landscape.