Take a whistle stop tour of South East Cornwall and uncover 6,000 years of history from Prehistoric circles to grand stately homes.
Saturday Day Break: Get in touch with Cornwall’s early ancestors watching the dawn rise at Tretehvy Quoit near the tranquil village of St Cleer. The huge upright stones are thought to date back an incredible 6,000 years.
Saturday Morning: Just a few miles to the village of Minions, some of the best preserved stone circles in the UK stand below a striking rock formation called the Cheeswring. Legend has it the Bronze Age circles, known as the Hurlers, represent men who were having a game of hurling on the Sabbath and were turned to stone by a miserable deity.
Saturday Lunchtime: Enjoy a happier atmosphere at the nearby Cheeswring Hotel. The highest pub in Cornwall, it’s a good place to sample some good traditional food. On this part of the moor you are slap bang in the middle of what was once a huge, fiery industrial landscape. Back in the 19th century thousands toiled above and below ground to extract valuable tin and copper ore. Designated a World Heritage Site, the engine houses and mine buildings lay silent now and nature has soften their edges but their legacy still stands tall in the wild landscape.
Saturday Afternoon: See some original Celtic art on two beautifully decorated stones that lie just off road as you head towards Liskeard. Erected a thousand years ago in memory of King Doniert, thought to be the last true king of Cornwall who drowned in a nearby river.
Saturday Evening: Not far away the famous Jamaica Inn at Bolventor stands bleak on Bodmin moor. Have a tot of rum in deference to the swarthy smugglers who used to frequent this remote of hostelries and get an insight into Cornwall’s darker criminal past.
Sunday Morning: Sheltered in a beautiful valley, the village of St Neot has a magnificent 15th century granite church with twelve stunning stained glass windows dating from the early Elizabethan period that are considered to be among the best in the UK.
Sunday Lunchtime: The Saxon holy well is said to have curative properties and according to folklore it’s where the four foot tall Saint Neot bizarrely brought two fried fish back to life. For a light lunch of your own, pop in to the London Inn just by the church. Originally an old coaching inn on the road to the capital; the inn serves up a delicious menu of local food.
Sunday Afternoon: Towards the town of Bodmin visit Cornwall’s grandest stately home. Situated in 450 acres of magnificent parkland, Lanhydrock House hides behind huge rhododendron bushes and exudes comfortable Victorian living for the elite. A fascinating rambling house to explore, if ever there was a building that typified the ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ factor, then Lanhydrock ticks all the boxes. A Cornish cream tea in the restaurant humbly located in the old stables lets you know how far down the aristocratic ladder you are.
All sites are FREE to visit except Lanhydrock which is a National Trust Property
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