Cornwall's town and villages are many and varied, ranging from small and rural hamlets to bustling visitor resorts. With its central location and solitary status as a city, Truro holds the title as Cornwall's 'capital' and in turn is the centre for trade and commerce.
On exploration of Cornwall you will come across many unusual and distinctively Cornish place names which allude to our native language. Look out for towns and villages named after saints, such as St Agnes, St Austell and St Ives which refer to the early Celtic Christian missionaries who first brought Christianity to Cornwall. Some other common prefixes which feature in place names across the county are:
Tre(v) - house, farm or village
Chy - dwelling
Ros(e) - heath or moor
Bod, Bos, Boj - dwelling
Lan - church or monastery
Pen - headland
Pol - pool or pond
To discover more about Cornwall's towns and villages, and specific areas such as Bodmin Moor and The Lizard Peninsula, use the search facility on the right, and tick to plot the results on a map and have fun exploring the county.
A great way to explore Cornish towns and villages is by doing a Treasure Trail; a fun way to get you out and about exploring, whilst solving an intriguing mystery. There are 39 Treasure Trails across Cornwall which get friends and family outside walking in the fresh air, following the easy instructions to hunt out answers to clues in the most beautiful and interesting parts of a town or village.
