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Showing posts from 2014

South Cornwall for Christmas

Now that the Christmas presents are unwrapped, we have one more thing to unveil... Over the past few months we've been working on a new set of walks in South Cornwall and with the coming of the New Year, we're changing our name to be simply "iWalk Cornwall". Today, we're releasing our first 20 walks along the south coast: click to view the 20 new walks Although our coverage in southern Cornwall will be a little patchy at first, we'll work on filling in the gaps whenever we can. There are a dozen more on the drawing board in various stages of testing. In between invasions of southern ports, we'll also continue adding new walks across northern and central Cornwall, particularly in areas where we don't have many at the moment. As the number of walks now exceeds 150, we've included subdivisions of walks in North, Mid, West and Southeast Cornwall on the website menu as well as the list of all walks. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll also

New walk at Rilla Mill

The walk is just over 4 miles, starting from Rilla Mill. There are a few steep fields to climb which is why we've graded it moderate-strenuous. Fortunately, it passes the pub just before the end so the appetite and/or thirst you've worked up can be satiated. View Walk

New walk at Pendeen

This is a relatively short circular walk at 4 miles but packs in a huge amount of mining heritage, some rugged coastline, a lighthouse, and a gorgeous sandy cove. View Walk The route passes through the Geevor and Levant mines, both which are open to the public, but not on Saturdays. Levant has a restored beam engine and Geevor was one of the last mines to close. They are connected underground by a tunnel created in the 1960s after a leak was plugged in the seabed that flooded the Levant tunnels and 50 million gallons of water were pumped out. The network of tunnels stretches for over 60 miles and extends 1.5 miles out beneath the sea. Where the route meets the coast, the cliffs are stained turquoise with copper salts that have washed out of the mine dumps. A good many ships have met their end on the rocks around Pendeen Watch and so the lighthouse was built at the end of the 19th century. It was a massive engineering project that involved levelling the end of the headland and to

Two new walks near the Devon border

These are two circular walks close to the Devon border near Launceston. The walks are in the region between the River Ottery and the Tamar which was moved into the county of Devon when the Normans redrew the borders - prior to this, the parishes were in Cornwall which is reflected in their more ancient history from the Dark Ages. In the 1960s, the River Tamar was re-instated as the border between Devon and Cornwall. The River Tamar rises so close to the North Cornish coast that the strip of Cornwall which is not separated from Devon by the River Tamar is only around 3.5 miles wide. View Walk The walk passes the far end of the Bude Canal at Druxton Wharf. The soils in the Launceston area are composed of heavy clay, on a geological formation known as the Culm Measures, that easily become waterlogged. The result of decaying vegetation is that the soils become acidic, and many plants used for crops are unable to absorb nitrogen effectively in acidic soils. In addition, the soils are

New walk at Callestick and Ventongimps

This is a circular route of just over 5 miles, in the valleys inland of Perranporth. View Walk The walk passes the remains of the West Chyverton mine which employed over a thousand people at its peak and produced tens of thousands of tonnes of ore. The remains are an odd combination of the fairly typical overgrown Cornish engine house close to a red sandstone canyon that might make you think that you were in a set for a Wild West movie or the Australian Outback. The waste tips are gradually being reclaimed by nature and there are some nice orchids here in the early summer. There are a few moderate gradients along the route, especially along the final lane from Callestick. Fortunately, energy for the climb is available in the form of ice cream from Callestick Farm and it easily forgotten at Healey's Cyder farm when you reach the top of the hill. However, beware that your legs don't also forget how to function (in the strict interests of science, empirical testing with He

New walk at Cape Cornwall

View Walk The walk begins at Cape Cornwall, England's only Cape, which was purchased and gifted to the nation by the Heinz corporation. The old mine chimney which was left as a daymark has been shored-up as The Heinz Monument and does bear some resemblance to a ketchup bottle. The route follows the coast path across the Kenidjack Valley where the stream was once used to power over 50 waterwheels to pump water and crush ore. From the opposite side of the Kenidjack Valley there is a nice view over Cape Cornwall and the origins of its Cornish name are evident (it translates as "the goose-back of St Just"). The route continues along the coast path to Botallack Head, where the two iconic engine houses of Crown Mines are perched on precarious ledges just above the ocean. Inland of this are remains of tin dressing floors and the brick-built labyrinthe used to condense arsenic impurities from the tin. Despite a few grains of pure arsenic being lethal, the men working

New walk at Land's End

The theme park at Land's End is not to everyone's taste or budget. Fortunately it's possible to experience all of the natural beauty of Land's End and the surrounding coastline on a circular walk from Sennen Cove, which also offers much thriftier parking. View Walk In Summer, it's a good plan to arrive fairly early for a few reasons: The roads will be less busy, particularly with tour buses which don't easily fit down the narrow lanes. The route starts at the Harbour Car park, which has the cheapest all-day parking at Sennen Cove so it tends to fill up. Whilst the sun is still in the East, the views are at their best on the approach to Land's End. The route follows the Coast Path from Sennen Cove to Land's End, diverging onto permissive paths where they offer better views. It passes the Pedn Men Du lookout which was originally built by the Coastguard but is now maintained by the National Trust, and has telescopes that the public can use when it is

Two new walks in the Wild West

We've added two new walks in the far northwestern corner of Cornwall, past St Ives and beyond the reach of Victorian "civilisation". These were some of the last Cornish-speaking areas, and the Celtic culture is less diluted here than in many other parts of Cornwall. View Walk View Walk West of St Ives, the huge lump of what is termed "Lands End Granite" creates a moorland landscape that resembles Dartmoor if you look inland, but for around a mile from the coast is a flat "bench" dotted with farms. The bench was formed when sea levels were higher and West Penwith was an island, cut off from the mainland by a gulf located around Hayle and St Erth. The wave action cut a platform into the granite, and when the climate cooled and sea levels dropped, the bench and the Hayle Valley were unveiled. The land here has been farmed since the Bronze Age and the ancient Celtic field systems are still intact. Most fields are square rather than rectangular as

Two new walks in the Luxulyan Valley

The Luxulyan Valley has some of the most impressive Victorian industrial engineering remains in Cornwall, in particular, the absolutely massive granite viaduct spanning the valley, which was the first one built in Cornwall. A group known as the Friends of Luxulyan Valley have championed the restoration of the valley and the creation of a network of permissive paths. In fact, there are so many paths that you can't really visit it all on one walk, so we've created two - following different paths through the valley. The first walk is a reasonably short one and stays within the valley, visiting many of the historic remains. View Walk The second walk is longer and follows along the top of the viaduct out of the valley to join the Saint's Way and returns via the Par canal: View Walk The remains in the valley are largely from the enterprises of Joseph Treffry who owned the nearby Fowey Consols mine - an extremely productive copper mine that was worked using waterwheels driven

New bus walk from Crackington to Widemouth

This is a one-way coastal walk from Crackington Haven to Widemouth Bay using the bus to make the route circular. We advise doing the bus journey first so that you're under no time pressure on your walk. View Walk As you move East along the North Cornish coast, the rocks get slightly younger. Around Delabole, the slates were laid down in the Devonian period when Cornwall was at the bottom of a deep ocean between the two continents that existed at the time and particles of fine mud settled to form the dense slate that is so good for roofing. As you move towards Boscastle and Crackington, the two continents were moving together and the sea was getting shallower so trilobite fossils start to appear in the slates of Boscastle. Crackington, at the start of our walk, has beds of limestone and shale laid down during the Cretaceous period, such as the one below at Wanson Mouth. The layers of shale often contain fossils of creatures from the shallow seas such as shellfish. As the two

New walk at St Issey

A circular walk of 3.5 miles with a few gradients, but predominantly downhill (the uphill sections being mostly quite gradual slopes). View Walk The walk starts at St Issey church and descends into the river valley. The route then follows the river past Melingey Mill and joins the Saint's Way. The walk follows this to Little Petherick, where the church was restored twice, both by famous Gothic architects. From here, the route follows the edge of the creek which is rich in wildlife before rounding the slate tips from the quarries that were used to build Sea Mills. The path then passes the tidal enclosure which was used to drive the mill. A hinged flap allowed water to enter the enclosure with the rising tide but as the tide fell, the water pressure shut the flap, thus creating a head of water to drive the mill. The return route is along small lanes, passing Trevorrick Farm and the Pickwick Inn before returning to St Issey, passing the Ring O’ Bells on the way back to the c

New walk from Cubert

This is a circular walk near Perranporth around the valleys crossed by the Great Perran Lode. There are some reasonably steep climbs so we've graded it at moderate. Combined with the length it can be tiring but fortunately there is pub just before the end so you can have a bit of refreshment before the final climb. View Walk The walk starts at the church - dedicated to St Cubert, who was thought to be a Welsh Missionary and companion of St Carantoc (who gave his name to Crantock). The churchyard is thought to date from Saxon times and the present church dates from the 13th Century, with a rebuild in the 15th century and a restoration in the 19th century after lightning blasted the spire and tower. The walk then descends into the valley to reach Penhale Sands which are carpeted in cowslips in late Spring - probably the most I’ve ever seen in one place. The route then follows small lanes, tracks and footpaths across the fields towards Rose. During April and May, the paths ar

New walk at St Erth

This is a circular walk of just over 3 miles, ending a short distance from the pub. The majority of the walk is on the level but half-way through there is a climb up the hill to Porthcollum so we've graded it at moderate, which should be adequate to work up a thirst. View Walk The walk starts at the church and follows the path alongside the River Hayle to Trennack Mill. Until less than half a century ago the river was polluted from the mining activity in the area. Today it's full of wildlife including water plants, fish and riverside insects such as dsmselflies./p> From here, the route follows a lane to Porthcollum then farm tracks and footpaths across fields and through woods to Tremeling Farm. There are some cracking wildflowers along the tracks in early summer. The route follows a footpath across the fields to Tremeling cottage then joins Green Lane which forms the return route to the church. The walk is available as a guided walk app for Android and also avai

New walk at St Gennys

This is a demanding but rewarding coastal walk of just over 4 miles near Crackington Haven from St Gennys Church to Dizzard. View Walk Starting near the church at St Gennys, the walk heads down a track, across fields and a wooded valley to reach the coast path at Castle Point, named after an Iron Age hillfort perched on the cliff edge which has now mostly crumbled into the sea. In early spring the paths are lined with blackthorn blossom, which I've been assured makes an amazing cordial. The walk follows the coast past Cleave Strand, down the steep-sided valley at Slade and up a steep path to Chipman Point. The name Dizzard is from the Cornish word "deserth" which by now you may have an inkling that it means "very steep"! Shortly after, it turns inland and crosses fields and woods to reach Dizzard Farm. From here, it follows country lanes to reach the hamlet of Tresmorn where there are remains of a mediaeval settlement, and continues on to Cleave Farm via

Two valleys walk at St Neot

The is quite a well-known route, and is even marked on OS maps, though the waymarking is a little hit-and-miss in places so we thought it would be worth writing a comprehensive set of directions for. It is a circular walk of just over 5 miles around the river valleys surrounding St Neot which we grade as moderate to strenuous as there are some steep climbs. View Walk The route starts at the St Neot village car park and passes through the centre of the village, crossing the river. The were once a number of mills powered by the river. The Town Mill is still evident from the millstones propped up against it, and the granite blocks that once held the timber frame to support the huge wooden cogs inside the mill. There is also a curious stone imprisoned in the wall opposite. This is a mortar stone that ore was crushed against within a "blowing house" that once stood behind the mill. The name arises as the waterwheel was used to drive bellows for a furnace to smelt the tin or

New walk from Kilkhampton

This walk is thanks to the Westland Countryside Stewards of Kilkhampton who not only brought Kilkhampton Common to our attention, but actually bought the land, created the permissive paths and manage the habitat. Even on a characteristically showery April day, it was a delightfully pretty walk along the stream. The walk is around 6 miles and has two moderately steep sections, making it a moderately strenuous walk overall. View Walk The route for this walk starts at the church and follows West Street out of Kilkhampton to Kilkhampton Common. It then follows the stream along the bottom of Kilkhampton Common before climbing the valley through the Common to reach a footpath running along the Coombe Valley towards the coast. The route continues along lanes and tracks into the valley to reach Stowe Woods. If you are walking between March and May, there is a big patch of wild garlic beside the route through the woods. Rhododendrons have gone feral within the woods and produce some