Open Access - the Countryside Agency 'Right to Roam' website

I have found the Countryside Agency's Open Access website an immense help in my Cornwall moorland walking, not just on Bodmin Moor but also in West Penwith.  The recently introduced 'Right to Roam' legislation - long agitated for by the Ramblers Association, and initially opposed by many landowners - has resulted in vast areas of land all over England, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall being opened up to the general public.  Essentially these rights are for walkers only - suits me.  To get an overview of access to the countryside, go to the Countryside Access website.  To access the maps, go to the Open Access page.  If you already know the specific location that you want to check on, go to the Search page.  You will first need to check that the location you want is shown on the appropriate Ordnance Survey Explorer map.  Click 'next' and then enter and search for your location.  Maps show restrictions and can be zoomed up to very large scale.  A word of warning.  I soon discovered that 'open access' may not be as straightforward as that.  I have encountered barbed wire fences, locked gates and even one gate on Bodmin Moor, leading to access land, that has a 'no walkers' sign on it.  And, in West Penwith, where moorland is lower, I have found impenetrable furze and bramble.  So don't expect it to be easy.

Ramblers heading down from Carn Galver in West Penwith

Ordnance Survey Explorer maps now show Open Access land as yellow

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Ordnance Survey Maps - The 1:25000 Explorer Series

My earliest walking was done with Jane with the Independent Ramblers, based in Ealing.  With them we learned to love the Chilterns and the Cotswolds.  But we soon graduated to our own independent walks, first from walk books, later of our own devising.  The Ordnance Survey 1:25000 series became our bible.  The current 2005 Explorer series still is my bible (to a degree) particularly as it now shows Open Access land.  But, as with the Bible, you learn not to believe every word.  I use OS maps - and a compass - on almost all my walks, especially on Bodmin Moor and on the moors of West Penwith.  But I have lost trust in the OS.   Since completing Mark Camp's Copper Trail during winter 2006, I have been walking routes of my own devising on Bodmin Moor and have been horrified to discover just how unreliable the Ordnance Survey can be.  A couple of walks in December 2006 proved that.  A path shown from Butterstor to Garrow simply does not exist yet the OS quite fails to show a well waymarked path that runs from Brown Willy to Garrow (and on to King Arthurs Hall).  Below Garrow the OS fails to mark a footbridge over the De Lank River.  It also fails to show a footbridge and clapper bridge that cross the river at the southern foot of Garrow Tor.  Elsewhere I have found marsh that isn't shown, probably because it is not low-lying.  Be advised, take your map and compass and expect the unexpected.

The area covered by OS Explorer 109

Don't expect all antiquities to be marked either

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The Saints Way - a Trail from Padstow to Fowey

In Cornish 'Forth an Syns', in English 'The Saints Way', this trail was also known as the 'Mariners Way'.  The 30 mile trail links two important harbour towns, Padstow on the north coast and Fowey on the south.  While there may be no evidence that this really was a route used by traders and holy travellers between Ireland, Wales and Britanny in early Christian and prehistoric times, it's a nice conceit and makes an enjoyable and different coast-to-coast route.  And it is fair to say that there are plenty of Cornish crosses and standing stones along the way, suggesting a possible ancient cross-country route.  Created in 1986 by a group of Cornish hikers and students of history, the Saints Way has the support of the Cornwall County Council and is being upgraded and improved in 2006. Having completed the Cornish Coast Path in 2005, and Mark Camp's Bodmin Moor Copper Trail in early 2006, the Saints Way was my May/June project.  It gets complicated at Helman Tor as there are then two routes to Fowey, one by Luxulyan, the other by Lanlivery.  As with the Copper Trail, I have just posted a few images of each section, along with a short description.  It was good walking and mostly fairly easy.  Waymarking is mostly clear, using a black cross and yellow direction arrow, but is a little lacking in places and confusing in some others.

Waymarked stile above Petherick Creek near Padstow

NOW go to my Saint's Way page,  but first click for Trail Guides

The Saints Way - the Trail Guides

The original bible of the trail is a hundred page booklet, prepared by Michael Gill and with historical notes by Stephen Colwill.  One way or another, many others were involved - Cliff Townes and Alf Fooks, who had the original inspiration, the Ramblers Association, the Institute of Cornish Studies, the CRS Community Programme, even the Cornish Gorsedd of Bards.  This guide, at over 100 pages, is not ideal to carry with you but is well worth reading through for history and background.  Its maps are indistinct.  The essential guide now is the 2006 Saints Way Guide, published by North Cornwall District Council.  A folder with 8 trail cards (and 5 information cards), each trail card covers about 5 miles, has a good map and an accurate description.  There are good small photographs and information on points of interest along (and just off) the way.  The folder and information cards cover the saints, pilgrims, church features, man and the landscape, wildlife and nature reserves.  As the folder suggests, you would do well to carry Ordnance Survey Explorer maps 106 and 107 with you.  I have three criticisms - too much road, occasionally unclear waymarking and too few decent pubs along the way except in Lanivet, Lanlivery and Golant.

The guide suggests Padstow to Fowey.  NOW go to my Saint's Way page

Trail waymark above Tregustick on card 3

St. Michael's Way - for walkers only

	Like the Saints Way, St. Michael's Way has been around for some time and claims to be a logical route for ancient travellers heading from Ireland and Wales to avoid the perils of Land's End and the Scilly Isles.  It begins at St. Uny Church at Lelant on the north coast and ends 12 miles later at Marazion on the south, opposite St. Michael's Mount.  In fact travellers would have sailed up the Hayle estuary to St. Erth and had only five miles to Marazion - but that would hardly have qualified as a trail!  To make it a worthwhile distance, the trail first follows the coast path to Carbis Bay, then heads inland to Trencrom Hill, the halfway point.  Do climb the hill for views. Then it's downhill all the way to Marazion.  Simply walked in one go, using the 300 bus between Lelant and Marazion, but I chose to do is as two round walks.  As with the Saints Way, it is waymarked with its own sign, in this case a scallop.  And as with the Saints Way, the route is not always entirely clear, so best take Ordnance Survey Explorer sheet 102.
Trencrom Hill has views of  both coasts	NOW go to my St. Michael's Way page	Waymark

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The Mineral Tramways Trails

In 2006 UNESCO World Heritage status was granted to large areas of the mining landscape of Cornwall and West Devon.  While much of the credit for this achievement must go to organisations like the Trevithick Truat and the National Trust, and to many concerned individuals, Cornwall County Council acted as a major driver.  Indeed their Mineral Tramways Project has, in its way, underpinned the whole project by opening up access to many of the inportant sites in the Camborne/Redruth area.  We first leaned of the existence of mineral tramways when walking around Minions on Bodmin Moor and finding double lines of granite setts.  When we learned of the opening of the Mineral Tramways - the Great Flat Lode and the Coast to Coast - we walked those and loved them.  Now (in 2006) work is beginning to open up another 20 miles in 2008 - the Redruth and Chacewater Railway, the Portreath Branchline from Brea, a Tolgus Trail linking the Coast to Coast to Redruth, and a Tehidy Trail through Tehidy Park from Portreath.  I have already (December 2007) walked the approximate line of most of the new trails.  I look forward to the official openings in 2008, when I shall update these reports.

Carn Brea Mine, at the start of the Great Flat Lode Trail

NOW go to my Mineral Tramways page

Update June 2008.  I have been disappointed in progress of the new trails.  Only the Tehidy Trail is complete.  There have been route problems with others and I see little hope of them all being completed during 2008.  I have updated some reports.

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The Camel Trail

Until the 1970s a branch railroad in the Camel Valley linked Padstow and Wadebridge with the main line at Bodmin.  Now it is an 18-mile hiking, horse riding and cycling trail, extended to Wenford Bridge on a former quarry tramway, again alongside the river.  For the cyclist it then effectively continues as the Camelford Way as far as the town of Camelford, making a total trail of some 26 miles.  If you are visiting Bodmin, an short extension to th trail follows what was once a packhorse route as far as Bodmin Jail.  You can get refreshments in Padstow and Wadebridge, at a tea garden near Dunmere, at the excellent Borough Arms at Dunmere and at a tea room off the trail in Tresarret.  Hikers, beware summer vacation time when there can often be far too many cyclists for comfort, particularly between Padstow and Wadebridge.  Horses and hikers are supposed to take precedence over cyclists but not many cyclists choose to behave as if they know that.  Bikes can be hired in Padstow, Wadebridge and Bodmin.  For walkers the level firm terrain could not be easier - but can be extremely boring compared with the Coast Path or Bodmin Moor.  The most interesting section to walk is that between Padstow and Wadebridge which follows the delightful estuary of the River Camel.

Padstow Harbour, start of the Camel Trail

Trail leaflet from TICs.  Go tp my Camel Trail page

The Copper Trail - circular trail round Bodmin Moor

Mark Camp is known as an authority on Bodmin Moor.  In 2005, he excelled himself with a continuous 60 mile trail around the moor, which he calls the Copper Trail, appropriately since Minions and Caradon Hill were once the centre of a great copper mining boom.  The Trail begins at Minions village and goes by way of  St. Neot, Bodmin, St. Breward, Camelford, Five Lanes (near Altarnun) and back to Minions.  After completing the Cornish Coast Path, this was my next project.  But, unlike Mark's route, I did  it in a series of short out-and-backs or circulars.  In winter 2006 it proved very wet and muddy - but none the worse for that - with an enormous amount of interest, with high moorland (I love it), remote farms, ancient monuments, clapper bridges, Cornish crosses, boundary stones and mine ruins along the way.  Thanks to Mark, I have now devised and enjoyed many of my own walks on the moor. Recommended pubs along the trail are the Crows Nest, the London Inn at St. Neot and the Old Inn at St. Breward.  I have had many good lunches at all these and also enjoyed the King's Head at Five Lanes and Racehorse at North Hill.  For a description of the route you can't better Mark's booklet;  I have just added below a selection of photos taken along the way, some on-trail, some off - and a few comments. It's all on OS109.

Visitor Centre in an engine house at Minions

NOW go to my Copper Trail page  Official Copper Trail Web Site

The Clay Trails - Cyclists, Horse Riders and Walkers

We were delighted when in June 2005 the new Cornwall Clay Trails opened, in conjunction with improvements at the Wheal Martyn Museum of China Clay.  It took a lot of co-operation and clearly a vast amount of money to complete the project.  The bodies involved included Cornwall County Council, the Eden Project, the National Cycle Network people Sustrans, the Lottery Fund and Imerys, the company that operates the vast clay fields. The Clay Trails are essentially Cycle Trails.  Paths are wide, firm and well drained, the few gradients are relatively gentle and their clear purpose is to encourage people to arrive at the Eden Project (so many go there) by bike.  There are effectively four Clay Trails.  Wheal Martyn to Eden, with a detour towards Carthew, definitely the scenic trail and the best for walkers.  Bugle (where you can rent bikes) to Eden, not very scenic, except for a detour on foot round Treskilling Pit.  Par Beach (near Imerys clay exporting harbour) to St. Blazey, with a footpath extension to Eden. And Wheal Martyn to St. Austell, which continues south to link with the Pentewan Valley Trail.  Simple waymarking is good and explanatory displays are being installed at some points of interest.  Occasional shelters have domed grassy roofs.

Massive spoil heap on Hensbarrow Down

NOW go to my Clay Trails page   Trails website

The Land's End Trail - Cornish Section - Land's End to Tavistock

The Land's End Trail was conceived by Hugh Miners and researched  by Cornish Ramblers Robert Wicks,   Robert Preston and Robin Menneer.  It runs from Land's End to Avebury in Wiltshire, a distance of almost 300 miles.  It was Robin Menneer of the Guild of Cornish Hedgers who told me about it in 2007.  I found the route, in an east-west direction, in The Celtic Way by Val Saunders Evans (Sigma Leisure 1998).  I made it my project for 2007 and published to the web the route and my experiences on it.  Much as I enjoyed the exercise, I was puzzled that the directions took me only to St. Michael's Mount, with a subsequent loop - the Penwith Round - from Mousehole via Cape Cornwall to Penzance.  It was not until 2008 that I learned from Robin that the original west-east research notes still existed.  It transpired that Robert was re-walking the trail in that direction, doing clearance and restoring chevron waymarks.  My 2008 project beckoned and, accompanied by friend and neighbour Richard Lowe, I walked the trail from Land's End to Tavistock in Devon.  With the encouragement of the original LET Group I have expanded the route notes and have compiled web pages.  These consist of a Home Page, a PDF file with maps and directions, a page of my own Commentary and a page of Interest encountered along the way

The signpost at Land's End - oddly not on the original trail

NOW go to THE LAND'S END TRAIL HOME PAGE

In due course the Land's End Trail web pages will have their own site.  The route will then continue all the way to Avebury and will then be described in both directions.  Please note that the route directions in the PDF file may be subject to minor amendments from time to time.  Please note also that the maps in the PDF route file are tempoorary.  We have plans to improve them greatly.  In the meantime, we hope they will suffice as a useful adjunct to the route diections and, of course, the essential use of the appropriate Ordnance Survey Explorer maps.  We hope also to include a page of Cornish round walks based on the Trail.

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The Penwith Round - 38 miles Mousehole to Penzance, 51 from Trencrom Hill

Unlike the Land's End Trail, which eschews mention of anything of real significance along the way in its hurry to get into West Penwith, the Penwith Round, an extension of the Land's End Trail, seems to have another purpose entirely.  The purpose is not so much to get you from A to B as to educate and entertain you along the way.  There is a full route description but there is also a great deal of antiquarian and historical description as the Round leads you meanderingly from one prehistoric site to another.  The Penwith Round route description begins at Trencrom Hill but I included this section to St. Michael's Mount in my Land's End Trail saga.  It then omits a few miles and takes up again at Mousehole.  Section 2 is Mousehole to Treen, 3 is Treen to Crows-an-Wra, 4 is Crows-an-Wra to Cape Cornwall and 5 Cape Cornwall to Penzance.  Ancient highlights along the way include the Merry Maidens and Pipers, Treryn Dinas cliff castle, Boscawen-un circle, the crosses and holy well at Sancreed, Carn Euny iron age village, Chapel Carn Brea, Bollowal Barrow, Chun Castle and Quoit, Bodrifty iron age village and Mulfra Quoit.  Buses were useful but I had to split the Treen to Crows-an-Wra section in two.   My reports do not include route directions - only comments on them - but you can access the full details below.

Cape Cornwall seen from Boswedden Cliff

Go to my Penwith Round Page - Download PDF Penwith Round description

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The Smugglers Way - 37 miles from Boscastle harbour to Looe harbour

This was my winter 2009 project, which I had hoped to walk with friend and neighbour Richard.  Unfortunately Richard got an injury and I ended up doing the walk solo.  The Smugglers Way is the creation of Frank Squibb of Falmouth, who walked it in 1994 and has published three editions of his guide booklet (see below), the latest version in 2002.  If you are competive (I'm not) you could go for Richard Harvey's record of 6 hours and 48 minutes one way (was he running?)  or Dave and Anne Carrivick's there-and-back time of 21 hours and 37 minutes.  Frank's booklet describes the route in both directions with sketch maps.  Route descriptions are clear and easy to follow, maps are detailed enough.  Frank divides the route into 8 short stages, the longest 7.2 miles.  From north to south - the way I walked it - the trail runs from Boscastle harbour to Davidstow Moor,  over the summit of Brown Willy, on to Jamaica Inn, by Dozmary Pool and over Brown Gelly to Dobwalls, on to Herodsfoot, and along the West Looe River to the Banjo Pier at Looe.   There is  camping at New Park Farm on the edge of Davidstow Moor and at Lower Trenant near Draynes.  I divided my walk into four sections averaging around nine miles each.   I used Ordnance Survey Explorer maps 111, 109 and 107 to supplement Frank's directions and maps.

Now go to my Smugglers Way reports  page

The River Valency in Boscastle

More information on Frank's Smugglers Way web site, including the occasional update to take account of things like the opening of the Dobwalls bypass.  The booklet is available from Frank Squibb, 4 Basset Place, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 2SS, price £2.50 including postage.