Up the Fowey for a stretch of the legs

And now for something relatively different - a walk that doesn't involve the coast or a moor. This one took us to St Neot and alongside the River Fowey for a while. Lots of autumn colour and enough up and downs to make it a good stretch of the legs and lungs.

We started and ended at |Treverbyn Bridge and the circular route was around 6.5 miles. The elevation profile was as hilly as it looks.

Our starting point as the medieval bridge at Treverbyn, crossing the River Fowey. The
greater part of its build is of early 15th century date but the western
part of the bridge incorporates substantial remains from an earlier phase. Mr Google says "The western part of the bridge contains pre-C15 fabric, which was referred to in around 1412 as ‘threatening total ruin’. Donations to the Church for the repair of bridges were common in early Christianity and in the medieval period, and ‘Indulgences’ issued by the Church guaranteed penance for sin for a certain number of days in exchange for labour or money to the repair of building of a bridge. In 1412 or 1413, Bishop Stafford, the Bishop of Exeter granted an Indulgence to fund the repair of Treverbyn Bridge, providing a pardon of forty days penance from sin for contributors. These repairs are evident in the fabric of the bridge’s eastern arches".  

Although it's had to imagine now, Treverbyn Bridge was once on the main road between Liskeard and Bodmin. Nowdays all vehicular traffic goes over the newer bridge to the right.

I suppose you might as well be comfortable when you are fishing. This river is really good for Brown Trout, or so I've read.

Looking down the River Fowey.

At the hamlet of Lower Tranent we came across the old Bible Christian Methodist Chapel. It originates from the 1830s/1840s and was closed in 1963. The building is now used as the office for a camping and caravanning site. There are a couple of interesting facts about this chapel. Firstly, this Schedule II monument is listed as 'details unknown' - not even Mr Google can shed any light on it. Secondly, the chapel did not have a graveyard when it was first consecrated but one was later added when the local C of E church in St Neot refused to bury anyone who was baptised into the Bible Christian Sect. Sadly, the first person to take advantage of the new 'facility' was a 13 year old girl from a nearby farm.

A pattern of leaves, with just a touch of green from holly and lichen

The traditional way of getting over a stone wall. This one was particularly difficult to spot as, at a distance, it was indistinguishable from its background. How old are these? Obviously as old as the walls in which they are built. This one? Given the state of the wall, pretty old - and still standing. Negotiating wet, moss-covered stones is always such fun

We never came across the Kindling Kid, unless his alter-ego was the stick underneath this covering. It's a pity Stan Lee of Super Hero fame has just died otherwise he might have been interested in a franchise for Kindling Kid. Just when you thought your fire would never light, in flies Kindling Kid.

It seems absolutely ages since I've had a good wallow in some proper mud. Loverly.

The mist came down and visibility was limited. It was one of those rare occasions (actually, there have only been three previous times in my eight years of having one) when my GPS was used in earnest. With no visual reference points, it was useful to keep us on the right track across some featureless fields.

Another stile, a little steeper than most and with the added joy of
a hurdle to negotiate at the top. There's no point in making things easy for walkers. We relish a challenge.

A green lane leading off the open land down to the farms. Once upon a time, these would have been used to take cattle up for their summer grazing. Perhaps they still are.

The old farmhouse of Wortha looking rather foreboding in the mist

An ideal spot for our lunch break: by a rushing, gurgling stream.

The trig point on Berry Down. Formally, it's the trig point at Hut Camp Fort, taking its name from the nearby early prehistoric hillfort with outwork and outlying stone hut circle known as Berry Castle. Unfortunately the poor visibility and bracken growth conspired to obscure what was there to see. A case for a revisit? And the trig point? Apparently it is the 1837th most visited trig point on the Trigpointing.uk website. I suppose that gives it a certain cachet.

Wenmouth Cross, described as a 'mutilated Latin cross of unknown age'. It is much decorated on its four sides, although this is much obscured. It is also known as the '4-hole cross' as, on one side, there are 4 holes, reminders that it was once used as a gatepost! It was rescued by the Old Cornwall Society and reinstated in the 1930s.

And it's back to the beginning. A route to be repeated, possibly in the spring when the woods are bedecked with fresh greenery.