Warleggan and its environs

The second time we've put our boots on this week and this time it was for a wet 7.5 miler on the western fringes of Bodmin Moor. An area not visited much by ourselves, or anyone else for that matter. Off the beaten track it surely is and that's a good thing as it's quiet. Our circular route took us from Pantersbridge to Warleggan, up the Glynn Valley to Cardinham Moor and then back to our starting point via Fore Downs and Mount. A good stretch of the legs, great scenery and lots of history.  

The only village of any size we passed through - and it really was a case of blink and you'll miss it - was Warleggan. Apart from being the name of some character in that dubious costume drama set in Cornwall, Poldark, it's known for its eccentric (not mad) vicar, the Reverend Frederick Densham, its incumbent between 1931 and 1953. Rev Densham's eccentricity and autocratic habits led to a boycott by parishioners and caused him to preach to his dead predecessors' name cards, otherwise an empty church. It is said for over twenty years he preached to an empty church and, week after week as the service reached its conclusion, he would note poignantly in the register, “No fog, no wind, no rain, no congregation”. His death in 1953 was as lonely as his life had been. He died on the staircase of the vicarage where he lay undiscovered for two days. When they finally found his body, his arm was reaching for the bell rope, his last moments having evidently been spent attempting to summon the assistance of his alienated parishioners. There's one more thing to say about Rev Densham: his ghost is supposed to haunt the church grounds, trying to entice people to join a service.

There's always something interesting, if not downright strange, around every corner in Cornwall.

Here's the route, way to the west of Bodmin Moor and just outside of St Neot.

The first mile was a bit of a slog uphill along a very old track. The wet slate bottom of which made it quite tricky to negotiate. It leads up to Warleggan village/hamlet and at one time would have been an important access route. Warleggan had the reputation of being one of the most isolated villages in Cornwall and has only had a decent road to the outside world since the mid-1950s.

I couldn't work out what was old. A band room for old musicians, perhaps? Or an old room for all musicians? It was originally a brew house before it became the place where the Warleggan band would practise. The band has been long gone and was probably a product of the population increase due to the thriving local mines in the mid-1800s.

St Bartholomew's church at Warlegggan, dating from the 11th Century, with a short and squat tower. Up until the early 1800s, it had an elegant spire but this was lost in a fire and was never rebuilt. Something else of interest is its circular graveyard, a regular feature of old Cornish churches that have Celtic origins.

And in the bell tower a fern shadowing a plaque to repairs made in 1754. Looks like they have a little problem with damp.

Shall we call this one 'dead tree with lichen'?

This is something we haven't encountered on our walks for a while - waterlogged tracks. Lots of those today. In fact, the rain was so heavy at times that my camera was kept covered up for a lot of the walk.

An attractive combination of gorse and heather. Interestingly the heather was much further advanced than it was on our Dartmoor walk last week.

These are the remains of the Glynn Valley china clay workings on the side of Cardinham Moor. #1 are the two spoil heaps that are visible for miles. Once excavated the sandy clay mixture was mixed with water and run through narrow concrete channels (#2) in which the heavier sand settled and the china clay suspension piped into large circular settling tanks (#3). From these the gelatinous sediment was removed from the bottom and then dried in drying 'ponds'. The workings date from the early twentieth century but were run-down by the late 1940s. 

A view of the landscape towards the higher pars of Bodmin Moor. But look more closely and there's a lot more to see. #1: the diagonal line heading down shows the sites of various tine workings, dating as early as the 18th century. #2 and #3: leats carrying water to various water wheels and extractive processes for tin. #4: you can just about make out the remains of an old furnace. #5: those with keen eyes can make out the circular shapes of a series of buddles used in tin ore refinement. It's all there if you know where to look and how to interpret the remains.

On a wall of a house in Mount village. Foreign spirituous liquors? Probably referring to brandy and rum and dating from the mid 1700s when excise duty was a big deal. Think smugglers.