A walk on Bodmin East Moor - away from the madding crowds.

Another dry day without the recent high spots and Bodmin East Moor was the target for our walk today. A select band of only five of us this time but, what we lacked in quantity, was more than made up in quality. The rest of our usual walkers missed a good one but one that wouldn’t need much arm twisting to do again. This part of Bodmin Moor is definitely off the beaten track and sees very few visitors. In fact, we've never come across anyone else on our walks and today was no exception. Bodmin Moor vs Dartmoor? Both but it depends where and when you go.

We started out in a lay-by adjacent to the Bastreet Water Treatment Works (our water comes from there) and then dropped down along the lane to Tolcarne. From there we skirted the edge of the moor and ascended Fox Tor. After finding our way to the Nine Stones Circle we walked over the ridge back to the cars. It was just under 7 miles and a good varied route to take whatever the weather.

The view from our starting point - open moorland with a generous covering of gorse and ferns. If the navigation worked out correctly, we'd come down from this ridge at the end of our walk.

A leafy lane leading up onto the moor. Originally it probably took cattle up from nearby Tolcarne Farm for grazing.

The flower spike of Umbilicus Rupestris - Navelwort or Pennywort. The young leaves make a tasty and crispy snack when you are walking along. 

Clitters cottage - definitely off-grid. Not abandoned and still used occasionally by the owners.

The porch is constructed of some very impressive slate slabs.

Slates so unique that the owners improvised when it came to fitting shelves for wellies etc. Suspend them from the rafters on lengths of baler twine.

This pair of Tilley Lamps seemed natural subjects for a monochrome shot. I remember my paternal grandmother using these when I first visited her original bungalow in Woodingdean, outside of Brighton.

Some deciduous leafy shade.

Some coniferous needley shade.

The River Lynher at Trevague Ford. The clapper bridge is a two-slab construction and dates from the 19th Century, so mo particular antiquity there. Once upon a time, there was a large mill nearby and, so my sources told me, even a village green. All very quiet now and rather nicely isolated. At this time of the year, the ford is easily walked through. If you want to read more about the course of the Lynher, you can no better than head for the Blog of our friend and neighbour, Mary Atkinson. You can find it at: https://maryatkinsonwildonline.blogspot.com/2021/04/cornish-rivers-1-lynher-in-spring.html

'X' does indeed mark the spot where we were heading - Fox Tor standing at 323 metres (1060 feet). It’s all uphill from here!

This year has not been a good year for butterflies and we came across comparatively few on our way around. Here's a Red Admiral and a Meadow Brown enjoying the sun.

Approaching the trig point on the summit of Fox Tor. Not a particularly slog to get up here, more of a steady incline with a steep bit at the end.

But it’s worth the effort for the panoramic views. Fox Tor is the 10765th highest 'peak' in the British Isles  and is the 1539th highest in England. Hardly vertiginous. Whilst dealing with numbers, this trig point is documented as the 812th most visited in the UK.

And we are heading to that ridge in the distance but not by the direct route as this would take us through some very marshy ground. Been there, done that, got the wet socks. For most of the year, the area is one large bog and must be treated with care. In the ‘wet’ season (most of the year, really), following well defined animal tracks is generally a good idea. And avoid any areas of Cotton Grass as this likes getting its roots wet.

I'm not great at identifying orchids but I think both of these are Heath Spotted Orchids. We hit a patch when there were lots of these but they were the only ones we came across.

The Nine Stones circle is the smallest of its kind on Bodmin Moor. It was heavily restored in 1889, when only two stones remained erect whilst the others were recumbent. Who knows how accurate the reconstruction was but I always think it looks rather eerie in its isolated position. Usually, it’s standing in the middle of a pool of water as it’s so damp up here. Nowadays the stones function as a series of rubbing posts for cattle - a modern use for a Bronze Age monument.

The East Moor is well used for grazing by the local farmers and there are usually lots of sheep, cattle and horses to be seen.  Cows and their calves are generally to be approached with an appropriate level of caution.

On the ridge before dropping back down to the car. A little hazy in the distance but that's where Plymouth Sound can just be made out.

Septuagenarians on Bodmin Moor - Bolventor and beyond

We've driven across Bodmin Moor on the A30 many, many times. And occasionally we have stopped at Jamaica Inn, which most people associate with this part of the moor. But we've never been there with the intention of taking a walk in the surrounding countryside. Last week we did and here's a post to prove it. It was great walking in a new area and along tracks and footpaths that were obviously not well-trodden.

A 6.3 mile circular route that took us over the River Fowey twice, onto Codda Down, Webbs Down and Palmersbridge before returning to our starting point. Which was just opposite Jamaica Inn on the north side of the A30. Not the best of days weatherwise and I'd grade this walk as 'moderate' with a fairly difficult stretch across a few fields of tufty grass. Oh, I should mention the rather poor signposting - and probably equally poor map reading - that lead to a few moments (!) of confusion.

Our starting point, showing the mizzly hazy conditions that accompanied us for a great part of our walk. There were, however, some periods of blue skies and clear views. Typical Cornish weather really.

It's a good year for all sort of berries.

Looking up the valley towards Leskernick Hill in the centre distance. Keen eyes might be able to make out the isolated Leskernick Cottage, nestling at the base of the hill. An almost blue sky.

For lovers of sheep creeps, here's a good one for you to admire. Made to look even more attractive by the brown of the bracken.

The River Fowey is formed from the drainage of Fowey Marsh, which is probably a mile or so from this point. Luckily there was a rather handy footbridge to get us over this bit without having to wade.

Browngelly in the distance.

Move 45 degrees from the above and we can see Brown Willy. Most of the farm land in this area has been reclaimed from the open moor since the early 1800s. When the reclamation first started, Bolventor was known as 'Bold Venture' which gives a good indication of how difficult farming was thought to be.

Brown Willy in the mist. We really must make an effort to get up there.

I've already mentioned the questionable signposting and here's a good example. Spot the finger post.

Our second crossing of the Fowey - Palmersbridge. One of those places that are so quiet that it seems a pity to intrude. But intrude we had to to get to the other side..............

....and have the joy of negotiating this steep, leaf-bestrewn cattle track. This lead from Dryworks Farm, over the ford by the bridge and then up to grazing on the moor. I doubt whether it's done that often nowadays.

Bowithick and Buttern Hill

 The weekend weather forecast was not brilliant so we took advantage of a clear spell for a Saturday afternoon jaunt. But where to go? Somewhere new and we headed for one of those hidden parts of Bodmin Moor where you would almost have to be lost in order to find. Bowithick was our destination on the West Moor, just a touch to the east of our last walk in these parts. And a first for us was following a route using the i-Walk Cornwall app. Normally we use my GPS but this walk seemed worth a trial of the phone app.

We started at the base of Bray Down by a ford and took a circular route up and over Buttern Hill. There is a lot of water in these parts as it encompasses the sources of both the Fowey (flowing due south as indicated) and the Inny (flowing due east). Our route took us between (blue dot) the source marshes of both and ensured that we did not end up wading through blanket bog. At 4.3 miles, and not particularly strenuous, it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. And we did not see anyone else all the way around. 

From where we left the car, we headed up through areas of large granite boulders. I couldn't see any signs of the boulders being ever worked so it must be a natural distribution.

I don't think this Highland cow fully understands the rules of 'Hide and Seek'.

Our Highland cow guide taking us through some of the remains of the processing area of Buttern Hill Mine.

A leat is always a giveaway for some sort of industrial action - in this case, the Buttern Hill mine.

The phone app said to head for a large cuboid boulder on the edge of the mine. Not quite cuboid but this is it. Mrs P does not look convinced.

Buttern Hill was an open cast mine from which tin ores were extracted. It really is a big site and would, most probably, have been built over a place used for mediaeval tin streaming.  During both the 1st and 2nd World Wars the mine was worked by German Prisoners of War, with the nearby farm at Bowithick being the site of the P.O.W. Camp.

A satellite view gives a much better idea of the size of the mine - it's that half mile long enormous scar in the landscape. The dark lines on both sides are leats bringing vital water to power wheels etc. At the top right are the lighter roads which took material to the various processing areas - buddles, smelting etc.

To the north are the gleaming spires of the Davidstow Creamery, makers of Cathedral City cheese. Bodmin Moor has neither a cathedral nor anything that vaguely resembles a city - or town, for that matter.

As we headed up the rather featureless side of Buttern Hill, Brown Willy loomed larger and larger.

As we approach the summit, the first of a linear grouping of reasonably well defined cairns comes into view. The first one was about 12 ft across and had the typical 'robbed out' appearance. Not bad at all. From this cairn it was a short walk to the larger cairn that crowns the summit. Even from this close all we expected to find is a low pile of stones, albeit larger than the previous cairn. 

How wrong could we be! We were not prepared for the 'contents' of the primary cairn. Its low bank, about 30 to 35ft across, surrounds a cist with all four walls intact and the capstone perched over it. The cist is about 6ft long and 3 ft wide with a solid granite floor. How come we have not read about it before? This is one of the best preserved cists we have found on the moor, and Dartmoor for that matter. It's Bronze Age but is it a stone coffin or a burial chamber? Originally, it would undoubtedly be covered with stone and soil and would have appeared as a large mound, visible from all angles and for miles around.

This aerial view gives the relationships of the cairns on the top of Buttern Hill. Look very closely and you might just be able to make out the outline of a circular embankment that encompasses them all.

We are heading for that clump of trees in the distance but the direct route would take us right through the large marsh where the Inny begins. We have to keep to the high ground and loop around to the left.

We start by heading for the first dip from the left on the horizon and then dropping down to a track that becomes obvious once more height has been gained. This part was open moorland and we had to pick our own route for the direction we wanted.

The top of Brown Willy in the distance. We’ve realised that we’ve never actually been up there but we will rectify that omission in the near future.

Now, these are what I call fence posts! I couldn’t help but wonder why these were used instead of wooden ones. I’m presuming it was all down to the ready availability of the raw materials and cheap labour.

A 'sheep creep' that enables sheep to get from one field to the next. There was a time when the hedge posed a more formidable barrier that it does now.

A 'fish creep' that enables fish to get from one part of the nascent River Inny to the next. It is a very important way of maintaining valuable fish stocks.

Three ways of getting to the other side of the Inny - a ford, a rather modern footbridge and an older multi-arched stone bridge (originally designed to take wagons from the mine). Mrs P is wondering which one would be best to take. In the end, she cleared the Inny in a single leap. Impressive but ultimately a waste of energy as I drove through the ford in the car and met her on the other side.