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Mr Hamhead’s TMA Blog

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The Quoits of Penwith

With the weather forecasters telling us that the whole country was to be in the grip of an Ice Age by mid week I headed for subtropical St Ives. My partner had a two day conference to go to so I thought I would join her and get in some walking at the same time.

Tuesday 27th Jan 2004

Drove out of St Ives a couple of miles to the hamlet of Towednack. In the porch of the church on the right is a recumbent stone that according to Ian Cooke's guide to the Tinners Way came from Crete in 2000-1500BC.

Towednack Double Armed Cross — Fieldnotes

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This cross can be found just inside the porch of the Church. It forms a bench on the right hand side.

Towednack Double Armed Cross — Miscellaneous

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According to Ian Cooke's book "The Tinner's Way", this cross design originated in Crete in 2000-1500BC. It represents part of an axe-cult concerned with royalty and a goddess priesthood.
What it is doing in West Cornwall is not known...or is it?

The graveyard of the church is in a round suggesting a pre christian site.

Towednack Double Armed Cross — Images

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<b>Towednack Double Armed Cross</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead

Left the church and took the footpath heading west to Beagletodn. Just after the house a gate on the right (padlocked) has to be climbed over so a track can be followed.

You will find in these two walks that I have not stuck to legal paths but made my own way over what is essentilly wild moorland. This is possible in mid January as the bracken has died down but even so I would reccomend wearing waterproof trousers and taking a stick.

The track twists its way amongst boulders and water features untill you come to a gate near the Pump House featured on the OS map. Go through the gate and turn right. You will soon find yourself walking up between two walls (not for the last time that you will be following ancient trackways). At the top of this track you come to another gate, once the other side of it it is time to head out over the moors towards Sperris Quoit.

Sperris Quoit — Images

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<b>Sperris Quoit</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead

Sperris Quoit — Fieldnotes

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Bit of a battle to find this, It may be easier from the road (B3306)? All the books say it gets very overgrown in summer and untill a fire in 1997 had been hidden for many years. Well I can report that it is stilll viewable and the chamber has yet to dissapear amongst the gorse again. The large upright is what you have to use to find it and I must say that without having my copy of Romance of the Stones with me I might have missed it.

Lying south of the main carn it is a scramble down over the boulders with no real path. The main stone is about 4ft high all the other stones are curb stones.

It is thought the capstone was used during the construction of the nearby mine building but if you look nearby you will notice a stone hedge running to the south east. I wonder if some of these stones were once the capstone.

This place is worth a visit, it is only a short walk from the much more visited Zennor Quoit but for some reason seems to get ignored.

Sperris Quoit — Folklore

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Sperris is supposedly Cornish for sprite, ghost or goblin (Romance of the Stones). Perhaps that is why my camera didn't want to work at first and then when it did a rainbow appeared over the quoit?

Known as one of the most elusive sites in Cornwall I battled my way through the bracken and gorse in a north westerly direction untill I saw the pile of rocks on the skyline. Don't be mistaken by Sperris Croft, a smaller pile but nethertheless named on the OS map.

Reaching the rock piles you will get great views over to the coast and also of Zennor Hill. The quoit lays just to the south of the rocks and can be distinguished by one triangular upright. Even from here it is not easy to reach and requires some scrambling amongst the stones. Keep an eye out for the ancient stone wall that runs off to the SEast, did they use stones from the quoit in its construction?

Leaving the rocks walk towards the ruined mine building. Wheal Sperris was a small mine started in the early 1800's, all around this area are open shafts, water channels and various holes in the ground. If you do leave the path, beware, it's pretty uneven ground.

Zennor Quoit looms on the horizon to the SWest and the path is easy to follow.

Zennor Quoit — Images

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Zennor Quoit — Fieldnotes

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We have to thank Borlase for saving this monster, imagine what it must have been like before the farmer got going with his tools.
Whats left of the capstone is massive, stretched myself up it but I am lost against it. Thought about climbing it then thought best not, respect.

For the first time today the helicopters have arrived, just when I was enjoying the peace.

Once there I was undecided as to which way to go next, down to Zennor and the Tinners Arms, or onto other sites. The fact that I could see Mulfra Quoit on the horizon weighted my decision and I decided to head south along the old trackway before turning west to the Bishop's Head and Foot boundry marker. This involved trudging through along muddy paths but the sense of space and the fact that the sun was shining made up for it. On the left hand side of the road beside Kerrowe Cottage is a stone with a nice carving on it,

Kerrowe Carved Stone — Images

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<b>Kerrowe Carved Stone</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead

I don't believe it tobe very old and judging by the "standing stones" opposit possibly a residents artwork.

Follow the tarmaced track to the road then carry on ahead to the "main" road. Cross the road and find the path that leads up over the northern saddle of Mulfra Hill. Yet again I decided to head out cross open moor and took myself off up the side of the hill. A couple of times I thought I had stuimbled across an unknown stone circle lying hidden in the gorse but decided my imagination was playing tricks. There is so much rock up there and at times you can trace a large arc between them, but never mind.

Eventually I picked up a path and found the quoit.

Mulfra Quoit — Images

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Mulfra Quoit — Fieldnotes

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Mulfra sits overlooking Mount's Bay, on a fine day one of the best views in Cornwall. I was lucky, I got such a day. Like others I found the route up was not easy, or the route down....but it was worth it for the view.
The cap stone has fallen so you can nicely position yourself to take it all in, have a snack and if time a little nap.
I shall return when next in the area, when hopefully it will be a little warmer and the helicopters of RNAS Culdrose arn't doing exercises.

I could not have asked for a better view, the Lizard stood out clear as a bell, St Michael's Mount sat below me and the sun caught the roofs of Newlyn giving them a silver coating. Time for a cup of coffee and a rest.

I suddenly realised time was getting on and I was far from the car. A footpath supposedly runs east from here down to the road but somewhere along the way I lost it and just plunged down the hillside dwarfed by boulders before reaching a forest of Rhododendrons.

I had thought of visiting the Tyre Menhir but time was getting on so I headed to Tyre Farm and turned left along another muddy footpath. Reaching a large Badger holt the path carries on cross a field to a gate beside a small pond (puddle!). In the next field a new fence has been eracted and the route of the path is not clear. However what is marked on the OS map as a round wall around a shaft interested me, is it just a round wall or is it a hillfort?

Trye Hillfort — Fieldnotes

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Still looking for info to confirm this site but it looks very much like a hillfort to me. Sat on the side of a gently sloping hill facing south. Hut circles stretch from here all the way to chysaucester. Beside the hillfort there was a raised bank in the field curving in a similar radius.

In side the hilfort is a pile of stones marking a shaft according to the OS map. Again I will look for mining evidence in the area but many small mines left little history.

I climbed over the new fence at the far end of the field having decided there was no way through the hedge and skirted the pond before finding a rusty gate hidden in the undergrowth. It was impossible to open so I climbed over, disturbing a fox in the process. Turn left along the valley and you soon come back out onto the Kerrowe track, turn right.

THe simple way back from here is to follow the bridleway around the south side of Amalveor Downs to Embla Vean then by road to Towednack. I chose a slightly longer route heading more to the south but this did not include any sites of TMA interest except for a couple of tumuli sat overgrown in fields.

The walk took me about 5 hours including stops and it's not just a trudge between quoits it's a walk that offers lots more, space, views, and if like me you don't meet anyone all day, solitude.

28th January 2004

Started day 2 at the carpark beside the engine houses of Carn Galver mine (on the B3306). It was here that my love affair with Penwith began. On a blustery day in Feb 1987 a friend gave me my introduction to rock climbing, if you want to get close to this landscape try hanging on to it by your fingers whilst the waves crash 200ft below you.

Today I head away from the sea, up the footpath/stream that runs along the west side of Carn Galver.

Carn Galva — Fieldnotes

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I love this area and whenever we visit St Ives or Penzance we have to drive the B3306 before we can go home. Carn Galver is the sentinel, sitting there looking out over the sea on one side and out over the ancient landscape on the other. I had never viewed it from the south east before and didn't realise how sheer the southern rocks dropped away.

This is a landscape for giants and imagination.

Carn Galva — Images

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I have been up amongst the rocks before so today I carry on to the crest of the hill untill I come to a crossroads of paths. Turning right brings me to the field in which the Maen Scryfa stands.

Men Scryfa — Fieldnotes

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Surrounded by green fields to the north but with the wild moor to the south, the Maen Scryfa reminds me of the stone in my friends house at Kerris .From what I can see of the inscription the writing is very similar. It is said this marks the site of the death of Ryalvren "the Royal Raven". If any treasures where buried here I wonder what happened to them? or are they still waiting to be discovered?

Sadly the sun is right behind the stone so reading the inscription is not easy and photgraphing it impossible. I am struck by the contrast between lush green fields, stone walls and barren moorland. The dead bracken has turned much of the landscape a dull brown colour, only turning gold when the sun hits it at the right angle.

From the maen Scryffa it is a short walk to the men-an-tol, all is good there and after a short rest I carry on in the direction of Greenburrow Engine House (commonly known as Ding Dong).

Just after passing the little stream I noticed a pile of boulders on the right hand side. Amongst these and just beside the path is a square pit. Gorse and hawthorn grow out of it and it is full of water. I plunged my stick it and found it had a bottom, not far down. Like the "Hillfort" yesterday could this be an undiscovered cairn? or is it a mining relic, I will do some research and see what i can find out.

Ding Dong reached and explored (I wont bore you with mining details) I headed back towards Boskedndan circle.

Nine Stones of Boskednan — Images

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<b>Nine Stones of Boskednan</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead

Nine Stones of Boskednan — Fieldnotes

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Even in the midst of winter this area is overgrown, possibly something to do with the moist conditions! I counted the 9 stones...missed the 10th that has been mentioned. Didn't linger long as a helicopter was doing landing practice at Ding Dong mine and the pub was calling!.

The footpath is thin and runs through gorse and bracken but by following the wall I found my way to a cairn on the south end of the ridge. This lays buried amongst gorse, but with most of the other bracken etc dead it was possible to make out the stones that form the cairn.

The ridge runs north towards Carn Galvers mighty south peak and the stone circle is soon reached. It is rather a wet area in winter and a couple of times I was glad of my stick and high sides of my boots. I missed the standing stone but did explore the tumuli at the north end of the ridge before charging out across the moor to Little Galver, the rocky luump to the east. This was hard going! I wouldn't reccomend it but I had decided I wanted to visit the quoit at Bosporthennis.

After a lot of hard work I reahed the walls that surround the quoit. Wow! this is a stoney landscape but imagine how many stones were used to build these walls? Up to 4ft thick inplaces and about 5ft tall we marvel at what it took to build the monuments but think how much work went into building these. And how old are they? who knows, some say the field patterns down here date back to the bronze age.{17,18,19,20}}

Having visited the quoit I head back to the road down another vague footpath before following the road back to the car. Looks like I am in time for a pint and a bowl of fish soup at the Gurnards Head

Gurnard's Head — Miscellaneous

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The Gurnard's Head Inn has always been a fave spot to stop and take on liquid. It has been tarted up a bit in the last few years (ie there is now a seperate restaurant) but the food and drink is still good.
I reccomend the fish soup and Cornish Orchards apple juice and cider (brewed just down the road from the Duloe Stone Circle).

Bosporthennis Quoit — Images

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<b>Bosporthennis Quoit</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead

Bosporthennis Quoit — Fieldnotes

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Am I the first TMAer to visit this site?
Surprises me, it is not that far from the road although it is not easy to find unless you study the OS map very carefully or as I did aproach it from above (Hannibal's Carn).
It is hidden behind massive stone walls and if you look at the map it is at the end of the Tumulus wording hidden under the NT green boundry line.
A nice little quoit, nothing like Mulfra or Zennor, but it has been tampered with (see folklore).

And as for the walls!

Bosporthennis Quoit — Folklore

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Borlase tells the story that a local miller tried to make a millstone out of the capstone. For some reason he never finished the job...did bad luck befall him?