Tolborough Tor Cairn

Nearest town:
Hallworthy (10km N)
OS reference:
SX175779
OS sheet:
201
Latitude:
50° 34' 18.03 N
Longitude:
4° 34' 39.37 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Looking northeast. Buttern Hill is extreme left, Bray Down left of centre and Hendra Downs (The Beacon) is over on the right. All have cairns.

Image credit: A. Brookes (15.6.2022)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 23, 2023
Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by thesweetcheat

The slabs on top of the cairn. Looking south towards Bolventor/Jamaica Inn. The prominent hill on the right is (I think) Brown Gelly.

Image credit: A. Brookes (15.6.2022)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 23, 2023
Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Looking west over the top of the cairn, towards Butter’s Tor and Garrow Tor behind. The Emblance sites (Leaze, King Arthur’s Hall, etc) are beyond the forestry.

Image credit: A. Brookes (15.6.2022)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 23, 2023
Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Approaching the cairn from the north-east. The distant hills on the far left skyline are St Austell Downs, where the china clay spoil now overtops Hensbarrow Beacon.

Image credit: A. Brookes (15.6.2022)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 23, 2023
Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by markj99

A probable large capstone on Tolborough Tor Cairn.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Mar 2, 2021
Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by Mr Hamhead

The cairn from the SW on a sunny October afternoon. Natural rock formation built into left side.

Mr Hamhead
Mr Hamhead Oct 13, 2007
Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by Mr Hamhead

Looking towards Brown Willy, Catshole Tor in middle distance left.
The two flat stones in the centre of the cairn may be natural, may be the remains of a chamber...who knows?

Mr Hamhead
Mr Hamhead Oct 13, 2007
Image of Tolborough Tor Cairn (Cairn) by pure joy

the top of Tolborough Tor Cairn – 28.3.2004 – Looking north towards the Brown Willy area. Note – Catshole Long Cairn is in the distance, straight over the gorse bush (can’t really be made out in the pic though!).

Image credit: Martin Bull
pure joy
pure joy Apr 21, 2004

Articles

Tolborough Tor Cairn

Mr Hamhead
Mr Hamhead Oct 13, 2007

Tolborough Tor sits high overlooking the A30 and Jamaica Inn. Bit of a climb from the road (see my directions for Tolborough Menhir) but the views north to Brown Willy are superb.
It is a cairn built into the natural rock of the tor and it is difficult to make out what is natural and what is man-made. Simmerly I can not decide if the cairn was at one time much higher or if it just had a covering. A ‘ramp’ enters the central plateau from the south east and then you have the large flat slabs sitting on the surface, were they originally covered? and was the ramp the entrance Sabine Gould talked about in his novel ?(see Rhiannons Folklore posting).

Tolborough Tor Cairn

pure joy
pure joy Apr 4, 2004

Tolborough Downs – 28.3.2004

There is probably no easy way to reach the barren Tolborough Tor, on the Tolborough Downs. However, one decent way is to start near Bolventor. Cheryl Straffon’s guide ‘The Earth Mysteries Guide to Bodmin Moor and North Cornwall (including Tintagel)’ (Meyn Mamvro – 1993, amended 2000) says “A pathway behind Jamaica Inn crosses the bypass up to Tolborough Downs”. Umm, well, I doubt the first bit, unless she means the underpass to the East of Bolventor. There is no obvious route across the dangerous A30 otherwise.

I found a good place to park and start from, at SX182769, just a few metres from the footpath that leads to Tolborough Downs. If heading towards Launceston on the A30 take the turn off for Bolventor but then take a sharp left turn (signposted ‘Bolventor Church’) and another immediate sharp left (signposted the same). This dead end lane takes you parallel and above the north side of the A30. The footpath is clearly marked about 300m along this road. If you are driving towards Bodmin the principle is the same. Get off at the Bolventor turnoff but don’t go into Bolventor itself. Instead imagine you were trying to get on the A30 towards Launceston, and you will see the Bolventor Church signpost on the bend just before the A30 starts again.

This footpath takes you down a few fields (cows grazing) and across a stream to a few houses at Dairywell Hill. Keep to the right of the houses, through a farm looking gate and head up the very steep and rocky track. Carry on until you finally come out into the bottom of the field where Tolborough Tor lies. If you wanted a slightly less hilly/stony walk you might be able to approach (on foot) along the lane from the main road (at SX191777) towards Tober Barton Farm. Don’t know where you would be able to park on the main road though.

The Tor field was very rocky and very wet.

Folklore

Tolborough Tor Cairn
Cairn(s)
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Oct 12, 2007

The cairn is mentioned by the erudite Sabine Baring-Gould in his 1905 novel ‘Mrs Curgenven of Curvengen’ – but I’m sure it’d be based on his knowledge of local folklore. Well ok, he could have made it up.

[Esther] kept to the heights, now traversing whole villages of ancient circular huts, some within pounds and fortifications, some outside, at what date tenanted none knew. Now and then she startled a couched moor colt or a heifer, or a frightened curlew with a whirr and scream rose from under her feet. Then she made Tolborough, with its cairn crowning the summit, a chambered cairn with a passage leading into its depths, where dwelt the pixies. She passed without fear, the Good People had never hurt her. She belonged to them; they would protect her when taking refuge in their domain, their last refuge from the encroaching plough and the sound of church bells.

p298 in the edition digitised at the Internet Archive.
archive.org/details/mrscurgenvenofcu00bariuoft

Topics

Calling Rhiannon 2
Mr Hamhead
Mr Hamhead
Oct 2007

Sites within 20km of Tolborough Tor Cairn

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