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Penhale Point Cliff Castle

Cliff Fort

<b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheatImage © A. Brookes (19.6.2013)
Nearest Town:Newquay (6km NE)
OS Ref (GB):   SW758591 / Sheet: 200
Latitude:50° 23' 18.01" N
Longitude:   5° 9' 15.96" W

Added by phil


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<b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by juamei <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by thesweetcheat <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by Mr Hamhead <b>Penhale Point Cliff Castle</b>Posted by pure joy

Fieldnotes

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26.5.06

You wait nearly 30 years to get back into a site...and you are met by thick mist!

As a young army cadet I spent several weekends at the MOD camp at Penhale...with no interest in history. Now that I am a big boy I finaly get to go back in on a fieldtrip to look at landscape (sand dunes).

Walking down through the radio station at the north end the low banks of the Iron Age cliff castle were pointed out to us...through the mist...I was not allowed to go too close so the only photo is the best I could get.

Who knows what the strange hoops are that sit inside the banks...the MOD guy had no idea!

The SWCP runs the other side as far as I know but they were keen to stress that trespassers are not tolerated!

Mr H
Mr Hamhead Posted by Mr Hamhead
7th June 2006ce

Penhale Point Cliff Castle - 28th September 2003

Easily reached via Holywell, although the interior of the headland is littered with old mining activity, and modern god knows what (not marked on the map - seem to be some sort of telecom / electrical stuff) and signs tell you to stick to the coast path. It's worth the effort because the view in all directions is stunning, be it out to sea and Carter's Rocks, to Ligger Point to the south or towards Holywell Beach and Kelsey Head to the north. And the defences of the cliff castle are still quite impressive.
pure joy Posted by pure joy
5th October 2003ce
Edited 5th October 2003ce

Miscellaneous

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Mentioned by Craig Weatherhill, in “Cornovia: Ancient Sites of Cornwall & Scilly” (Cornwall Books - 1985, revised 1997 & 2000). “Past mining activity has damaged and buried the southern part of these Iron Age defences, but the headland still displays two impressive banks and ditches. Today these ramparts are 2.5m high and the outer ditch is 0.8m deep. A number of breaches occur in the defences, and it is not certain which was the original entrance. Recent surveys have discovered at least one hut site within the defences, and, at the time of writing, excavation of the site is projected”.

Note – the grid ref in Cornovia is wrong – it should be the grid ref as given on this site (i.e. SW758591)
pure joy Posted by pure joy
6th September 2003ce