I set off walking on a glorious Saturday morning through the village of Tregeseal in the Kenidjack valley and then up to Hailglower Farm and the moorland beyond.
Views of St. Just – the Medieval parish church tower stands on the left, and the Wesleyan Methodist chapel on the right. The ocean beyond.
I love visiting the Bronze age Tregeseal Stone Circle on any day. Like many ancient sites in the area, it’s been a living monument over time, with fallen stones stood back up and well-meant repairs done.
The bracken is browning and there’s gorse in flower. This time of year it’s the Western Gorse (Ulex gallii) gleaming gold July into November. The Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) blooms from January into June. The “Prickly Bush” provides valuable cover for birds and invertebrates.
A short detour from the main track takes me to the row of prehistoric holed stones, whose use and meaning is unknown but not unique. The famous Men-an-Tol is not that far away, and the number of cairns and barrows and hut circles nearby show the importance of this high land to the people who made it their own over three thousand years ago.
From here I walk up to Carn Kenidjack, the hooting cairn. Its granite outcropping stands 650 feet above sea level.
From Carn Kenidjack I walk along the ridge to Carn Bean, where a communications tower sits on top of a couple of Bronze age barrows. From there it’s downhill to Pendeen, spotting a Neolithic standing stone on the way.
The 19th C Pendeen parish church was built by the miners living there.
Lunch at Maria Chica‘s in Pendeen, lucky me! Then on through the village to walk along the coast, scrambling up and down the valleys and taking in the Pendeen Watch lighthouse and cottages. Got some glorious views back south-west along the Tin Coast with the mining chimneys visible above the cliffs.
And then a well-deserved bus rise home, and a tapas dinner at the Cook Book Cafe in St. Just.
Flat Two 