Mystical Moors


period of around 4,000 - 6,000 years ago.


Cornwall appears to have been divided into several territories during Neolithic times with Roughtor on the moor at the centre of one such territory.


Bodmin Moor retains a sense of wilderness and remains a place of escape from the everyday pressures of the 21st century.


The moor is classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has a harsh undulating landscape where the forces of nature are still dominant. Its highest point is Brown Willy which is 420 metres above sea level.


Historical remains can clearly be seen on the open moor. The earliest of these date from the Neolithic


Long cairns and hilltop enclosures are reminders of those ancient days. From the Bronze Age, 3,000- 4,000 years ago, there are stone circles, stone rows and cairns, ritual relics from mainly farming communities.


The Hurlers at Minions near Liskeard are three stone circles from the early Bronze Age. Legend has it that men where turned to stone here as a punishment for playing the Cornish game of hurling on a Sunday.


Stowe’s Pound at Minions dates from the late Neolithic to early Bronze Age. The large stone hilltop enclosure has traces of more than 100 roundhouse platforms.


Meanwhile, the Trethevy Quoit at nearby St Cleer is an impressive Neolithic burial chamber, 2.7metres high with five standing stones and a large capstone.


Bustling Cornish market town to explore


streets to explore and a wide range of shops.


Fore Street is pedestrianised so you can enjoy wandering from shop to shop without being bothered by traffic.


Liskeard is a proud and historic Cornish market town to the east of Bodmin Moor.


The main market day is Thursday when the bellows of cattle arriving in trucks and trailers can be heard across the town.


Farmers bring their livestock to be sold at the town centre market.


If you fancy a taste of the rural way of life, why not visit the market to see what goes on?


Liskeard also has ancient narrow


The town has plenty of places to buy food including cafes, restaurants, pubs, takeaways and supermarkets. And some of the finest Cornish pasties are sold in Liskeard.


There is plenty of short-term car parking space available around the town centre. The town is also on the main railway line, with the station being a few minutes’ walk.


A branch line from Liskeard runs down the picturesque Looe Valley to the seaside.


Lux Park Leisure Centre offers a range of facilities including a swimming pool with a flume and chutes, and during the appropriate seasons there is plenty of sporting action involving the town’s football, rugby and hockey clubs.


Liskeard has several churches with the large parish church of St Martin’s providing a prominent landmark in the town. The church


www.cornish-visitor.co.uk


was built in the 15th century on an original Norman site.


At the Foresters Hall there is a tourist information office and an interesting local museum.


Liskeard was granted its charter by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the brother of Henry III in 1240.


Since then it has always been an important centre for agriculture and during the mining boom in Cornwall it was also a key player in that industry, being a ‘coinage’ town. In the year 1294 Liskeard sent two members to Parliament but this was reduced to one by the 1832 Reform Act.


Among these MPs were the historian and author Edward Gibbon, who wrote the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and Isaac Foot, the father of the famous Foot family.


Charles I used Stuart House on The Parade as a lodging in 1644 and today the building is used for arts, heritage and community events.


Cornish Visitor Guide - autumn & winter 2011-2012 9


The town’s Guildhall, with a clock tower, was built in 1859 and the Public Hall was constructed in 1890.


Another interesting feature in the town centre is Pipe Well in Well Street, below Fore Street.


Fed by four springs, the well has never been known to run dry, even in drought years.


In past times, the water from the spring was believed to possess miraculous healing powers.


The St Cleer Holy Well, with its granite baptistry and cross, is a much more recent relic – dating from the 15th century. The water from the well is reputed to have been used as a cure for insanity.


Another relic at St Cleer is King Doniert’s Stone. This site has two decorated cross bases and a cross shaft with a Latin inscription to Durngarth, King of Cornwall, drowned AD 875.


Some areas of the moor have never been enclosed while others were once enclosed and farmed at different times – including the Middle Ages – but have since been reclaimed by nature.


Poor soil has restricted the type of plants that grow on the moor. Grass, heather, gorse and bracken dominate on the downs while there are large areas of bog in the valleys.


These bogs developed following alterations to the natural drainage patterns caused by the working of stream beds for tin.


High above the valleys, the tors on the moor have been eroded by wind and rain over thousands of years. Their stacks form particular landmarks including the Cheesewring near Minions.


Other notable features on the landscape are the large coniferous plantations, the Siblyback and Colliford reservoirs, Dozmary Pool, mining ruins, the Golitha Falls, and china clay workings.


The most well-known pub on the moor is the Jamaica Inn, made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s novel.


A notable church is Altarnun’s St Nonna, known as the Cathedral of the Moor. It features 70 carved 16th century bench ends. Meanwhile, the church at St Neot has some fine


medieval stained glass.


The Minions Heritage Centre, near Liskeard


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