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      Wildlife in Cornwall

      A diverse landscape produces a diverse flora and fauna, and the walks in this guide cover a range of habitats from the moorland of Bodmin and high exposed heath of Land’s End to the wooded valleys and warm sheltered coves of the south coast.

      The cliff tops of Cornwall are carpeted in wild flowers. The colours range from pink thrift to the blue of spring squill and the yellow of golden samphire. Heather and gorse are plentiful. From the coast paths there are also some good vantage points to see birds and animals. Grey seals can sometimes be seen bobbing in the water or sunning themselves on the shore. The playful bottle-nosed dolphin and the common dolphin may be spotted from the cliff path, and you may even be lucky enough to glimpse a pilot whale. Bird life is particularly abundant all along the coast. On cliff faces you may see herring gulls, great black-backed and occasionally lesser black-backed gulls, fulmars, kittiwakes and jackdaws. On other shores you may find shag, cormorant, oyster catcher, rock pipit, pied wagtail and heron. The rare Cornish chough was absent for many years but a project is underway to promote the return of this emblematic bird to the county. Sightings of a wild chough should always be reported. Cornwall’s location on the south-west tip of Britain means that it also receives many migrant birds. The Island at St Ives, Land’s End and the Lizard are all particularly good for observing the arrival and departure of migrants, and Marazion Marsh near Penzance is an important migration stop, particularly for waterfowl and wading birds.

      Inland, woodland walks such as Luxulyan will take you through oak, beech, sycamore and ash. Typical woodland flowers include bluebell and wood anemone, and there is a wide range of ferns, mosses, lichens and fungi.

      Human history

      In the warmer conditions after the Ice Age, all Cornwall except the highest ground became covered by forest. Mesolithic (Mid Stone Age) Man, who inhabited the land, was probably a nomadic hunter and fisherman. In about 3500BC Neolithic (New Stone Age) settlers arrived from the Atlantic seaboard of Europe. They used a variety of stone tools and weapons and founded settlements in forest clearings. Monuments of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age people are the stone chamber tombs used for communal burials, known as quoits. Surmounted by huge stone slabs and covered originally by earthen mounds, there are a number to be found in Cornwall, including Lanyon Quoit seen on the Men-an-Tol walk. In about 2000BC the Beaker Folk arrived, bringing with them the knowledge of the working of metals. It was they who erected the imposing stone circles and standing stones all over Cornwall. Examples are the Merry Maidens and the Pipers.

      The next migrants to reach southern Britain in about 700BC were the Iron Age Celts from northwest Europe. Organised in clans, they were constantly warring among themselves. Characteristic signs of this occupation are hill forts and cliff castles, several of which are passed on walks in this guide. They all feature a steep headland fortified by one or more ramparts, usually built across the narrowest part of the promontory, and The Rumps near Pentire is a good example.

      Roman legions landed in Britain in AD43 but do not appear to have bothered much about the small isolated communities in Cornwall, so Roman remains are sparse. After the departure of the Romans in AD410 the Anglo Saxons pushed the Celts into the Welsh mountains and to Cornwall. Many of those reaching Cornwall then crossed to their fellow Celts in France, but others remained, forming a community in Cornwall. The 5th and 6th centuries were remarkable for the number of Welsh, Irish and Breton Christian missionaries who came over to Cornwall, giving many unusual saints’ names to churches, towns and villages.

      Cornwall had only been a part of Anglo Saxon England for just over 100 years when William the Conqueror landed at Pevensey Bay. By 1072 Cornwall was in Norman hands. The first towns in Cornwall began to spring up and other outward signs of Norman rule began to appear, notably Norman churches.

      As with the rest of England, the structure of Cornish life was feudal and the landed gentry built substantial farmhouses. Growing prosperity and settled conditions, coupled with the religious fervour of the Cornish, resulted in a burst of church rebuilding. We owe many of the beautiful 15th century Cornish churches which remain today to this period. The Cornish gentry were wholeheartedly Royalist in the Civil War, and their men followed them into battle. In 1645, however, Cromwell’s well-trained forces moved westward and, when Pendennis Castle and St Michael’s Mount surrendered after long sieges, the Royalist cause in Cornwall was lost.

      With King William III on the throne, Britain seemed to be set for quieter times. Cornwall had a flourishing fishing industry but from 1700 onwards it was mining that developed fastest. Shaft after shaft was sunk to extract ores, and, by the mid 18th century, Cornwall was the largest supplier of copper in the world. The copper boom lasted to about 1870. With new and cheaper sources being discovered abroad, the Cornish mines began to close. The dozens of derelict engine and boiler houses left behind are a familiar feature of the Cornish landscape today and they give an insight into the enormous scale of this industry in what are now relatively remote places. Several of the walks in this guide – St Agnes to Porthtowan, Cotehele and Calstock, Cape Cornwall and Levant, and Luxulyan – fall within areas designated under the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

      Cornwall’s other traditional industry suffered a severe blow at about the same time as mining. The pilchard shoals, which provided a livelihood for so many fishing villages, disappeared from the coastal waters. There were still mackerel and other fish but there were no longer salted pilchards to send abroad in quantities. Cornish fishing has never fully recovered. In the latter half of the 19th century, the bleak outlook for Cornwall was transformed by the arrival of the railway. Fish, early vegetables and flowers were taken speedily to London and other centres. In the summer, Victorian holidaymakers began to discover the attractions of Cornwall’s magnificent coastline and laid the foundations of the present thriving tourist trade.

      Walking tips & guidance

      Safety

      As with all other outdoor activities, walking is safe provided a few simple commonsense rules are followed:

      • Make sure you are fit enough to complete the walk;

      • Always try to let others know where you intend going, especially if you are walking alone;

      • Be clothed adequately for the weather and always wear suitable footwear;

      • Always allow plenty of time for the walk, especially if it is longer or harder than you have done before;

      • Whatever the distance you plan to walk, always allow plenty of daylight hours unless you are absolutely certain of the route;

      • If mist or bad weather come on unexpectedly, do not panic but instead try to remember the last certain feature which you have passed (road, farm, wood, etc.). Then work out your route from that point on the map but be sure of your route before continuing;

      • Do not dislodge stones on the high edges: there may be climbers or other walkers on the lower crags and slopes;

      • Unfortunately, accidents can happen even on the easiest of walks. If this should be the case and you need the help of others, make sure that the injured person is safe in a place where no further injury is likely to occur. For example, the injured person should not be left on a steep hillside

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