Camelford is the local market town which gained its status as a town in 1259 after being granted its first Charter by King Henry III. In the centre of Camelford, what is now the library was once the Town Hall and the cobbled area it stands in what used to be the market square. Camelford Town hall was erected in 1806 over the Market House where in the early 1800s a wife could be bought for 2-3 shillings!
As you'd naturally expect from a market town, Camelford has some old pubs:
- The Darlington is an 800 year old coaching Inn in the market square
- The Mason's Arms is an 18th century building opposite the library
On the way to Camelford (coming from Park Farm), is Slaughterbridge - a very old settlement which is said to take its name from two battles which took place nearby during the Early Middle Ages. A sixteenth-century traveler noted the discovery of the armour and bones of many soldiers while ploughing the meadow at Slaughterbridge. However the name of the bridge is ambiguous as 'Slaughter' could mean 'muddy' from the old English translation - a number of sites of archealogical interest still being excavated may confirm the battles here.
Just before you reach the bridge is the Arthurian Centre. Here, beside the river at Slaughterbridge is a 6th century memorial stone known as "Arthur's stone" inscribed in Latin and ogham (Celtic script) commemorating a Celtic chieftan. Legends link the stone to the Battle of Camelan where the tales say Arthur slay Mordred and was himself fatally wounded.
If you cross the bridge in Slaughterbridge and carry on up the hill you reach the aptly named Hilltop Farm Shop. If instead you take the right turn coming off the bend that goes up the hill, this leads you into Camelford (turn right at the bottom and the free car park is just on your right). At the crossroads on the way to Slaughterbrige is the British Cycle Museum which is based in the buildings of the old Camelford Station.
Camelford walks
Camelford to Watergate (5 miles)
The walk starts at the old market town of Camelford and follows the river Camel through woodland and climbs through fields onto the edge of Bodmin Moor. The route then circles through Watergate with its Neolithic hut circules and Moorgate where there is a large standing stone. The route joins Roughtor Road at Tregoodwell with excellent views of Roughtor before returning to Camelford.
The Camelford Way (1.4 miles)
The walk runs along the length of Camelford's Fore Street before heading across fields to Valley Truckle where it reaches the River Camel. The route then follows the River upstream along a wooded valley alongside Camelford before emerging back onto Camelford's Fore Street.
Churchtown to Tresinney (6.3 miles)
The walk starts in St Breward at the church and heads west out onto Bodmin Moor. The route then turns north crossing the Little Camel and following the gorge at Devil's Jump before heading through fields to the wayside cross at Tresinney. The walk reaches its northernmost point at Advent Church turning back through Tresinney and heading south along the edge of the Camel valley to the remains of the medieval village at Carwether. The walk continues along the Camel valley before skirting the Hamatetly woods and returning to St Breward through Tuckingmill.
Walks available from the tourist info centre
The tourist information centre in Tintagel has a leaflet (costing 60p) for a 7 mile circular walk from Camelford which has lots of information about the history of the area. The walk loops around the nearby hamlet of Tresinney before returning alongside the River Camel.
