- Distance:3.0 miles
- Walk grade:Moderate
- Start from:Crackington Haven
- Recommended footwear:walking boots
Highlights
- Views from Pencannow Point
- Pub at Crackington Haven
- Beach at Crackington Haven
Directions
- From the pub car park turn right on the road up the hill and take the coast path to left in about 200m
- Follow the path up onto Pencannow (also known as Penkenna) Point where there are nice views over the Crackington Haven and Tremoutha Haven beyond
- From the Point, double back to the coast path as it zig-zags behind along the coast (don't take the path marked "St. Genny's Church") to Great Barton Strand, Little Barton Strand and Orchard Strand to Castle Point
- Descend steeply into a valley at Aller Shute and cross a small stream before ascending the other side of the valley onto a ridge.
- Follow the coast path as it swings right to the east to run alongside the north-facing stretch of coast.
- As the coast bends left to face west again, take the path that heads down the valley through some woods. Look out for a couple of steps down to the right opposite a coastpath marker.
- Follow this out into a field, crossing it directly to a hedge just to the left of the facing house (St Genny's House).
- Do not show any threatening behaviour towards calves (approaching them closely, making loud noises or walking between a calf and its mother) as you may provoke the mother to defend her young. Generally the best plan is to walk along the hedges.
- If cows approach you, do not run away as this will encourage them to chase you. Stand your ground and stretch out your arms to increase your size.
- Avoid taking dogs in fields with cows, particularly with calves. If you must, release the dog if cows charge as the dog will outrun the cows and the cows will generally chase the dog rather than you.
- Follow the path alongside the hedge which comes out over a stile onto a lane outside the house.
- Go up the lane past the house, then straight ahead up the path as the track veers left, to rejoin the track again in about 50m.
- Through the gate, keep right and turn right at the end of the road.
- From the road, take the path into the churchyard
- Make your way out from the church turn left back onto the lane and follow it uphill for about a 300m to a junction, just before a steep downward hill.
- Take the smaller lane to the right at the junction and follow this down into the valley where it meets a road.
- Cross over the road and take the lane on the other side descending further into the wooded valley
- There has been large-scale unsustainable removal of bulbs for sale, though it is a now criminal offence to remove the bulbs of wild bluebells.
- There is extensive hybridisation with Spanish bluebells from gardens producing fertile seeds. This has produced hybrid swarms around sites of introductions and, since the hybrids are able to thrive in a wider range of environmental conditions, the hybrids are frequently out-competing the native English bluebells. Sir Francis Drake would not be impressed!
- Bluebells will also struggle in the face of climate change. During periods of cold weather, spring flowers such as bluebells have already started the process of growth by preparing leaves and flowers in underground bulbs in summer and autumn. They are then able to grow in the cold of winter or early spring by using these resources stored in their bulb. Other species (such as cow parsley or dandelions) require warm weather before they are able to germinate and grow. With the warmer springs induced by climate change, bluebells will lose their 'early start' advantage, and be outcompeted.
- Some way down the hill a footpath leads to your right, signposted to Crackington Haven. Take this.
- Follow the footpath alongside the valley until it eventually comes out onto the road.
- Turn left on the road and walk the short distance down to Crackington Haven.
Castle Point gets its name from the Celtic cliff fortress which the remains of can still be seen, though large sections of it have now fallen into the sea. The three concentric ramparts would have been over 12ft high with a single (wooden) gateway controlling access to the castle. It is thought to have been contructed over 2000 years ago, somewhere between 350-150 BC.
Contraband was landed here and carried by donkey up the path to a cave in the riverbank at Little Warrinstow.
Towards the end of the 18th Century nearly half a million gallons of brandy and more than a quarter of a million pounds of tea were being smuggled into Cornwall each year. The local dialect included a word specifically for smuggled liquor:
...and the barrels to transport it:
In the 1840s Britain adopted a free-trade policy that slashed import duties. Within ten years, large-scale smuggling was just a memory.
If you are crossing fields with cows in:
As well as smuggling, piracy and wrecking were notorious along this area of the coast in the middle ages: a complaint was made to the King in 1342 that "William de Sancta Genesio (William of St Genny's) and others boarded a ship called La Trinite of Fowey, laden with their goods and anchored in the port of Widemouth, cut the cables and cords with which the ship was anchored, whereby it was driven ashore by the flow of water and broken up, and they lost their goods to the value of £300." The inhabitants of St Gennys were consequently known as "wreckers and wrestlers".
St Genny's church has origins which go back to the years of the Celtic Church. Sometime in the mid 7th Century a Celtic Monk (hermit) arrived here, on foot or by boat, and chose the site for its solitude and its ready supply of water. After King Athelstan's final conquest of Cornwall in 926, it is almost certain a small Saxon church was built on this site and it is possible at this point the dedication to St Genesius probably originates.
Much of the existing church comes from the 12th Century, built to replace the earlier Saxon structure. The two lower stages of the tower, and the south, east and north walls of the Chancel contain surviving work of the Norman builders. The bowl of the font and Holy water stoup are carved from Tintagel Greenstone and date from this period.
In the 15th Century, the North Aisle was the first addition with the construction of beautiful arcade in polyphant Stone with rich carving which separates the Nave from the North Aisle. The South Aisle and South porch were later added together with the Western most Arch of the Northern Aisle. The pillars used for this work are of Cornish granite.
You'll notice that there is lichen growing on many of the headstones in the churchyard. Of the 2000 British species, over a third have been found in churchyards and more than 600 have been found growing on churchyard stone in lowland England. Almost half the species are rare and some seldom if ever occur in other habitats. Many churchyards are found to have well over 100 species.
Lichens are a partnership of two different organisms: a fungus providing the "accomodation" and an alga or cyanobacterium providing the "food" through photosynthesis. The fungal partner provides a cosy, sheltered environment for the alga and tends its with mineral nutrients. However the alga partner is more than simply an imprisoned food-slave: it is such a closely evolved alliance that the fungus is dependant on it for shape and structure. If the fungal partner is isolated and grown on an agar plate it forms a shapeless, infertile blob.
Some estimates suggest the UK has up to half of the world's total bluebell population; nowhere else in the world do they grow in such abundance. The poor bluebell faces a number of threats:
Crackington Haven is a pebble beach at high tide but quite a large sandy beach at low tide. There is a fairly large car park with a couple of cafes and a pub just behind the beach, and toilets by the track down onto the beach. Although it gets reasonably busy in Summer, the large beach at low tide and car park means it doesn't get too crowded.
