Lesnewth to Tresparrett in the Valency Valley

1. From Lesnewth church take the footpath opposite the church which is signposted by a granite marker to Halamiling Farm 3/4 mile. Walk down the track and enter the gate to Halamiling Farm and follow the track as it descends down hill to the Trebiffin Valley.
2. At the bottom of the hill as you approach the farm, take the track to the left of the garage that has antlers as a feature on the wall. Where the track at the bottom curves to the left, carry straight on through the gate.
3. Once through the gate bear right towards the opening in front of you and cross the footbridge over the Valency river.

The steep Valency valley acted as a funnel for the dramatic flash flood in 2004 that put Boscastle on (and nearly wiped it off) the map which is thought to have been caused by the Brown Willy effect. Over 1.4 billion litres of rain fell in the course of 2 hours. Around 50 cars were swept into the harbour, the bridge was washed away and roads were submerged under 9ft of water. A total of 91 people were rescued in the largest peacetime rescue operation ever launched in the UK.

4. Over the footbridge, head towards the gap in the fence in front of you and then follow the right hedge up to the top of the hill.
5. At the top of the field it is signposted right to St Juliot church. Head towards the right of the telegraph pole in the hedge on the opposite side of the field.
6. In this field follow the path to the right above the scrub towards the bottom right where there is a stile to cross. Views of the tower of St Juliot Church can be seen from here.
7. Keep to the right hedge through this field to a stile in the bottom right hand corner. Look left and you can see the stone steps leading to the churchyard of St Juliot church in the hedgerow.
St Juliot's Church is signposted on the right from the road from Boscastle to Crackington. It is a beautiful location with its door facing out across the valley. It was renovated by the author Thomas Hardy (whose novel "A Pair of Blue Eyes" describes the area).
8. Walk around the church to the right and take the gate out of the churchyard. Take the lane to the left up hill towards Tremorle. At Tremorle, go past the buildings and round the right hand bend to the junction. Go through the first gate on your right behind the barn, which is opposite the junction.
9. Hug the right hand hedge for 3 fields (2nd field ignore the gateway and follow the fence). In the third field join the track to the right of the house at Carugga.

The fields are hedged with blackthorn, so if you want to make sloe gin this is a good place for picking in Autumn. See our sloes page for a recipe which can also produce sloe sherry and sloe cider too.

10. Follow the track past the house and the lane bends to the left. Continue past the next set of houses on your right to a track to the left which leads to a gate, go through the gate and follow the lane as it runs off the the right.

To the left is a circular mound which is the Earthwork remains of an Iron Age settlement.

11. Follow the path in a fairly straight line across 6 fields until you reach Tresparrett where 4 roads meet after you exit the fields.
12. Take the road straight ahead of you (signposted to Marshgate) until you reach another island in the road where you need to turn right (before the phone box)
13. The road ends at a T junction, turn left.
14. Then almost immediately on your right (opposite Old Smithy Cottage) is a track. Just past this is the Horseshoe Inn if you want to stop for refreshment.
the bottom.

The Horseshoe Inn in Tresparrett has only been a pub since 1977. Prior to that, it was a house & blacksmiths (hence the name) which were knocked together into one to become the village shop. It took many years to obtain a license to turn it into a pub because of opposition from some villagers. The pub is only open all day on Sundays during the Summer, otherwise it opens at 12pm and closes at 3pm so bear this in mind if you are planning on stopping there.

15. Follow the track opposite Old Smithy Cottage take the footpath at the end of the track, to the bottom of the valley. Cross over the footbridge at
16. Go over the stile and walk into the middle of the field where in the distance you will need to head towards the opening to the right of the big tree.
17. Walk parallel to the hedge on your right, towards the buildings in front of you, then bear left to another opening to the left of the big tree.
18. Exit the little meadow via the gate and turn right, taking the left track up hill for a short distance and then turn right down the track and immediately left before the barn onto a track leading to a double gateway. Take the left gateway which is waymarked.
19. Follow the right hand hedge through two fields, in the third field head towards the left down over the hill. Where the gorse opens up walk down this steep opening to a path under the trees. Turn left.
20. After a short distance, bear down to the right towards a bridge, cross this bridge - caution slippery when wet.
21. Head up and to the right of the waymarked path into the woods, over another bridge and stile. Follow the waymarker through the woods to the next stile.
22. Over the stile the field opens up - head towards the top right corner, passing the standing stone on your left. Follow the fence on the right and half way along cross the stile. Look left and head towards the stile that goes over the hedge. Go over this stile.
23. Head to the gate on the opposite of the field. Cross straight over go through the gate. Bear round to the right of the garden and exit up the slate steps. Turn right and follow the track to the end. When the track finishes onto a lane turn left.
24. After Wells House bear right onto a track into a field, signposted Public Footpath. Keep to the left hedge and cross over the stile to the right of the gate. Hug the right hedge (Penpol hamlet is on your left) in the far corner exit the field over two stiles.
25. Turn right and walk a short distance on the road to reach the starting point of the walk.
St Michael & All Angels in Lesnewth ('New Court') is a little further out from Boscastle, but is in a lovely location, just next to a deep-sided stream, marked by an ancient Celtic wayside cross. The original Saxon church was said to be built here in the dip to hide it from marauding Vikings at sea - but they found and sacked it nonetheless. Sadly little remains of the Norman church that followed; the present church is mostly Victorian, dominated by an impressively tall 15th century tower. On one of the walls inside is a nicely inscribed slate memorial, with a carved coat of arms.

Map of Route

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Other walks nearby

• Walks in the boscastle area
• Walks in the lesnewth area

Related walks you might be interested in

• Walks visiting a church
• Circular walks
• Walks with potential for foraging
• Heritage walks
• Pub walks
• Riverside walks
• Wildlife walks
• Woodland walks