Blisland and Pendrift Downs

1. From Blisland Inn head right to the corner of the village green with the phone box and turn right up the road towards Tregenna

Blisland lies on the western flank of the Moor. Unlike other Cornish villages, the houses are grouped around a village green indicating Saxon origins. There are 7 pagan Wayside Crosses in Blisland (out of 360 in Cornwall). One is near the village post office, and another on the road leading to Bodmin, halfway down the hill before the bridge.

2. After the national speed limit signs turn right into a lane opposite a gate
3. When you reach a crossroads turn left

In the medieval period, stone crosses were sometimes placed by the road or path. There have been various reasons for erecting these: markers placed along routes used by Christian pilgrims, or as a shrine in reverence, perhaps to a saint who has some connection to the locality. Others mark burial sites, a disaster, a miracle, or some other event that should be remembered. In some cases they were erected to mark meeting places for Christian worship and later churches were built adjacent to the cross, resulting in the cross being within the churchyard or close by.

In Cornwall many of the wayside crosses are Celtic crosses. Scholars speculate that the Celtic Cross (a crucifix with a circular ring) developed from the sun cross (a cross inside a circle), a common symbol in artefacts of Prehistoric Europe, particularly during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods. When Christianity came to the celtic regions, Christians extended the bottom spoke of this familiar symbol to remind them of the cross on which their new Savior was crucified. There are said to be 360 Wayside Crosses in Cornwall.

4. The lane ends in a group of buildings - this is Pendrift

The name Pendrift (first recorded as Pendref) is Cornish and contains the place-name elements "pen" and "dre", the phase "pen an tre" meaning or "top of the village".

5. Go through the gate straight ahead and between the houses until you come out into a field
6. Follow the right hedge to a gateway and follow the right hedge through the next field to a stile
7. Follow the path on the other side of the stile which descends to the valley floor
8. Make your way upriver to a footbridge.
The De Lank (from the Cornish "Dinlonk") River springs from Rough Tor Marsh between the two highest peaks on Bodmin Moor. It is an important wildlife habitat noted for diverse and abundant flora and fauna. Together with the River Camel, the De Lank is an important habitat for the otter which is present along the whole length of the river.
9. Cross the river and take the path passing the pumphouse which ascends steeply and emerges on a track
10. Turn left on the track and follow to the gateway, then take the path on the right
11. Climb uphill passing a house on your right until you emerge via the drive to the house onto a track
12. Turn left on the track heading away from the quarry
13. About half way along the track a footpath leaves to the right through a gate. Follow this uphill.
14. Just after a large clump of trees on the left where the path bends sharply to the left, take the path straight ahead uphill which leads to the edge of the quarry pit.
15. At the edge of the quarry pit at the waymark, follow the path to the right which leads down into the quarry

Buildings and monuments that have incorporated Silver Grey Granite from the De Lank quarries include Tower Bridge, The Royal Opera House and monuments to Churchill and Marx. "The Seed" in The Core at the Eden Project was quarried from here.

16. Follow the footpath signs across the quarry to a path up the other side
17. Follow the path up to the top of the valley to a waymark on the edge of a field
18. Turn right and follow the waymarked path, crossing through a gateway into the next field then head for the gate in the bottom right corner
19. Follow the path into the woods and uphill through a gate and uphill until you reach a stile; cross into the field
20. Follow the right-hand hedge to a stone stile
21. Cross this and follow the path left into the field then bear right to a waymark
22. Head in the direction of the waymark; you'll see a track which goes through a ford to your right. Follow the path along the right of the track to a stile about 10 metres to the right of the ford (much easier to cross at the stile).
Looking across the barren granite landscape of Bodmin Moor it may seem strange that so many settlements can be found here from the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. About 10,000 years ago Bodmin Moor was almost entirely covered in forest, and the Neolithic tribes would have lived in forest clearings. During the Bronze Age, the majority forest was cleared for farmland. The burning and grazing over several thousand years has resulted in poor soils which together with the exposure to the wind is why the few trees on the moor today are generally stunted.
23. Take the path straight ahead (this is south) for about 50 metres crossing an embankment to a point where the path forks. Take the right fork (southwest; take a note of the direction with a compass or landmarks) for about 200 metres
24. At this point paths lead off in all directions. Keep heading southwest, taking left and right forks as appropriate to dodge around gorse bushes and stay heading in a south-westerly direction
25. After a couple more hundred metres you will reach Jubilee Rock (if you have a GPS this will help here).
Jubilee Rock (50.53832;-4.67761 - SX 10361 74376) near Pendrift is a natural granite boulder carved with Britannia, royalty, and nobel coats of arms by Lieutenant John Rogers in 1809/10 and updated on special occasions with new carvings.
26. From Jubilee Rock head left (west) along the track uphill to the corner of a hedge then follow it round the corner to the right. Walk parallel to the right-hand hedge until you reach a fence above a lane, exiting the field from a stile in the right-hand corner.
27. Turn right on the lane and walk downhill beneath the trees until you reach a group of houses. Take the footpath signposted to the left
28. Cross the field heading south behind the houses and the next two fields to emerge on a drive in front of some houses.
29. Follow the drive south until it emerges on a lane.
30. Turn right on the lane back into Blisland
31. When you reach the village green, turn left and then when you reach the other corner right to reach the church

Blisland church is impressively ornate. Thought to be on the site of a Saxon church, it was a slate and granite Norman building, but was rebuilt in the perpendicular style in the 15th century (and restored in the 19th). It is unique in being dedicated to St Protus (known locally as St Pratt) and St Hyacinth who were brothers martyred in the late 3rd century AD. No one knows why this church was dedicated to them in the 15th century. If you have the chance to visit on 22nd September there is a feast day procession to St Pratt's Cross and Holy Well.

32. Follow the lane around the green back to the Blisland Inn
The Blisland Inn is renowned for real ales winning the CAMRA National Pub of the Year in 2001 - there are at least 6 real ales on tap at any one time. The landlord has had his own wooden barrels made by a retired cooper which he sends to the local brewery to fill.

Map of Route

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Other walks nearby

• Walks in the blisland area
• Walks in the bodmin moor area

Related walks you might be interested in

• Walks visiting a church
• Circular walks
• Heritage walks
• Moorland walks
• Pub walks
• Wildlife walks