The car park is in an area known as Poldue Downs. Poldue means "black pool" in Cornish and seems to crop up quite a lot on Bodmin Moor, maybe as a result of the dark moorland peat.
An 18-year old girl - Charlotte Dymond - was murdered near Roughtor in 1844 and her body was found near the clapper bridge. A granite memorial post stands nearby. Her ghost is said to haunt the moors. Her boyfriend was hung for the offence, despite protesting his innocence, with a verdict based on circumstantial evidence and a confession which appears to have been faked. The trial is re-enacted at the Bodmin Courtroom Experience and her gravestone is in Davidstow churchyard.
Roughtor bridge is Grade-II-listed and is a good example of a double-span clapper bridge made of granite.
Clapper bridges are an ancient form of bridge built out of stone slabs spanning piers in the river. Most were built during mediaeval times, often beside a ford where horses and carts would cross. There is disagreement over the origin of the word "clapper". One candidate is an Anglo-Saxon word cleaca meaning "a bridge of stepping stones". Another is a mediaeval Latin word clapus which is is thought to have originated in Celtic Western Europe and to mean "pile of stones".
On the approach to Roughtor from the car park, in the open grassy moorland the north-west of the tor, is the remains of a settlement consisting of over 120 hut circles, small enclosures and fragments of field systems. The majority of the round houses are laid out in a broad north-south band and linked by the stony banks of a series of six small irregular enclosures. Excavations have shown these to date from the early-mid Bronze Age.
The Roughtor Holy Well was discovered in 1970 on the slopes of Rough Tor, then lost again and re-discovered and restored in 1994. Unsurprisingly, given its history, it's not that easy to spot from a distance in all the granite fragments on the slopes of Rough Tor. A spring rises in the well but the stream runs only a few hundred metres before disappearing again into boggy ground. The reeds that grow along the stream are the easiest way to locate it.
Before Christianity, the Pagan Celtic people of Cornwall worshipped wonders of the natural world. Where clean, drinkable water welled up from the ground in a spring, this was seen as pretty awesome. The sites were seen as portals to another world, and is why fairies are often associated with springs. Where the springwater dissolved minerals, for specific conditions (e.g. deficiency in a mineral) or where the minerals present had antibacterial/fungal properties, the water appeared to have healing powers.
Rough Tor is the second highest peak on Bodmin Moor. It is pronounced "row-tor" because the local dialect word "row" meant "rough". The summit of Rough Tor is encircled by a series of rough Neolithic stone walls which link natural outcrops, to form a tor enclosure. Also on the summit are the foundations of a mediaeval chapel, built into the side of one of the larger cairns.
Rock balancing art is best avoided on Bodmin Moor as what looks to the untrained eye like a pile of rocks is very likely to be prehistoric remains, and often a grave or memorial which is best not desecrated. Even accidental vandalism of ancient monuments is an illegal act that could result in a criminal record and jail sentence.
Fortunately, Cornwall has a considerable supply of pebbly beaches where towering extravaganzas can be constructed without such risks.
The word granite comes from the Latin granum (a grain), in reference to its coarse-grained structure. Granite forms from a big blob of magma (known as a pluton) which intrudes into the existing rocks. The huge mass of molten rock stores an enormous amount of heat so the magma cools very slowly below the surface of the Earth, allowing plenty of time for large crystals to form.
Tors started out as a lump of granite beneath the surface, which cracked vertically into squares and then part-way through horizontally to form something resembling a stuck-together stack of square pancakes. Millions of years of weathering then gradually rounded these off and widened the cracks between the layers to result in a more burger-like appearance.
In some cases the horizontal cracks didn't go all the way through so the layers are still joined (the skewer through the brioche bun to stretch the burger analogy to its limit). In the cases where they did fully separate, a massive rocking stone such as the famous Logan Rock at Treen could be created, or the whole lot could collapse into a pile of huge rocks.
The "basins" on the tops of some of the tors are also the result of repeated freezing and thawing of water which has collected on the surface.
The word is from the Celtic language but is likely to have come from the Latin turris, meaning "tower", derived from a similar word in Ancient Greek.
Showery Tor is a natural structure quite similar to The Cheesewring at Minions. The tor is encircled by a massive ring cairn made of piled stone and is thought may have been a prehistoric religious site. It is the only natural formation known to have been framed in this way.
Also in one of the granite bounders on Showery Tor is a double row of drilled holes made by miners. These were used to celebrate midsummer by filling them with gunpowder, lighting a fuse connecting them and retiring to a safe distance.
The De Lank River springs from Rough Tor Marsh, between the two highest peaks on Bodmin Moor and joins the River Camel near Blisland. It is an important wildlife habitat, noted for diverse and abundant flora and fauna and its surrounding banks, woodlands and marshes have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). 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.
The name is reported as being from a Cornish name which is recorded as Dinlonk. The Cornish word lonk means gully. The name of the riverside settlement Lank is almost certainly related.
Brown Willy is a tor on the north-west area of Bodmin Moor. The name "Brown Willy" is actually a distortion of the Cornish Bronn Wennili which means "hill of swallows". The summit of Brown Willy is the highest point in Cornwall, at 420m above sea level, but only 20m taller than Rough Tor.
These are amongst the most intact cairns on Bodmin Moor due to their remote and inaccessible location. The larger cairn has been postulated to have a calendric function as the sun rises over the Brown Willy cairn from the Stannon Stone Circle at the Equinox. Unless the weather on Bodmin Moor was significantly less prone to mist and cloud in Bronze Age times than it is now, it's unlikely this would have been very effective, as on a misty day seeing the other side of the stone circle is hard enough! An alternative hypothesis is that this is a burial mound; it has never been excavated so whether this is true remains unknown.
However tempting it might be, don't stack rocks on the summit cairns! This would be desecrating an ancient monument which is a criminal offence.
The piles or rings of stones known as cairns, were built for a variety of purposes: some ceremonial including burials, some practical such as markers in a calendric sundial. Although much speculation has taken place, the reason for the construction of each is now unknown. When radiocarbon dating was done on nine of the cairns on Bodmin Moor, eight gave average date ranges between 2162 to 1746 BC, suggesting the early Bronze Age was the main building period. The remnants you see today are in many cases a small fragment of the original structure as the rocks from many cairns have since been "re-purposed" for use in drystone walls, buildings, roads etc. The Cornish word for cairn is karn or carn (from karnow, meaning "rock piles") and Cornwall (Kernow) itself may actually be named after the cairns that dot its landscape.
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 of forest was cleared for farmland. The burning and grazing, over several thousand years, has resulted in poor soils which are naturally quite acidic due to the granite rocks. This, together with the exposure to the wind, is why the few trees on the moor today are generally stunted.
From the bridge, keep left to follow the path parallel to the wall then bear right away from the wall across the open moorland to skirt clockwise around the base of Rough Tor, keeping it on your right and staying downhill of the largest rocks.
Use the network of numerous small paths to make crossing the rocky terrain easier. Use the map screen to follow the suggested route.
Once the woodland surrounding the car park comes into view, head towards it then join the path leading to the bridge and follow it back to the car park to complete the walk.
As you skirt around the base of Rough Tor, you pass close to the remains of another settlement.
On the southern slopes of Roughtor are the remains of a large number of hut circles. The houses and the small enclosures probably represent an economy based on stock rearing, with perhaps a little cultivation of cereals. The extensive field system is likely to be from a later period, representing a time when arable farming was predominant.
The stone circle to your left is known as Fernacre
The Fernacre stone circle is located on the slopes of Rough Tor. The name dates back to the Middle Ages. It is thought either to mean "bracken land" or "fairy land" as Feren was the old plural of fairy. Fernacre is one of the largest stone rings in Cornwall, with a diameter of approximately 44m by 46m. Only about 61 stones survive, the possible total originally being between 77 and 95. From Fernacre, it has been suggested that a standing stone on Brown Willy marks the equinox sunrise, which is also aligned with two cairns, and sunset over Louden Hill marks May 1st.
Crowdy reservoir is situated within the Bodmin Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest and is fed by run-off and drainage from surrounding moorland. The dam was completed in 1973 and the lake holds around a billion litres of water. The banks, except around the Nature Reserve, are open for walking and picnicking and a bird hide, open to all visitors, is a pleasant 20 minute walk from the car park along the north bank. There are often Nearctic waders in autumn and spectacular flocks of starlings around Davidstow in the winter. The lake is stocked with rainbow and brown trout. Provided you have a rod licence you can fish for free by spinning, fly or bait. In recognition of the high conservation value of this lake, no other activities, apart from free wilderness trout angling, take place at this location.
The lake in the pit of the former china clay quarry at Stannon is now used as part of the public water supply by South West Water. A floating pump reaches out a short distance from the shore into clear water. The amount of water drawn from the lake is restricted to only dropping the water level by a few metres to avoid collapses of the steep lake banks which would stir up sediment and make the water unusable for a period of time. However, the wet surrounding moorland is able to replenish the water in the pit at several million litres per day.
The ponies on Bodmin Moor are semi-feral: they are all owned by farmers, but allowed to roam free on the moor. Many are not microchipped and look similar to others, so for people other than their owners, it can be difficult to tell to whom they actually belong. During the winter, natural food is scarce so the farmers supplement the ponies' diets; this prevents the ponies wandering off altogether.
Five hills in Cornwall are designated as Marilyn hills (coined to contrast with Munro - another geological term) which are local highest points, protruding above the surrounding land by at least 150 metres. They are: Brown Willy, Kit Hill, Watch Croft, Carnmenellis and Hensbarrow Beacon.
Granite formed as a molten blob of rock beneath the surface, underneath millions of tons of other rock. As the granite cooled, it cracked, mostly vertically due to the pressure from above. Hot water circulated through the cracks, reacting chemically with the rocks and depositing minerals. Over millions of years, the softer rocks above were eroded and the pressure from the weight of the rock above was released, causing horizontal cracking in the granite. The result is cubic blocks where the rough edges have been gradually smoothed by weathering.
In case you're wondering why it's often misty on Bodmin Moor, it's due to what meteorologists call orographic rainfall. As moisture-laden wind blows off the sea towards the moors, it is forced upwards by the hills, into the cooler air a little higher up in the atmosphere. This causes the water vapour gas in the air to condense into tiny droplets of liquid and the result is fog and drizzle.
The little yellow flowers with four petals all over the moor in July are tormentil (Potentilla erecta). Its common names include Bloodroot and Flesh and Blood because roots yield a red dye which is still used as an ingredient for artists' colours (tormentil red). The roots also have very a high tannin content and have even been used to tan leather. Extracts from the plant have been widely used in folk medicine and is it still used as a remedy for diarrhoea and as a lotion for skin sores.
The area of Bodmin Moor designated as an Outstanding Natural Beauty also has an International Dark Sky designation due to an exceptionally high quality night sky. Cornwall Council has committed to protect this as part of its Planning considerations.
The River Fowey rises close to Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor and is fed by 7 tributaries along its 25 mile course, many of which also start on Bodmin Moor. It is the third longest river in Cornwall after the Tamar and Camel.
The name of the River Fowey is from Fowydh, based on the Cornish word for tree, gwydh, and more specifically beech, fawen.
The upper reaches of the Fowey river system run through 2 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and the Fowey valley is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The river has populations of sea trout and salmon as well as brown trout which make it popular with fly fishermen.
The Fowey is used as a conduit for the public water system to feed water from the Siblyback and Colliford reservoirs on Bodmin Moor down to Restormel where it enters the water mains. The increased demand for water from summer visitors has the effect of buffering the river levels in the drier months from the reservoirs.
The River Camel runs for 30 miles from Bodmin Moor to Padstow Bay, making it the longest river in Cornwall after the Tamar.
The name "Cam-El" is from the Cornish meaning "crooked one". It is documented that only the upper reaches of the river, above Boscarne, were originally known as the "Camel". The section from Boscarne to Egloshayle was known as the "Allen" and below this, it was known as "Heyl".
The River Camel is classed as a SSSI and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EC Habitats Directive. The river is a breeding ground for otters, Atlantic salmon and bullhead (a small fish that looks a bit like a blenny but is more closely related to lionfish and scorpionfish).
The River Camel has been fished for salmon and sea trout for centuries and the first royal charter was granted in 1199. In 1750, there are records of rights available on payment of a fee to the Duke of Cornwall to take salmon by use of barbed spears. Needless to say, these rights have now been revoked although even as recently as the 1980s, there are stories of salmon poachers with barbed garden forks beneath bridges along the Camel.
Salmon fishing is still popular and there is a salmon hatchery, where locally-caught salmon are bred. The resulting eggs are hatched and grown for a year in a protected environment before being released to boost the wild salmon population in the River Camel and Fowey.
The Camel Estuary is a geological ria - a deep valley flooded by rising sea levels after the last ice age, stretching from the headlands of Pentire Point and Stepper Point all the way to Wadebridge. The estuary is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Marine Conservation Zone.
Full page maps cannot be printed due to copyright and terms of use.