The parish church is dedicated to Saint Wenna - a 5th century saint from Wales who was one of the daughters of Brychan and aunt of St David. The church dates back at least to Mediaeval times: there are records from the 12th century that the church was in the possession of the Earl of Gloucester who gave it to Tewkesbury Abbey in around 1150. Like most Cornish churches, it has been rebuilt and restored at least a couple of times since then. The tower originally had three stages but the top section was destroyed by lightning in 1663.
A glebe was an area of land used to support the parish priest (in addition to a residence in the form of a parsonage or rectory). Occasionally the glebe included an entire farm. It was typically donated by the lord of the manor or cobbled together from several donated pieces of land.
In summer, the path can get a bit overgrown with nettles so pick up a stick to clear the way.
The idea of eating something that can sting you seems wrong until you realise that nettles lose their sting as soon as you cook them, and they taste like spinach. Nettles are extremely nutritious, containing high levels of vitamin A and C, large amounts of iron and even a significant amount of protein.
The barrel-like contraptions near the road are for feeding pheasants.
The pheasant is named after the Ancient town of Phasis (now in West Georgia) and the birds were naturalised in the UK by the 10th Century with introductions both from the Romano-British and the Normans. However, by the 17th Century they had become extinct in most of the British Isles.
In the 1830s, the pheasant was rediscovered as a game bird and since then it has been reared extensively for shooting. The pheasant has a life expectancy of less than a year in the wild and it is only common because around 30 million pheasants are released each year on shooting estates.
The settlement of Rosenannon was first recorded in 1284 as Rosenonen. The is thought to based on the Cornish words ros, meaning "hill spur", and onnen, meaning "ash tree".
Rosenannon chapel was built in 1888 as a Bible Christian chapel.
By the time John Wesley died, the majority of Methodists were not attending Anglican church regularly, and following his death a Methodist church was formed, separate from the Anglican church. In the first half of the 19th Century, the Methodist movement fragmented into several different factions, often each with its own chapel in the same town. The Bible Christian movement was one of these, founded in North Cornwall in 1815 by William O'Bryan from Luxulyan. His followers are also known as the Bryonites, although after falling out with most of his ministers, O'Bryan emigrated to America. In 1907, the Bible Christian movement amalgamated with other Methodist groups to form the United Methodist Church.
The road continues to the Rosenannon Downs.
The Downs to the north of Rosenannon were once called Carenza Wortha but are known simply as Rosenannon Downs today. There was once a mediaeval chapel here dedicated to Mary Magdalen but it was destroyed during the English Civil War in the 15th Century. The Downs are now a Nature Reserve, owned by Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the area is a mix of woodland and heath. The boggy ground supports plants such as the sundew.
This is a silver path, so if it's getting overgrown, please report it to Cornwall Council for cutting.
To report an overgrown path, on the directions screen in the app tap on the ☰ menu next to the direction number for the problematic path (or tap on the direction number on the map screen to get the ☰ menu) and select Report Footpath Issue. The app will use the direction number to work out the parish and path number at that location and then create an email to Cornwall Council’s Countryside Team so they can contact the relevant Parish Council. If possible, take photos and attach them to the email as that will help the countryside team to see how bad it is and prioritise it.
Footpaths in Cornwall are graded "gold", "silver" and "bronze" (bronze paths are normally dead-ends that don't link up with other paths).
For parishes that take part in the Local Maintenance Partnership, gold paths are normally cut routinely once or twice each year. Routine cuts on gold paths are typically done in May/June, and any second cuts are usually in July - September.
Paths graded as silver are cut at the discretion of the Parish, so these in particular need to be reported to the Parish Council (via the Countryside Access Team - countryside@cormacltd.co.uk - who have the contact details for each parish council) if they start to become overgrown. Also gold paths which happen to be in parishes who don't participate in the scheme are less likely to get a routine cut, but the Countryside Team can cut these themselves if they get badly overgrown.
If there are sheep in the field and you have a dog, make sure it's securely on its lead (sheep are prone to panic and injuring themselves even if a dog is just being inquisitive). If the sheep start bleating, this means they are scared and they are liable to panic.
If there are pregnant sheep in the field, be particularly sensitive as a scare can cause a miscarriage. If there are sheep in the field with lambs, avoid approaching them closely, making loud noises or walking between a lamb and its mother, as you may provoke the mother to defend her young.
Sheep may look cute but if provoked they can cause serious injury (hence the verb "to ram"). Generally, the best plan is to walk quietly along the hedges and they will move away or ignore you.
The farm at Trewollack is thought to date from early mediaeval times and was first recorded in 1284 as Trewoleck. Other than tre indicating a farmstead, the origin of the rest of the name is not known.
The River Ruthern is one of the major tributaries of the River Camel which it joins at Grogley. The name may have come from the Cornish word "rudhen" meaning "red one".
To date, culling of grey squirrels has not reversed their domination of woodland habitat and alternative approaches such as planting food with contraceptives are being explored as a means to control the population. The theory is that infertile squirrels can compete for food against fertile squirrels, whereas culling can create a glut of food resulting in a higher number of squirrels surviving which replace those that were exterminated. Natural predators such as goshawks or pine martens also remove more grey squirrels than red squirrels. This is because red squirrels are more savvy having co-evolved with the predators so for example they recognise the scent of pine martens and actively avoid areas with this.
The Saints' Way runs for 30 miles from Padstow to Fowey, and follows one of the likely routes of early Christian travellers making their way from Wales and Ireland to the Continent during the Dark Ages. Rather than risk a premature martyring on the rocks around Land's End, they would disembark their ships on the North Devon and Cornish coast and cross the peninsula, on foot, to ports on the south coast such as Fowey. The Bush Inn at Morwenstow is thought to be one of the stopovers from the North Devon ports. The route from Padstow to Fowey was in use before the Dark Ages which is evident from Roman coins found along the route. However it is thought that it was likely to have been in use even earlier still, in the Iron Age.
The name Withiel derives from the Cornish name Gwydhyel, meaning "wooded place". The settlement itself dates back to before Norman times, having 25 households when it was surveyed in 1086, for the Domesday Book. Withiel also has links with the 4th century Irish saint, St Uvel, which may indicate there was a settlement here in the Dark Ages.
The church in Withiel is dedicated to St Clement and dates back to the 13th Century. The dedication (to the third Pope of Rome) is thought might be a result of one parish vicar who was previously at St Clement Danes (the RAF church on the Strand, in London). In the early 16th century, Withiel church was owned by the monastery of Bodmin but had been allowed to go to ruin. Thomas Vyvyan became rector of the church in 1523 and began to rebuild it, and it split from Bodmin monastery in 1538. Much of the main building dates from this time though by the early 19th century, the church was in a state of neglect. The church underwent a major restoration in 1819 which included the addition of the Gothic pinnacles. More recently, the church organ was restored and has its own YouTube video.
Until 2005 it was thought that grasses evolved around 10 million years after the dinosaurs became extinct, based on the earliest fossil of a grass-like plant. Consequently the BBC went to great effort to find filming locations with no grass for its ground-breaking computer animation series "Walking with Dinosaurs". Since then, fragments of a grass plant related to rice and bamboo have been found in fossilised dinosaur dung. Also the fossil remains of a rodent-like creature which appears to have grass-eating adaptations suggests that grasses could have been around as far back as 120 million years ago.
To discourage herbivores from eating them, nettles leaves have tiny spikes which inject a stinging venom. The myth that nettle stings are caused by acid is one that needs debunking as the formic acid in nettle venom is at a concentration that is too low to cause a sting. It is actually a combination of neurotransmitters (histamine, serotonin and acetylcholine) in the venom which causes skin irritation. The most effective relief is likely to be from an antihistamine cream but only if applied quickly enough.
Buzzards breed once they reach 2-3 years old. During their breeding season in spring, male buzzards create spectacular aerial displays to impress females by soaring high into the air and dropping suddenly towards the ground. The birds then pair for life.
The common name "foxglove" dates back many hundreds of years but the origin is unknown. The "gloves" almost certainly refers to the shape of the flowers, and the Latin name Digitalis (finger-like) is along similar lines. The curious part is the "fox" and many different suggestions have been made as to where it came from. It is possible that it is a corruption of another word. One suggestion is "folks" which was once used to mean "fairies".
The bushes on the opposite side of the valley are on the site of the Lanjew iron mine. There are some records of yields in the 1850s which indicate the scale was quite small. It is also recorded both on the 1st and 2nd editions of the OS map from the 1880s and early 1900s, respectively, but only as disused on the second edition. The overgrown remains of a chimney still exists on the other side of the stream.
The settlement of Lanjew was first recorded in 1290 as Lenthu and is thought originally to have been from the Cornish words lyn and dhu meaning "black pool". Once the Cornish language became spoken less, many place name drifted towards an English-sounding word - jew in this case.
Although it's obvious that you should ensure any gates that you open, you also close, what about gates you find that are already open?
If the gate is fully open then leave it alone as it may well be providing livestock access to a water supply, and by closing it you could end up killing them.
If the gate is ajar or swinging loose and not wedged or tied open then it's likely that the gate was left open by accident (possibly by another group of walkers). Properly closing the offending gate behind you will not only bring joy to the landowner but you can feel good about saving lives in a car swerving to avoid a cow in the road.
If you encounter a gate doubly-secured with twine that can be untied or a chain that can be unfastened, it's normally there because naughty animals have managed to undo the gate themselves at some point (e.g. by rubbing against the bolt), so retie/fasten it afterwards.
There are a few different species of buttercup. One of most common is meadow buttercup (unsurprisingly found in meadows!) which is the tallest member of the family. Another common one is creeping buttercup which as the name suggests spreads through rhizomes so is more likely to be found in dense clumps in damp places. Its leaves are also more golden and glossy.
Today, more than 11,000 species of grass exist around the world. In the UK, around 160 species occur. The most widely sown grasses by farmers are ryegrasses (recognisable by the alternating spaced-out "ears of corn" pattern of seeds along the stem) as these are able to take up nitrogen fertiliser efficiently and also generate high levels of sugars. On dry land, cocksfoot (recognisable from distinct tufts of seeds) is often sown as this is the most deep-rooted of the grass species.
Demelza Castle was situated at the top of the hill to the left of the lane.
Demelza Castle was an Iron Age hillfort which was reported in the 18th Century as having three ramparts but only the remains of two are now visible. Earlier reports suggested that a third rampart much further out could have enclosed a settlement from which the fort with the inner two ramparts could have formed a retreat. However, no evidence for the third rampart or a settlement has so far been discovered.
This is also a silver path, so if it's getting overgrown, please report it to Cornwall Council for cutting.
The word "stile" is based on an Old English word stigel for ladder. This in turn came from an old Germanic word stig meaning "to climb" and the word "stair" also came from this.
Conversely, the word "style" (now used for fashion etc. but originally for literary style or a writing tool i.e. stylus) is from French origins (naturally!). This came from an Old French word stile, derived from the Latin stilus. It's thought the "i" might have been changed to a "y" for snob value to be more like the (unrelated) Greek word stylos (for pillar).
Llamas and Alpacas are both from South America and are members of the camel family. Llamas are the larger of the two with longer (banana-sized) ears and a longer face. Alpacas have a very short, blunt face and have been bred for fleece production so they have shaggy hair rather like a sheep. Llamas have been bred for transporting goods (similarly to camels) hence their larger size.
Ferns evolved a long time before flowering plants and dominated the planet during the Carboniferous period. The bark from tree ferns during this period is thought to have been the main source of the planet's coal reserves.
Fern fronds form in a coil (known as a crozier or fiddlehead) with the delicate tip protected in the centre. As the outer parts begin to photosynthesise, the sugars they produce cause more water to be drawn into the leaf, causing it to expand and gradually unfurl.
Ferns produce 2 different types of leaf (although they often look quite similar). The normal leaves are used for photosynthesis of sugars just like in other plants. Ferns also produce a special kind of spore-bearing leaf which can often be identified from the dots on the underside. In hart's tongue ferns, these are really obvious.
Ferns produce neither flowers nor seeds and rely on the tiny spores for their reproduction which are most commonly distributed by the wind. This allows them to colonise some quite random places such as rocky ledges that heavier seeds might not reach. Since the spores come from just one parent fern, the offspring is a genetic clone.
The spore from a fern doesn't grow into a fern. Instead it grows into an organism resembling a liverwort (i.e. a small green blob). Instead of producing spores, these produce eggs and also sperm which they interchange with neighbouring blobs to get a new mix of genes. The fertilised egg grows into a new fern and so this alternating process of ferns and blobs repeats.
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 Saviour was crucified.
The interlaced knot patterns that are associated with Celtic decoration had their origins in the Roman Empire and appear in mosaics during late Roman times. Prior to this, simpler patterns such as spirals and steps featured in Celtic art. Together with Christianity, interlaced patterns were enthusiastically adopted by the Celtic people refined into the knotwork that is now so iconic. Nearly all the decorative patterns are composed from a palette of just 8 elementary knots.
Red and Roe deer are the two truly native species of the six found in the UK and both have pointy, branching (rugose) antlers. The Red deer is the largest of the species and has a characteristic large white V on its backside whereas the Roe deer just has a small white patch.
The fallow deer was introduced by the Normans and has flat, elk-like (palmate) antlers and an inverted black horseshoe surrounding a white patch on its rear end.
In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, three "exotic" Asian species (munjac, sika and Chinese water deer) were introduced. These all have quite rounded ears whereas the European species all have pointy "elf-like" ears.
Roe deer, Fallow deer and Red deer are all present in Cornwall and the populations of all three species has increased substantially over the past decade, possibly by as much as a factor of ten. There are also a small number of munjac deer, but far fewer than in the rest of England.
Whilst there's a bit of a joke that Cornish Time is "d'reckly", the reason why things happen a bit later in Cornwall can be explained by a brief introduction to marine navigation (possibly in more ways than one by a local who is not amused!):
Longitude is the east-west position around the globe in degrees (0-360). Greenwich in London was chosen to be 0 degrees, known as the "meridian". The sun rises in the east so places east of the meridian get the sun earlier and places west get the sun later.
Each global 1-hour timezone covers 15 degrees of longitude (360 degrees divided by 24 hours). Being the most westerly part of the UK mainland, Cornwall is roughly 5 degrees or a third of a timezone away from London - about 20 minutes behind GMT. Since clocks are not set differently, everything involving the sun - dawn, dusk etc - happens at a later time.
The take home message is that it's therefore possible to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine watching the sun set over the sea whilst the capital is in darkness.
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