Visiting West Penwith? - Ancient Penwith | Cornwall

Ancient Penwith
The prehistoric landscape of West Penwith, the Land's End peninsula, Cornwall
Ancient Penwith
Ancient Penwith
The prehistoric landscape of the Land's End Peninsula
Ancient Penwith
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Visiting West Penwith?

If you're visiting West Cornwall, this page is for you.


Visiting West Penwith

'Penwith' means 'far beyond'. And it is.
Map courtesy of Google Maps
West Penwith is four hours from Bristol and six from London.

It's a small, concise promontory area about 12 x 15 km in size, surrounded by sea cliffs and beaches on three sides and by land to the east. Down here, England is called 'upcountry'.

Getting here

You can catch a train from many cities in Britain to Penzance - PZ is surprisingly well-connected (but you might need a good book to read on the way).

Or drive down the M5 and A30 (or, from London, the M3, A303 and A30). Once you're past Exeter and cross the River Tamar into Cornwall, it gets better and better.

Or catch a shuttle plane from London Gatwick or Heathrow or other airports to Newquay (NQY), then hire a taxi or car or get a lift if you can.


Penzance, as seen from Marazion
PenzancePenwith has three towns - Penzance, St Just and St Ives, a number of villages and many farms, houses and hideaways.

It is well known as a holiday area. It's very busy in July-August, pleasant and cheaper in May-June and September-October, and you need a good attitude toward wind and rain in winter, from November to March, but self-catering places are cheap.

We have a changeable Atlantic oceanic climate, so bring clothes to match, for sun, wind and rain. Come at the right time and the weather can be wonderful, clear and sunny. Come at the wrong time, and you could get blown away and rained on!
Penwith's ancient sites

West Penwith has a profusion of ancient sites, denser than anywhere in Britain and dating back two to six millennia - the same period as dynastic Egypt, the Minoans of Crete and Sumer-Babylon. For a map of ancient Penwith, try this.
Merry Maidens stone circle
The Merry MaidensThere are four stone circles (though once there were more). The Merry Maidens and Boscawen-ûn are easy to get to, and Tregeseal and the Nine Maidens need a walk and a map.

There are many menhirs (standing stones) and cairns and barrows, and other Neolithic and Bronze Age sites, mostly around 4,000 years old, with some as old as 5,700 years old.

There are two accessible Iron Age villages (2,000ish years old) at Chysauster and Carn Euny, and others (mainly piles of stones) dotted around the peninsula, accessible to walkers.
Gurnard's Head, with Pendeen Watch behind
Gurnards Head and Pendeen WatchSome of the cliff sanctuaries (cliff castles) are well worth a visit, for inspiration and coastal panoramas. Try Treryn Dinas, Gurnard's Head, Bosigran Castle or Cape Cornwall. Officially they are dated to the Iron Age 2,000ish years ago but actually they date back to the Neolithic, 5,500 or more years ago.

The quoits (dolmens or cromlechs) go back at least 5,500 years - the best to visit are Chûn, Mulfra and Zennor Quoits, and the easiest is Lanyon Quoit (though it is no longer in its original form, having been faultily restored in Victorian times).

Neolithic tor enclosures (Carn Galva, Carn Kenidjack, Trencrom Hill and St Michael's Mount) go back to a similar time. Carn Galva and Carn Kenidjack can be combined with a visit to the Nine Maidens and Tregeseal stone circles, respectively.
St Euny's Well, near Carn Euny
St Euny's WellThen there are fogous (underground chambers, 2,000ish years old) and holy wells (try Sancreed, Madron and St Euny's Well), Celtic rounds (enclosures), early Christian crosses (800-1,500 years old), old churches and oratories. Special hilltops are Sancreed Beacon, Chapel Carn Brea, Bartinney Castle, Zennor Hill and Chûn Castle.

So there are plenty of places to visit - and when you get there, stop still for a while and go within yourself, since these are good places for contemplation, inspiration and letting go of all all the concerns you might have had before you came here.
Visiting Ancient Sites

At some places it is possible to visit various sites in close proximity. Distances given are there-and-back walking distances.

Try the following:

Map of the ancient sites mentioned on this page1. Mên-an-Tol, the Nine Maidens and Bosiliack Barrow (2m, some rough walking);

2. Sancreed church, holy well and Sancreed Beacon (0.5m, quite easy);

3. Carn Euny village, St Euny's Well and Bartinney Castle (1m), plus perhaps Chapel Carn Brea (2m);

4. Tregeseal stone circle, the Botallack Common cairns and holed stones, and Carn Kenidjack (2m from parking place on North Road);

5. Chûn Quoit and Chûn Castle (1.5m);

6. Zennor Hill and Zennor Quoit (2.5m, uphill);

7. Pordenack Point, Nanjizal Bay and Carn Lês Boel (start from Land's End, 4m, inspiring and strenuous), or Carn Lês Boel from Porthgwarra (3m, inspiring, less strenuous).

8. Trencrom Hill is worth a climb (a Neolithic tor enclosure and Iron Age camp, 1m, quite steep);

9. Of the cliff sanctuaries, try Bosigran Castle (9a, 1m), Gurnard's Head (9b, 1m), Treryn Dinas (aka Logan Rock, 9c, 1.5m), Cape Cornwall (9d, 0.5m).
Welcome to West Penwith!
St Michael's Mount
St Michael's MountThis is a great area for leaving your worries and concerns behind, finding inspiration, getting some exercise, visiting some excellent ancient sites and having some wonderful oceanside experiences.

Recommendation: a minimum of four nights' stay gives you three full days - one for ancient sites, one for clifftops and coves and one for freewheeling. Otherwise you'll find yourself driving back up the A30 to the madding crowds of England, wishing you'd stayed longer!
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