SAVE PENWITH MOORS - AREAS OF PRESENT CONCERN
CARNYORTH COMMON (Carn Kenidjack)
Now Registered Common Land
INTRODUCTION
Carnyorth Common is a large area of moorland, including both Truthwall and Botallack
Commons as well as a section on the northern edge believed to be owned by the Lords of
Trewellard; the whole Common lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is
also within a World Heritage Site (St Just Mining District). The Common lies within easy
access to the 'First and Last Town' of St Just so that it has always been well used by local
walkers and horse riders, as well as groups of school children staying at the nearby Carnyorth
Outdoor Centre.
The area is a mixture of western gorse and heathers – one of the finest in the Peninsula − as
well as ubiquitous bracken and scrub, but in no way can it be considered an overgrown
impassable mass of vegetation. The area is crossed by over ten public rights of way, some of
which have not been cleared of scrub for the past four decades, although there are many
easily accessible 'unofficial' paths and a number of paths have been opened up by the Penwith
Access and Rights of Way group (PAROW).
Most of the south-eastern half of the moor is a single large scheduled ancient monument in its
own right, with numerous prehistoric and medieval field systems, chambered cairns, rounds,
barrows and holed stones. Other prehistoric sites lie outside this scheduled area but still
within the HEATH Project: these include barrows, a chambered cairn, and the Tregeseal
Stone Circle where some of the stones are only just embedded in the earth.
This moor is very atmospheric, especially so in misty weather, and is overlooked by the great
rocky outcrop of Carn Kenidjack. Robert Hunt, the Victorian collector of local folklore
wrote:
“The spirit of the Celts, possibly the spirits of a yet older people, dwell amidst those
rocks. Within the shadow of this hill are mounds and barrows, and mystic circles, and
holed stones, and rude altars, still telling of the past. The dead hold undisputed sway
all around; no ploughshare has dared to invade this sacred spot, and every effort made
by modern man to mark his sway is indicated by its ruin….”.
This common has not been grazed for some 130 years but has been subjected to several large
fires during that time that reduced large parts of the moor to a blackened landscape. Despite
this – or because of it – the Common was declared in a Natural England Higher Level
Stewardship Farm Environmental Plan (2007) to be “in good condition, and that the
appropriate management strategy is ‘maintain’.”
But despite being in ‘good condition’ this Common was extensively stock proofed under the
HEATH Project during the winter of 2008/2009 with new barbed wire fencing, numerous
gates and a cattle grid (declared to be an unlawful obstruction by Cornwall Council) all at a
cost of about £42,000.
STOCK PROOFING
Access Point 1 on footpath 147 (8.5.2009)
All the gates are now in place but many public rights of way have not yet been made
accessible onto the moor: most of these can still not be walked despite one of the HEATH
Project's aims being to improve access. A group of up to 16 longhorn cattle have been on the
moor since May 2009 but spend much of their time in adjacent ‘back-up’ fields or around the
Stone Circle. (See map of access points on next page.)
Sketch map showing location of the access points. Numbered points are those of HEATH Project
map showing new gates. Lettered points are where a public right of way crosses into Project area.
Access 1
Access 2
Access 3
Access 4
Access 4b
Access 5
Access 6
Access 7
Access 8
Access 9
Access A
Access B
Access C
Access D
Access E
Access F
Access G
Access H
Access J
Water
Troughs
ACCESS POINT 1
Left: Footpath St Just 147: new cattle grid and bridle gate near Hector's House (8/5/09). Right: at 7/8/10. The cattle grid was
declared by Cornwall Council to be an unlawful obstruction of a right of way and has now been ‘swapped over’ with the gate.
ACCESS POINT 2
Footpath 149: new gateway on north side of moor by Hector's House (22/5/09). Right: at 7/11/08
ACCESS POINT 3
Footpath 139: new gateway on east side of moor looking west (8.5.2009). Right: at 1/8/2008
ACCESS POINT 4
ACCESS POINT 4B
New gateway on east side of moor by Water Lane (8/5/2009).
New gateway and fencing on east side of moor
ACCESS POINT 5
Access point 5: new gateway and fencing on east side of moor with granite stile
(Access Point D) in background on footpath 137: the path is very overgrown and the
stile is not marked as an access point on map of 17/11/2008 (25/3/2009).
ACCESS POINT 6
Junction of footpaths 138/142: new gates across public footpath where a previous waymark has been uprooted
(21/7/2009). Right: at (1/8/2008)
ACCESS POINT 7
Non-definitive path: new bridle gate (21/1/2009). Right: at 26/2/2005
ACCESS POINT 8
Footpath 139: new bridle gate at the top of Devils Lane (22/5/2009). The field beyond was
part of the moor in the late 1970s.
ACCESS POINT 9
Footpath 144: new gateway on lane to moors from B3306 (8/5/2009). The gate is at a junction of paths 144/147, the latter being
impassable along much of its length. Right: at 27/2/2005 (the post has been removed for some years)
ACCESS POINT A
Footpath 150: there is a poorly maintained wooden stile and overgrown
path here on the boundary of HEATH land (not marked on NE map of
17/11/2008).Path now cleared.
ACCESS POINT B
Footpath 142: new stile over hedge:
insensitive design quite out of keeping
with area and not marked on NE map
of 17/11/08.
ACCESS POINT C
ACCESS POINT D
Left: Footpath 141: the northern end of this overgrown footpath across the moors goes along this old totally blocked lane only
about 100 metres or so from the bridle gate (Access 4) which is on a non-definitive path. Although the lane itself is outside the
HEATH Project area the adjoining moorland scrub in the foreground, which is, has not been touched for many decades (April
2009). Right: Footpath 137: overgrown old granite stile (7/11/2008).
ACCESS POINT E
Footpath 136: there is no evidence of any stile here and HEATH has
not provided any or marked it as an access point on NE map of
17/11/2008. (April 2009).
ACCESS POINT F
Path point F on footpath 141: old wooden stile not marked
as an access point on NE map of 17/11/2008. Most of this
path is also not visible on the ground (April 2009).
ACCESS POINT G
ACCESS POINT H
Footpath 146: existing granite stile not marked as access point on
NE map of 17/11/2008. (1/8/2008 )
Path point H on footpath 138: old burnt wooden stile not
marked as access point on NE map of 17/11/2008. Path not
visible on the ground (April 2009).
ACCESS POINT J
Footpath 143: new stile not marked on map of 17/11/2008 - the whole
length of this long path across the moor is totally overgrown and
obscured (22/5/2009).
WATER TROUGH SITES
Neither water trough had been installed by February 2010 but, after SPM complaints, they are now in
place, although in both cases they have been put next to public footpaths which are therefore likely to be
churned up by assembled cattle
SOME NEW FENCING
Left: Between sites 6 and 7. Right: By site 3 at end of lane from Hailglower Farm - new fencing where there has never been any
before (19/12/2008)