Bodmin Moor

Introducing Bodmin Moor

Cornwall’s ‘roof’ is a high heath pockmarked with bogs and granite hills, including Rough Tor (pronounced row-tor, 400m) and Brown Willy (419m), Cornwall’s highest point. It’s a desolate place that works on the imagination; the Beast of Bodmin, a large black catlike creature, has been seen regularly for many years, although no-one’s ever managed to snap a decent picture.

Bodmin tourist office (01208-76616; www.bodminlive.com; Mount Folly; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat) can help with information on exploring the moor. The small Town Museum (01208-77067; Mount Folly; admission free; 10.30am-4.30pm Mon-Sat Apr-Sep) is opposite.

The A30 cuts across the centre of the moor from Launceston, which has a ruined 11th-century castle (EH; 01566-772365; admission £2; 10am-6pm Jul-Aug, 10am-5pm Apr-Jun & Sep, 10am-4pm Oct), and an interesting granite church.

Jamaica Inn (01566-86250; www.jamaicainn.co.uk; s £65, d £70-100; ), out on the desolate moor near Bolventor, was made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s novel. On a misty winter’s night the place still feels hugely atmospheric; the inn also contains a small smuggling museum and a room devoted to du Maurier.

About a mile south is Dozmary Pool, said to have been where Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, was thrown after his death. It’s a 4-mile walk northwest of Jamaica Inn to Brown Willy.

The Bodmin & Wenford Railway (0845-125-9678; www.bodminandwenfordrailway.co.uk; return ticket £7.50) is the last standard-gauge railway in Cornwall plied by steam locomotives. The old-fashioned steam trains are still decked out with their original 1950s livery, and chug from Bodmin Parkway and Bodmin General station to Boscarne Junction, where you can join up with the Camel Trail cycle route. There are two to four return trips daily depending on season.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009