The Landscape of Bodmin Moor

It would be easy to describe Bodmin Moor as a windswept barren plateau, devoid of trees and covered in bottomless bogs; it is after all the image many people have of moorland in the southwest thanks to writers and artists over the last couple of centuries. If that is what you want then we suggest you visit in deepest January and head off into the middle of the moor without map or compass!

For those of us who live on the moor, it is a much different place... a place where the landscape changes everyday, and with every mile. In fact for many of us it is this ever-changing landscape that provides us with the magic that keeps us here and draws visitors back year after year.

Bodmin Moor is, for much of its area, an upland of thin poor soil sitting on top of hard granite rock. In places this hard rock breaks through the surface forming tors - hills crowned by fantastically shaped rocks, often known as "cheesewrings", such as the famous Cheesewring near Minions. There are thirty-five of these tors on the moor, and most are accessible to the adventurous walker. No two tors are the same; over millions of years the elements have smoothed and eroded the rocks to the point where some are now separate from the rocks below them, and can be moved with very little force. These rocks are called logan stones. Other stones lay littered around the slopes of the tors as if thrown there by giants.

Between the tors you will find boggy areas, and in general these are best avoided, but from these wetlands run some of Cornwall's finest rivers like the Fowey and the Lynher. Starting out as babbling streams they meander across the moor to its edge where, as they reach the point where the hard granite finishes, they tumble over waterfalls, often hidden amongst verdant ancient woodland. They are a great place for wildlife; damselflies and dragonflies dart upstream, whilst otters, common but rarely seen, feast on the trout and salmon that have battled their way from the sea.

Your initial thoughts of the moorland landscape will be of an untamed place where man has had little influence. Once you start to look closer though, you will realise that this is far from the truth. Admittedly there are many parts of the moor that nature has reclaimed over the years, but once you start exploring you will find the hand of man has left his mark far and wide. Over 6,000 years of habitation can be found on the moor. This ranges from the Neolithic hill enclosures and burial chambers to World War Two airfields and foxholes. Field patterns date back thousands of years; farms can be traced back to the Domesday Book, and more recently, the mining of tin and copper has been responsible for the creation and expansion of several villages around the moor.

The mines on Bodmin Moor had their heyday in the mid 1800s when technology allowed men to dig to great depths underground in search of tin and copper. Prior to this, tin was extracted from surface workings using water. These streamworks, as they are known, have left great scars in the moorland landscape, where at times thousand of tons of earth and rock have been removed to leave man made gorges. You may also come across lines of shallow hollows known locally as lode back pits - small pits dug to discover where the tin was. These tend to run east to west across the moor and are best seen near to the Hurlers stone circle at Minions.

The village of Minions, like several others on the moor, originated because of the mining revolution in the mid 1800s. It is now a part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site, set up to highlight the role the area played in the industrial heritage of not only Cornwall, but all over the world. The landscape all around the village is dotted with mining remains from all periods, but it is the engine houses from the Victorian era that take centre stage. Now no more than gaunt skeletons of their former selves, they serve to remind us of the hard working men, women and children who lived and worked these barren moors and also went deep underground in search of riches they rarely found.

Quarrying has also had its effect on the landscape, the hard granite rock being ideal for building. Now, only one quarry at DeLank is still in operation, but all around the moor you will find abandoned quarries; many flooded to great depth, and best approached with care. The stone from Bodmin Moor's quarries has found its way all over the world, and chances are that somewhere near you there will be a building, bridge or monument built using Cornish granite.

The last major change to the landscape of Bodmin Moor has been the planting of conifer plantations, and the creating of reservoirs. Three man made lakes can be visited on the moor - Siblyback, Colliford and Crowdy. Over time they have become as one with the moor and now provide great recreational places to visit; with sailing, fishing and bird watching amongst the many things to do. At the same time, several of the conifer plantations have had walking routes laid out in them; the best example being at Cardinham Woods on the moor's western slopes.

So what is often thought of as a barren wilderness, is in fact a landscape that has been constantly changed by man over the centuries. We hope that man can continue to enjoy it, and to respect both those that have gone before, and all those that still work and farm on the moor, or will be visiting the moor in the future.

For a more detailed introduction to the landscape and beauty of Bodmin Moor, why not order our excellent new book "An Introduction to Bodmin Moor" by Mark Camp!