Cornwall landscape, geology, nature and history trails and guides

North Cornish Coast

NORTH CORNWALL GEOLOGY GUIDE Heulyn Lewis   £3.99
North Cornwall District Council 2006.
The 46 stout, glossy, water-resistant pages with an easy-to-open wire binding are designed for outdoor use.  There are over 150 colour illustrations, including many thumb-nail photos, which, together with written descriptions, encourage the identification of local rocks and minerals. This introductory companion guide includes sections on geological history, structure, mining and quarrying and is designed to enhance the enjoyment and understanding of this unique area.

TREVONE GEOLOGY TRAIL North Cornwall District Council     70p
A folding 10-page pocket-sized pamphlet with 27 coloured illustrations including a geology map. A clear trail map and directions cover a two and a half mile (4km) walk of about three hours which explores the geology and landscape of this coastal walk. Local fossils, rocks and minerals are illustrated as well as explanations of coastal scenery and evidence of old mining and quarrying activity. 

BUDE GEOLOGY TRAIL North Cornwall District Council   70p
A folding 10-page pocket-sized pamphlet with 22 coloured illustrations including a geology map. A clear trail map and directions cover a two and a half mile (4.5km) walk of about two hours which helps you to explore the coastal scenery and geology of the Bude coastline. Coastal features discussed include folding, ripple marks, load casts, liesegang rings and turbidites. The port’s industrial heritage including the canal, lime kilns and the breakwater are also illustrated.

 

CRACKINGTON GEOLOGY TRAIL North Cornwall District Council (2007)  70p  
A folding 10 page pocket-size pamphlet with 24 colour photographs and maps. A clear map of the trail and an associated geology map offer directions and a commentary for a 5 mile, 8 km, (two hour?) circular walk along the coast. Topics include minerals and mining, quarrying, coastal features and a look at beach pebbles.

BOSCASTLE AND TINTAGEL GEOLOGY TRAIL North Cornwall District Council (2007) 70p
A folding 10 page pocket-size pamphlet with 24 colour photographs and maps. Clear directions accompany a trail map and an associated geology map, together offering a commentary for a (three hour?) coastal walk of approximately 5 miles, 8 km, between Boscastle and Tintagel. Topics include coastal features, the area’s industrial heritage and local rocks, fossils and minerals.

PENTIRE GEOLOGY TRAIL North Cornwall District Council    70p
A folding 10-page pocket-sized pamphlet with 24 coloured illustrations including a geology map. A clear trail map and directions cover a four mile (6.5km) walk of about three hours which encourages an exploration of the varied geology of the Pentire peninsula. Landscape features are explained whilst a series of thumb-nail photos facilitate the recognition of rocks and minerals associated with Pentire’s industrial mining heritage.

PORTREATH GEOLOGY GUIDE Ade Marks (2000)

A5. 40 pp. 100+ colour illustrations. £2.95

An introduction to the local coastal geology of North Cornwall by a beach walk and a walk through the village looking at building stones.

THE BUDE GUIDE North Cornwall Coast and Countryside Service      £3.99
ISBN  9871883443239 A full-colour, 30 pages (A4) guide with over 150 illustrations and five footpath maps covering coastal landscape walks from Welcombe Mouth to Boscastle.

THE TINTAGEL GUIDE  North Cornwall Coast and Countryside Service £3.99
ISBN  1900046158 A full-colour, 38 page (A4) guide with over 150 illustrations. Sections on rocks, nature, stone monuments, Tintagel Church, The Island Castle, Folklore and Arthurian legend. 

These two booklets (above), flagged in their title as ‘Souvenir Guides’, serve that purpose well but are specifically included in this Cornwall ‘Landscape’ selection because their wide-ranging introduction to their districts with sections covering aspects of history, landscape and nature, which combine to evoke a local sense of place. 

BOSCASTLE - The Flood North Cornwall Coast and Countryside Service   70p
A folding 10-page pocket-sized pamphlet with 24 coloured illustrations and a rainfall map. The pamphlet explains how the 2004 flood happened, the sequence of events and the aftermath. Attention is drawn to the frequency of flash floods in the South-West, including the Lynmouth Disaster of 1952 (see Lyn in Flood, Watersmeet to Lynmouth [Thematic Trails 1990]). The prospect of future Boscastle floods is considered.

BOSCASTLE 16 August 2004 – the day of the flood. David Rowe
ISBN 978-1-85022-193-7  Truran 2004   £4.99
A5.  64 pages. 68 colour photographs.

In this ‘human story’ about the flood, Cornish journalist, David Rowe, records many original and compelling accounts to tell the story of that fateful day. In many ways it complements the 10 page pamphlet (see above) which explains how the flood happened.

For further "Rivers in Flood" booklets click HERE

A SEASHORE GUIDE TO NORTH CORNWALL  Jim Masters
ISBN 1900046018  North Cornwall Heritage Coast 1995.       £2.99
16 pages. 50+ illustrations.
This printed folder contains six laminated, weather-proof, double-sided A5 sheets. These guides to local seashore animals, plants and their habitats are admirably suited for family and junior school use.

The Lizard

BENEATH THE SKIN OF THE LIZARD  Robin Bates & Bill Scolding
ISBN 978-1-898166-09-9 Cornwall County Council   2000  £3.75
36 Pages. A5 Over 100 colour illustrations. 8 maps.  After a brief introduction to the unique geology of the area, seven coastal walks explore the geology of the Lizard peninsula. Sites include the Lizard Point, Kynance Cove, Mullion Cove, Kennack Sands, Coverack, Porthallow and Gunwalloe. An identification guide with individual illustrations helps the explorer to identify most of the rocks found on the Lizard.

WILD FLOWERS OF THE LIZARD Robin Bates and Bill Scolding.
ISBN 978-1-903798-01-0 Cornwall County Council  2002  £3.75
36 pages A5.   This book is a field guide which introduces you to virtually all the flowers you are likely to come across as you walk on the Lizard. The guide is supported by pictures and descriptions of almost 200 flowers as well as tracing their roots through folklore, myth, magic and medicine. A booklet which enhances any explorer’s pocket for whatever reason you are interested in the Lizard. Seven local walks are recommended. 

FIVE WALKS AROUND RUAN MINOR & CADGWITH  Robin Bates & Bill Scolding
ISBN 978-1-898166-58-0 Cornwall County Council 1999.  £2.99
32 pages A5 Over 80 illustrations. 6 maps. Full colour.
What is a good ‘walking companion’? Well this is. In these local landscape walks, nature is mixed with history, industry with picnic spots and even cowpats with pilchards. In fact anything that you might come across on these walks is given an extra zest – not pedantic explanation but just the thoughtful comment that adds interest to walks taken, almost virtual-reality wise, in the company of these two men with a deep local knowledge.

FIVE WALKS FROM THE LIZARD   Robin Bates & Bill Scolding
ISBN 978-1-898166-51-1 Cornwall County Council 1996 & 2001  £3.75
32 Pages A5 Over 70 illustrations. 6 Maps. Full colour.
A true walking companion, adding explanation and interest to the many questions which naturally arise when walking in this landscape, be they stimulated by history, flowers, bird life, shipping, geology or the landscape itself.

FIVE WALKS AROUND ST KEVERNE  Robin Bates & Bill Scolding
ISBN 978-1-898166-22-1  Cornwall County Council 1997 £2.99
32 pages A5  Over 80 illustrations. 6 Maps. Full colour.
Another pleasant ‘walking companion’, drawing on a wealth of local knowledge to arouse interest in so many things in the the local landscape which are so easy simply to walk past in ignorance. A thread of history links much of what we experience in this landscape yet attention is also drawn to the beauty of both the landscape and of nature and the bonus that knowledge gives us as we walk in such places.

 

South Cornish Coast

 

GEOLOGICAL GUIDE TO SOUTH EAST CORNWALL

John Macadam. Caradon District Council 1998. £3.99

ISBN 978-0-948410-02-4 16 pages, 50+ illustrations.

A clear brief guide pack with five double-sided pocket-size (A5) sheets sealed in all-weather plastic coats. Three trails are included; 1 Lantic Bay. 2 Minions. 3 Cawsands Bay. Explanations are simple but lucid.

 

EXPLORE THE LANDSCAPE AND ROCKS OF THE ST AUSTELL AREA

John Macadam. Cornwall County Council 2001.     £2.75
ISBN 978-1-898166-89-4  A well-illustrated full-colour guide pack with pocket-size (A5) sheets sealed in all-weather plastic coats. The 16-page pack includes: a scenic tour around the China Clay area from the Eden Project or Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum; a granite tor walk; a St Austell town trail and information sheets covering rocks, minerals, fossils and folds and faults.

 

PENDOWER AND CARNE GEOLOGICAL TRAIL

John Macadam Cornwall County Council 1997. Free

ISBN 978-1-898166-02-3 12 page fold-out booklet with quality colour illustrations. A beach walk suitable for family use but also locates sites of interest for more academic study. Free, upon request, with any other order or 10p via Paypal.

Bodmin Moor

ROUGHTOR GEOLOGY TRAIL North Cornwall District Council   70p
A folding 10-page pocket-sized pamphlet with 21 coloured illustrations including a geology map. A clear trail map and directions cover a two mile (3km) walk of about two hours which gives confidence for an exploration of the geology and granite scenery of Rough Tor on Bodmin Moor. Attention is drawn to evidence of mining, china clay and quarrying as well as explanations for some of the strange landscape features of the granite landscape.  

THE COPPER TRAIL. Once around Bodmin Moor Mark Camp (2005) £4.95

48 pages over 50 colour photos 10 maps.  ISBN 978-0-9544912-3-9

A circular walk around the whole of the moor. Taken in its entirety this is about sixty miles but, conveniently for most people, it is divided into day-walks. Included in the walks are high moor, remote farms, ancient monuments including clapper bridges, mines and ruins.

DAY ONE                 Minions to St Neot. Distance 8 miles

DAY TWO                St Neot to Bodmin. Distance: 13 miles.

DAY THREE              Bodmin to St Breward. Distance: 10 miles.

DAY FOUR               St Breward to Camelford. Distance 6 miles.

DAY FIVE                Camelford to Five Lanes. Distance: 10.5 miles.

DAY SIX                  Five Lanes to Minions. Distance: 9 miles.   

SHORT BODMIN MOOR WALKS with Mark Camp This set of three volumes consists of 18 walks in or around Bodmin Moor. Together, the walks cover all 18 parishes of Bodmin Moor. The walks are designed to enhance your enjoyment of the area. They all contain clear walking instructions but each feels more of a countryside companion, taken in the company of the author Mark Camp, who weaves together elements of the landscape, local history and archaeology of the moor and its surroundings. Each walk is classified from * (easy) to ***** (strenuous and involving some walking over rough moorland and rugged wilderness).   SIX WALKS ON AND AROUND BODMIN MOOR. VOLUME ONE £2.95 Mark Camp (2003) 28 pages, 6 walking maps. 41 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9544912-0-8 Walk 1 On the edge (St Breward Parish) *** Distance: 2.5 miles. Walk 2 The Peaceful Valley (St Clether Parish) ** Distance: 1.5 miles. Walk 3 In Search of White Feathers (St Neot Parish) **** Distance: 3.5 miles. Walk 4 Two Bridges Walk (Blisland Parish) * Distance: 2.5 miles. Walk 5 Quoits, Crows and Copper (St Cleer Parish) *** Distance: 3.5 miles. Walk 6 In the Hawk’s Shadow (North Hill Parish) ***** Distance: 4 miles. SIX WALKS ON AND AROUND BODMIN MOOR. VOLUME TWO £2.95 Mark Camp (2004) 28 pages. 6 walking maps. 36 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9544912-1-5 Walk 1 Warleggan, Whispers & Wind (Warleggan Parish) *** Distance: 3 miles. Walk 2 The Lanes of Lewannick (Lewannick Parish) * Distance: 3.75 miles. Walk 3 A Short Walk in a Small Parish (Michaelstow Parish) ** Distance: 2.75 miles. Walk 4 A Victorian Village Walk (Pensilva, St Ive Parish) * Distance: 3 miles. Walk 5 To Helland and Back (Helland Parish) * Distance: 4 miles. Walk 6 To Summer Pastures and White Gold (Advent Church Parish) *** Distance: 5 miles. SIX WALKS ON AND AROUND BODMIN MOOR. VOLUME THREE £2.95 Mark Camp (2005) 32 pages. 6 walking maps. 50 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9544912-2-2 Walk 1 The Four Rectorys Walk (St Tudy Parish) ** Distance: 2.5 miles. Walk 2 To Venture Forth (Altarnun Parish) *** Distance: 5 miles. Walk 3 The Other Cardinham Walk (Cardinham Parish) ** Distance: 3 miles. Walk 4 The Mines and Mills Walk (Linkinhorne Parish) ***** Distance: 9 miles. Walk 5 The Crooked River Walk (Camelford Parish) ** Distance: 4 miles. Walk 6 The Contractual Obligations Walk (Davidstow Parish) ** Distance: 2.5 miles.