THE ENGLISH TAKE THEIR “RIGHT TO ROAM” seriously. Well-worn public footpaths—some have been in use for more than 1000 years!—run beside busy roads, along scenic cliffs, through gates and over stiles in farmers’ fields. Signposts point a direction but seldom a destination and, speaking from personal experience, it’s easy to get turned around.
Choose your own path
Please Close the Gates
Be Careful Climbing the Stiles
Cornwall is Poldark country for you PBS, BritBox and Netflix fans and we wanted to visit some of the filming sites. The Geevor Tin Mine was closed—it has been since 1986. On Saturday even the visitors center and mine tour were closed. Go figure. It didn’t bother us much—we really didn’t want to put on a hardhat and walk stooped over like Groucho trough mine tunnels where Tommyknockers might lurk.
John and Cornish Cathedrals
Levant Tin Mine
We stayed above ground in the sunshine and invoked our right to roam. Bearing on the derelict “Cornwall Cathedral” mine chimneys we followed thepublic footpath from Geevor to the abandoned Levant Mine, now controlled by the National Trust. Cornwall has been known for its tin and copper mines since 2150 BC but Levant is only 200 years old! With the invention of the steam engine, pumps made it possible to mine below the ground water level. The chimneys removed smoke from the engines and helped ventilate the mines. Interestingly, tunnels in the Levant mine extended a mile out under the sea! Levant, with a computer graphic assist, appeared in Poldark.
At full gallop on Predannack Wolla
View from above Kynance Cove
Poldark rescuing Demelza, Kynance Cove
Another nice walk, also administered by the National Trust is the Predannack Wollas. It runs along the cliffs where Poldark raced along on horseback and passes above Kynance Cove where Poldark carried Demelza ashore after the shipwreck. We became so engrossed that we got off track in the Lizard Nature Reserve that our 4-mile walk turned into a 7-mile trudge. Guess the right to roam comes with the right to be wrong.
Doc Martin and Louisa in "Portwenn"
Fern Cottage, aka "The Surgery"
Port Isaacs on a Sunday afternoon
While Poldark sometimes requires a bit of CG magic for historical accuracy, Doc Martin’s Portwenn is genuinely Port Issacs. It has become such a pilgrimage site for fans of Martin Clunes that the parking lot is a mile from the harbor. Folks pose in front of the good Doc’s surgery (Fern Cottage) and try to guess which storefront serves as Mrs. Tishell’s chemist shop and which pub is Bert Large’s restaurant. (Answer: Buttermilk Confections and Golden Lion Pub.)
