Bountiful View
Distance: 1.5 miles Duration: approx 1hr 15ins
According to the famous historian Dr A. L. Rose, “St. Tudy has probably had more eminent people living in it than any other rural parish in the whole of Cornwall”.
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The most famous character would undoubtedly be Admiral William Bligh of bounty fame. Whilst there is some controversy over his true birthplace, parish records show he was baptised here on the 13th of February 1757. Hence this pleasant walk will conveniently start at the Norman parish church the site of his baptism and pass within half a mile of Tinten Manor owned by his uncle, and the family seat. |
Should the church be open, it is well worth taking time to explore this Grade 1 listed building. Booklets describing this ancient building and it’s history are available inside.
Starting from the porch, turn right and head down the tarmac path towards the current Victorian village school. Go through the beautiful wrought iron gate and turn left into the lane. The public footpath can be seen on your right, just before the row of quaint terraced cottages. The path runs diagonally behind the cottage gardens in a south easterly direction and comes to a wooden gate.
A horse is normally kept in the paddock so please shut the gates as you pass through. The path goes through the gate at the far side of the paddock next to the barn. Continue in a south easterly direction into the field past the beautifully detailed unconverted barn and you will see a tiny original pigsty in the field to your right.
At one time many Cornish families would fatten a pig for
Christmas. The sty, constructed
from red brick with a rag slate roof
incorporates pens made from vertical slates. The coast of slate would now
prohibit such seemingly extravagant use as pig pens and boundary fences.
The slate is virtually certain to have been quarried at Delabole, about six miles away. Until recently Delabole quarry was the largest man-made hole in the world, and is well worth a visit should it not be misty or overcast.
The route crosses into the field with the pigsty and continues downhill to the bottom of the field where you should find a wooden walkway and hinged stile into the field beyond. This area is quite marshy and soggy underfoot so care is required. Head uphill maintaining an easterly direction until you reach the wooden gate in the top right corner which leads onto a stony track. Turn right and this track will take you down into Tregooden Farm. Follow the route straight on around the various sheds and onward onto the concrete main drive.
As you pass up the drive try to catch glimpses of Tinten Manor to your right. Tinten Manor was mentioned in the Doomsday book as “Tynten” and at that stage belonged to the bishop of Exeter. However it was subsequently owned by laymen. In 1330 the owner Raulph Beaupel
was granted a license to conduct divine services and built
a chapel dedicated to St. Nicolas the patron saint of sailors. The chapel, now a
farm store, was probably rebuilt in the 16th century, and still
retains architectural evidence of it’s previous use. There are date stones in
the north entrance “RB 1708 and IB 1719” which refer to either Richard or
John Bligh, Rev. R. Woood, a previous local rector who has carried out extensive
research, is convinced Tinten was the birthplace of William Bligh.
At the end of the driveway you emerge onto the main B3266 road. If you turn left you can make a circular route back to St. Tudy by walking up the wide grass verge to the top of High Gates Hill. At the top, on the opposite side of the road, is a traditional granite waymark (see illustration). Turning left at the crossroads will take you back into the centre of the village past the chapel. This lane is quite narrow and traffic moves fairly briskly along it, so take care. Eventually you should arrive back at the chestnut tree in front of the church.
Bountiful View
