Town/Village information --- Bodmin --- Cornwall

Bodmin away from the coast and striking deep into Bodmin Moor you'll witness a strange muted fury in the landscape. In moorland villages like Blisland, Bolventor, Temple and Altarnun, this fury melts into a welcoming stillness, while at Roughter and Brown Willy, it is whipped up into twin peaks of clitter-strewn granite. Stand here in the evening twilight, with the curling moorland mists beneath and you'll feel the real spirit of this beguiling place.

Bodmin, standing proud on the western edge of the moor is the perfect place to re-group after a foray into the foothills. With excellent facilities, including indoor tennis centre and superb new swimming pool, Bodmin's pleasant façade betrays a turbulent past, which you can explore in the towns' two museums.

History is re-enacted on the annual Riding and Heritage Day - a pageant of mock battles and medieval crafts; a truly historical experience. In 1998 this event is preceded by the spectacular Cornwall Theatre Festival.

From Bodmin you can take in the grand houses of Pencarrow and Lanhydrock, follow the nature trails in Cardinham Woods, or enjoy a heady blast of nostalgia on the Bodmin and Wenford Railway. For those interested in the past there are an abundance of Neolithic and Bronze age remains close to Bodmin. If you are interested in Arthurian legend then visit Dozmary Pool. For the readers of Daphne du Maurier then a visit to the world renowned Jamaica Inn is a mustt.

Bodmin was once the county town of Cornwall, and has a long history. Its name comes from the Cornish "bod" (dwelling) and "monegh" (monks)

It originally grew around St Petroc's Monastery in the 6th century. By the time of the Domesday Book it was the only town in Cornwall to have a market. It has Cornwall's largest parish church, and had the Assizes from 1835, until they were transferred to Truro

Bodmin was a centre of Cornish rebellion over the years, particularly with Thomas Flamank's ill fated march to London, protesting against taxation, in 1497.

Bodmin Gaol , notorious over the years and hosting many public executions, is now no longer a prison, and is open to the public.

One of the earliest railways in the country linked Bodmin to the port at Wadebridge. And even today you can ride on a steam train on the private Bodmin and Wentford Steam Railway.

Other attractions in the town are the Bodmin Museum (charting the history of Bodmin up to the end of the second world war). And The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Museum (history of the regiment from 1702, plus a military library).

Today Bodmin has declined in commercial importance, and has not managed to capitalise on its past. It is not a particularly pretty town today.

For more information on Bodmin and the moor, please visit the official Bodmin website. Click here Bodmin Moor for the history, the landscape, the people - where to stay and what to do. The home of Bodmin Moor on the web.

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Smaller, and less daunting than its neighbours, Dartmoor and Exmoor, Bodmin Moor nevertheless contains 100 square miles of windswept uplands. Particularly well known to visitors to Cornwall today, because the A30, the main road in to Cornwall, sweeps across the moor. Stone Age man lived here, as can be seen from the remains of settlements and field systems dotted along the edge of Rough Tor. Most of the moor lies above 800 feet, and the highest point, also the highest point in Cornwall, is Brown Willy at 1377 feet, with Rough Tor at 1300 feet close behind. Both can be reached after a brisk walk from the nearest car park. Cornwall's two most important rivers, the Camel and the Fowey, both rise in the Moor. And there are two reservoirs on the Moor, Colliford and Siblyback.

Also there is Dozmary Pool, which legend says is where Arthur's sword Excalibur was throw. From the waters of the lake rose the hand of the Lady of the Lake to receive the sword. Perhaps the sword is still there! Perhaps the best known place on the Moor today is Jamaica Inn. This is a slate hung 18th century building, used by smugglers in the past, as it was the only stopping place on the lonely hike across Bodmin Moor. immortalised by Daphne du Maurier in her book of the same name, Jamaica Inn is more accessible today, as it is on the A30.