Lanlivery: Saint’s Way, St Brevita and Helman Tor

Lanlivery can be explored through its cultural history, routes and landscape. Different considerations come into play when choosing a destination: the Saint’s Way passes through the village and parish, Helman Tor lies within the parish, and Luxulyan Valley is nearby. This distinction can help you organise your interests before looking for a hotel in Lanlivery. Depending on whether you are more interested in a route, historic buildings, or archaeological and landscape topics, your stay may take on different focuses.

The Saint’s Way through Lanlivery

The Saint’s Way runs from north to south through the parish of Lanlivery and the village of Lanlivery. This coast-to-coast route covers 27 miles between Padstow on the north coast and Fowey on the south coast. This makes it easy to distinguish between two questions: where the route passes through Lanlivery, and what total distance connects the two coastal towns. Its local course makes Lanlivery one section of the route; the 27 miles, by contrast, refers to the entire route. This distinction is useful when considering how the village relates to your travel plans.

St Brevita and The Crown Inn

St Brevita is listed as a Grade I building in Lanlivery; its tower is 100 feet tall. The Crown Inn, a 12th-century longhouse, lies directly behind St Brevita. Both buildings give the place different historical points of reference: St Brevita is notable for its listing and tower, while The Crown Inn is notable for its building type and date. The Crown Inn serves local ales and seasonal homemade food. The seasonal availability is relevant when planning a meal; checking the inn’s current information can help you time your visit.

The Treffry Viaduct

The Treffry Viaduct is designated a “Scheduled Monument” and a “World Heritage Site” in the parishes of Luxulyan and Lanlivery. Unlike St Brevita, with its Grade I listing, the viaduct has two designations. This helps you distinguish the respective heritage designations precisely: a listed church building on the one hand, and a viaduct with the two designations mentioned on the other.

Helman Tor: archaeology and nature restoration

Helman Tor lies within the parish of Lanlivery. The monument there includes an early prehistoric hillfort, a settlement with stone roundhouses, and a field system. These features together offer a glimpse into several aspects of past land use: the fortification, settlement and field system form part of an archaeological context. Helman Tor is also the site of Cornwall’s largest nature restoration project to date, covering more than 700 acres. Archaeological history and a present-day focus on nature restoration thus come together at the same named location.

Routes and practical information

Nearby Luxulyan Valley has unsurfaced paths and tramway tracks with a combined total length of about 7 km. This length refers to the paths and tracks together, not to a single route. As an additional point of reference for the landscape, the valley differs from the Saint’s Way: here, a combined length is given for the network of paths and tracks, while there it is a coast-to-coast route. There is limited free parking in the valley, and parking is available at St Brevita. If parking is important to your plans, bear the limited availability in the valley in mind and check the latest visitor information for St Brevita beforehand.

Discover more destinations: Gwennap, Launcells, Looe, Downderry, Probus, Saint Newlyn East, Colan, Feock

For the broader travel overview: Cornwall.