Saint Cleer: Historic Crosses and Granite Landscape

Saint Cleer brings together historic landmarks, walking paths and a parish landscape shaped by granite outcrops. St Cleer's Well and the churchyard cross are part of the local heritage; nearby, other points of interest range from stone circles and mining history to the circular route around Siblyback Lake. When planning your trip, you can give cultural history and landscape different emphasis.

Well, Crosses and Historic Buildings

St Cleer's Well is a holy well dating from the late 15th century; it was restored in 1864. Together with the churchyard cross, it is a striking part of Saint Cleer's historic heritage.

The medieval churchyard cross at St Cleer is a wheel-headed cross with four openings. Its ornately carved head is thought to date from the 10th century. The fragment of the cross-head was found in 1904 during the restoration of the church and re-erected on a modern shaft in 1934. The sequence of discovery and re-erection gives the cross its own clearly dated history.

The two fragments associated with King Doniert's Stone are the only surviving examples of 9th-century stone crosses in Cornwall. King Doniert's Stone bears interlace decoration and the inscription “Doniert Rogavit pro anima”. The site can be viewed from a roadside lay-by; parking is immediately adjacent.

Treverbyn Bridge is an early medieval three-arched bridge that was substantially rebuilt around 1412. It forms part of a historic route between the historic towns of Bodmin and Liskeard.

Stone Circles and Mining History Nearby

Nearby are The Hurlers: three stone circles arranged in a row, dating from the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. This grouping is unique in England. The three circles therefore offer a different perspective in time and place on the region's stone monuments than Saint Cleer's individual crosses.

Minions preserves rows of former miners' cottages and chapels from the Caradon mining boom. Also nearby, The Cheesewring can be reached from the village of Minions by well-trodden paths heading north. The cottages and chapels tell of the area's mining history; the walk to The Cheesewring adds a direct link to a natural landmark to this historical perspective.

Granite Landscape and Walking Paths

The parish of St Cleer includes rugged granite outcrops and bodies of water, including Siblyback Lake and Golitha Falls on the River Fowey. At Golitha Falls, the River Fowey descends from the moor over a series of cascades. Here, distinctive rock formations sit alongside a river with waterfalls.

There are 32 walking paths in and around Saint Cleer. The named routes have different endpoints: FP17 connects Higher Tremar Coombe with St Cleer Well Lane, FP20 connects Tremar Coombe with Trethevy Quoit, and FP14 connects King Doniert's Stone with Saint Cleer. If you want to include a particular place in your plans, these details help distinguish each route by its destination.

The Circular Route and Facilities at Siblyback Lake

Nearby, Siblyback Lake has a café, car park, toilets, showers and a children's play area. There is also a five-kilometre circular route suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs and bicycles. This is a clearly described route option for anyone planning to use one of these modes of transport. If you want to plan a break during an outing, there is also a café by the lake; the car park, toilets, showers and children's play area round out the facilities available there.

Discover more destinations: Luxulyan, Praze-an-Beeble, Pensilva, North Hill, St Columb Major, Mylor, Edmonton, Ruan High Lanes

For the wider travel overview: Cornwall.