Walks in Cornwall visiting a church

A circular walk on the Towans at Hayle, where Cornwall's beam engines were cast using sand from a prehistoric lagoon when West Penwith was an island.

A circular walk at Helston along the wooded valley of the River Cober and through the town via the church.

A circular walk at Tywardreath where a mediaeval Priory was based and Par where much of the route was once a tidal creek and a wetland nature reserve has been created on some of the reclaimed land.

A circular walk at Constantine through woods and to the creek on the Helford river where a bustling quarrying and mining industry operated in Victorian times but have now been reclaimed by nature.

A mostly circular walk from Mawgan Porth along the Vale of Lanherne, following the river Menalhyl to St Mawgan and returning past the 800-year-old cloistered Convent where the sanctuary light has been burning for hundreds of years.

A circular walk at Truro along the river, trackbed of the Newham railway and through the historic city centre.

A circular walk from Rock along the sand dunes to St Enodoc church, once buried in the sand, and across fields to the mediaeval church of St Minver, returning via 3 pubs and the brewery where "Doom Bar" was first produced.

A short circular walk in the tributary valleys of the River Valency through bluebell woodland beside a stream, and across meadows rich in wildflowers to the ancient Celtic churchyard of Lesnewth.

A circular countryside walk from the 15th century church at St Tudy through the grounds of the 18th century Manor of Wetherham, returning to the church alehouse where ale brewed by the church was sold to raise funds, and later became the village lock-up known as The Clink.

A circular walk to the Beacon Local Nature Reserve, Jail and through Bodmin's historic centre.

A fairly short and easy circular walk around Warbstow, crossing ramparts of the massive Iron Age hillfort, through fields and along country lanes lined with wildflowers, returning via the mediaeval church which is dedicated to the daughter of a Saxon King who was tutored by the Celtic Saint Morwenna.

A short circular walk from the village of Blisland through the churchyard, two stretches of the Woodland Trust reserve of Lavethan Wood and land which was once the estates of Lavethan and Barlandew manors.

A circular walk on quarrymens' trails along the cliffs of Tintagel past the Thunderhole blowhole to the long, sandy beach at Trebarwith Strand from Tintagel's mediaeval clifftop church with relics including the font that once stood in Tintagel Castle's chapel.

A circular walk along country lanes, tracks and through fields to Penfound Manor - thought to be the oldest continually-inhabited ancestral home in England - from Poundstock church and gildhouse - the only surviving mediaeval church house of its kind in Cornwall.

A circular countryside walk around the Saxon area of Jacobstow near Bude where an ancient mediaeval altar was removed from the church during the 16th Century and used as a footbridge over a stream, then used as a churchyard seat in Victorian times, and finally returned to the church in the 1970s.

A circular walk to the mediaeval capital of Cornwall from one of its most striking Norman castles along the valley where Victoria and Albert tried their hand at mining and members of the Royal family still sometimes visit.

A circular walk on the Roseland along both sides of St Just creek to Messack Point, where there are spectacular views over one of the largest natural harbours in the world.

A circular walk at the confluence of the Truro and Tresillian rivers, once defended by Moresk castle and later where timber for the mines was unloaded and floated as rafts into Truro

A circular walk from St Issey along the river valley, the Saint's Way to the creek-side church at Little Petherick, and along the creek to the tidal enclosure of Sea Mills, returning via two old inns.

A fairly easy circular walk from St Mabyn past the church and through rolling countryside to Pencarrow House and its magnificent gardens.

A circular walk in the parish of Crowan from the church to the Clowance Estate - the mansion of the St Aubyn Baronets until the fifth Baronet failed to produce a legitimate heir due to his 15 children all being born to women not married to him.

A circular walk from Mylor Harbour along the creeks of Carrick Roads to Flushing which was named after a town in Holland when Dutch engineers built the quays, and where ships' captains would keep a watchful eye over Falmouth Harbour from their tall houses.

A circular walk in the Inny Vale on the northern edge of Bodmin Moor through the WW2 airbase on Davidstow Moor, the tunnel of trees to Treworra and past the source of the River Inny to the church and holy well of St David.

A walk from a tiny village designed by Victorians, through ancient woodland that was once part of the Pendarves Estate to the prehistoric tomb that, despite two collapses over the centuries, is once again standing.

A circular walk in the wooded valley surrounding Cardinham Water where the mediaeval chapel of St Mary de Valle once stood but now only the Lady Vale mediaeval bridge remains.

A circular walk from Kennack Sands to Cadgwith Cove via the Poltesco valley where during Victorian times waterwheels and steam engines powered an industry producing large decorative pieces of serpentine but has now been recolonised by nature

A circular walk around the creeks of the Helford River and the small villages settled by Celtic monks from Brittany.

A circular walk in the countryside around St Teath where the North Cornwall Railway once ran to the bustling quarry at Delabole which provided employment for the thriving Victorian village.

A circular walk in the ferry town that was the main riverside settlement in mediaeval times when Plymouth was moorland, and where a handful of Elizabethan buildings still remain from the period when Francis Drake built a property empire from his circumnavigation of the globe.

A circular walk from Camelford through bluebell woods along the Camel valley to the Celtic churchyard of Advent and the Neolithic remains on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

A circular walk from Helston along the Cober Valley to the granite quarries at Coverack Bridges, where the viaduct of the Helston Railway can still be seen spanning the valley.

A circular countryside walk to the mills in the Inny Valley from Polyphant, Cornish for "toad pool", to Gimblett's Mill where the bridge was rebuilt after a wall of water swept down the valley in 1847 destroying nearly everything in its path.

A circular walk passing the National Trust's Glendurgan gardens and the equally spectacular submarine gardens of Rosemullion Head where fish dart amongst the brightly-coloured blooms.

A circular walk from St Stephen along a tributary valley of the River Fal to the hamlet of Coombe via some of Cornwall's best preserved remains of the Victorian and early 20th Century China Stone industry

A circular walk around the tributary valleys of the River Ottery and Kensey between three of Cornwall's least-well-known mediaeval churches

A circular walk to the Victorian-engineered town of Devoran which was once the largest mining port in Cornwall, and along Restronguet Creek on the route of the railway that lead from the ore bins and smelting houses to the mines of Redruth

A circular walk through an area steeped in mining history, with panoramic views from Carn Marth and the almost legendary Gwennap Pit which became so famous that even the neighbouring mine was renamed to Cathedral

A walk from what was once the parish church for Falmouth to the lakes in a river valley which the Celtic people described as secluded and where Argal Mill lies somewhere beneath the water in a Cornish version of Atlantis.

A circular walk to the small coves of Lantivet Bay used in Victorian times for pilchard fishing, collecting seaweed as fertiliser and smuggling barrels of French brandy.

A short circular walk from Boscastle through bluebell woodland alongside the River Valency to the ancient Celtic churchyard and sacred spring at Minster, returning along the River Jordan, beside which Bottreaux Castle was once situated, and Boscastle's Old Road.

A circular walk from Lansallos to the coves of Lantivet Bay where farmers collected seaweed and sand to improve the soil and smugglers landed French brandy.

A circular walk from the Saxon village of Week St Mary through Ashbury woods, beneath the Iron Age fort, to the remains of the mediaeval manor of Penhallam which was only rediscovered in the 1960s, returning via the church, repaired after the pinnacle above the door was severed by lightning and crashed through the roof.

A circular walk on a peninsula protruding into the Hamoaze estuary and where the land was dotted with gun batteries, defending against a potential invasion from Napoleon.

A short circular walk from St Breward through ancient bluebell woods along the valley of the River Camel to the holy well, ending at the mediaeval church and inn.

A circular walk from Boscastle to Pentargon waterfall and Willapark coastguard lookout with magnificent views of the village and harbour from the headlands where the village women once gathered dressed in red to fool a French ship into fleeing from British army redcoats.

A short circular walk from Padstow harbour to the viewpoints at the War Memorial and Victorian obelisk, the Elizabethan Manor at Prideaux Place, and including some pretty backstreets that lie off the main tourist routes.

A circular walk in the Ruthern and Tremore river valleys following the Saint's Way to Withiel where the award-winning cheese Cornish Yarg was first made from a recipe in a dusty book found in the attic, that is thought to date back to the 13th Century.

A circular walk from the beach and tiny harbour of Portwrinkle to the small village of Sheviock, thought to be Cornish for "abounding in strawberries", with a church abounding in mediaeval tombs.

A countryside walk to the Celtic church and Holy Well at Sancreed and the Iron Age village of Carn Euny where a well-preserved underground chamber known as a fogou has puzzled archaelogists for centuries

A figure-of-8 walk from St Endellion to Port Isaac, via the estate of the ancient family of Roscarrock, who survived torture on the rack during Tudor times for being Catholic sympathisers, returning to the parish church, dedicated to the daughter of a Celtic king, on the ancient route which itself influenced the fervent adoption of Methodism in Port Isaac.

A circular walk on the Roseland coast where, during the Napoleonic Wars, smugglers would row out to the middle of The Channel in pilot gigs to trade with the enemy.

A circular walk on the creeks of the Fal river network settled by Celtic monks where the ruin of a huge mediaeval church still towers above the trees

A circular walk from St Ives through the Steeple Woods nature reserve to the monument overlooking St Ives Bay where the eccentric quinquennial ceremony of John Knill has been performed for over 200 years, returning along the coast via the white sandy beaches of Carbis Bay and Porthminster.

A circular walk through two tributary valleys of the River Tamar in a parish that was borrowed by Devon for 800 years, passing the remains of the wharf at the furthest reaches of the Bude Canal.

A circular walk at St Ives along the granite coastline and white sandy beaches which have inspired so many artists, through some of the most famous parts of the town including the harbour, The Island and The Tate, and via the church and holy well of the Celtic girl Ia who, according to legend, was the first to settle here.

A circular walk at one of Cornwall's more remote and eccentric hamlets, displaying a "twinned with Narnia" sign and with a church where the vicar surrounded his rectory with barbed wire and preached to an empty church containing name cards of his parishioners

A walk to the Victorian harbour of Mullion Cove via two sandy coves either side of where Marconi made history by achieving what was thought impossible by many of the scientific community at the time - the transmission of a radio signal all the way across the Atlantic.

A circular walk through the wildlife reserve around the reservoir lake, past crumbling ruins of Fir Hill Manor and via farmland, a mill and wooded vales that were also once part of the great estate.

A circular walk in the tributary valleys of Cardinham Water to the remains of the Bury Castle hill fort where the ramparts are still over 14ft high even after more than 2000 years.

A figure-of-eight walk from Readymoney Cove past the Tudor fort and along the coast where Daphne du Maurier lived to Polridmouth, where the shipwreck inspired the end of her book Rebecca, and then along the mediaeval streets of Fowey.

A circular walk in the Fal valley from Grampound which began as river port in Roman times which evolved into the gateway into West Cornwall in mediaeval times and went on to become the centre of Cornwall's tanning industry.

A circular walk from the woodland of The Duchy to the Holy Well of St Ladock in the river valley where in 1802 a gold nugget was found that contained enough gold to make an elegant necklace which is now in Truro museum.

A circular walk above the white sand crescent of Lantic Bay and the small coves of Lantivet Bay where a battle was once fought between smugglers and Customs men, and following an ancient cart track along the stream through the woods to the mediaeval church of Lansallos.

A circular walk in the upper reaches of the River Valency above Boscastle, where author Thomas Hardy lived and met the love of his life, starting from the ancient Celtic church of Lesnewth to St Juliot church which Hardy restored.

A walk on the tracks trodden by the donkeys laden with slate from the coastal quarries of Trebarwith to Tintagel Haven where the slate was loaded onto ships and Tintagel Castle's island, inhabited during the mediaeval period, the Celtic times of King Arthur, and before this by the Romans.

A circular walk to the creekside church of St Winnow along the River Fowey and Lerryn where hoards of Roman coins have been found on the river banks, and overlooked by the manor house that is thought may have been the inspiration for Toad Hall in The Wind in the Willows.

A figure-of-8 walk through Bodmin's historic centre to the beacon nature reserve and through the woods at Dunmere to Scarlett's Well

A circular walk from Poley's Bridge along the Camel Trail past the old china clay driers to Wenfordbridge and crossing the De Lank valley and Pendrift Downs to Blisland, returning along the Camel valley.

A circular walk from the Loe Bar to Dollar Cove passing the wrecks of treasure ships whose cargo still washes ashore, returning via the Halzephron Inn which still has a trapdoor leading to an underground network of tunnels used by smugglers.

A circular walk via the Victorian obelisk overlooking Padstow, the creek-side church at Little Petherick and the tidal enclosure of Sea Mills, returning via the Camel Trail bridge which carried the railway that brought the first Victorian tourists to Padstow and Cornish fish to London.

A circular walk from Pendower Beach to Veryan via Nare Head where, in Victorian times, an unhappily married fisherman lived alone in a cliff-edge cottage, lowering his boat on a rope over the cliff and returning once a week to Veryan to bring his wife fish.

A circular walk in the river valleys around St Kew - the first recorded village in Cornwall, passing the mediaeval church containing a gravestone from the Dark Ages carved in Latin and the Celtic script, Ogham, also known as the Tree Alphabet as each letter symbolised a different species of tree.

A circular walk through bluebell woodland, fields and along back lanes from Delabole to Camelford's parish church at Lanteglos, returning via the Iron Age forts of Castle Goff and Delinuth Camp.

A figure-of-8 walk from St Clether past the ancient chapel and holy well, with views over the Inny Valley, to the Rising Sun pub near Altarnun, serving beer made from the moorland springwater by a local micro-brewery.

A circular walk from Helland's mediaeval bridge through bluebell woodland and the fields overlooked by the Iron Age rounds at Pencarrow to the Norman church at St Mabyn, dedicated to the daughter of a Celtic King, and returning via the stump of the Neolithic Long Stone which stood for millennia until it was broken up for gateposts in 1850.

A circular walk though the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park to Kingsand with views over Plymouth Sound including Drake's Island where Drake set sail to circumnavigate the globe, and the breakwater which Napoleon described as an engineering masterpiece as he left England on his prison ship.

A circular walk from Gorran Haven to Portmellon via the sheer cliffs from which Henry Bodrugan leapt to escape execution and sheltered Colona Beach, returning through West Bodrugan Woods Nature Reserve and via Gorran church which now has some of the finest bells in the country.

A circular walk on the Roseland peninsula to St Mawes from the subtropical gardens of St Just church, along Carrick Roads where Europe's only fishery entirely under sail catch oysters using the traditional methods that have sustained their stocks.

A circular walk from St Wenn in the upper reaches of the Ruthern Valley, through Rosenannon woods and along the Saints' Way pilgrimage route to the mediaeval church at Withiel, where the Rector shut down The Pig and Whistle for being an ungodly establishment.

A circular walk from Boscastle along the dramatic coastline of islands and arches towards Tintagel, following the cascading river up Rocky Valley past the ruined mills and labyrinthine carvings and returning via the mediaeval churches of Trethevy, Trevalga and Forrabury.

A circular walk passing the sandy beach at Polurrian Cove, the storm-beaten Victorian harbour at Mullion Cove, and along the cliffs of the National Nature Reserve overlooking Mullion Island, with vibrant wildflowers in spring and summer.

A circular walk at Par where the land itself was created by the mining industry and is being re-sculpted by nature into sandy beaches, streams and woodland.

A circular walk from St Breward past the granite pillars of Devil's Jump to the 8ft Celtic cross and ancient churchyard of Advent at the foot of the moors, returning via the remains of the mediaeval village of Carwether to the Inn used by 11th century monks to build the highest church in Cornwall.

A circular walk through the woodland along the West Looe River to Herodsfoot from Duloe, where Cornwall's smallest stone circle stands.

A circular walk around the valleys of the River Inny and Penpont Water to the mediaeval church at Laneast and the old bridge at Gimlett's Mill from the 15th century "Cathedral of the Moors" in Altarnun, set beside a 6th Century Celtic cross where churches and chapels had been throughout the Dark Ages.

A circular walk from St Ives on the ancient churchway towards Zennor and returning along the rugged coast to Porthmeor, where a Victorian cargo ship and the St Ives lifeboat were both wrecked and the ship's boilers are still visible at low tide.

A circular walk between the beaches in Falmouth Bay and where one of the most dangerous marine rescues of modern times took place, requiring the rescue helicopter to fly backwards.

A circular walk to Padstow from Trevone beach, which tracks the route taken by sailing ships along the rugged Atlantic coast to the daymark at Stepper Point, past the infamous Doom Bar and the sandbanks of Hawker's, Harbour and St George's coves before finally reaching safe harbour in Padstow.

A circular walk via some of the mediaeval farmsteads on the west of The Lizard to the ancient churchyard of Cury from the coves of Mullion and Gunwalloe where the wrecks of treasure ships still lie.

A short circular walk at Morwenstow to the cliff edge hut built from driftwood in which Reverend Hawker smoked opium and composed poetry, returning along the river valley to the ancient Bush Inn where medieval monks would rest the night before continuing their pilgrimage.

A circular walk from the surf beach at Crackington Haven to the mediaeval church at St Genny's via the imposing Penkenna Point, where there are spectacular views of the bay and the secluded landing points used by some of North Cornwall's most notorious smugglers and wreckers.

A circular walk along prehistoric trade routes in the Lynher valley from the village of North Hill where the granite was quarried to build Westminster Bridge.

A circular walk from Blisland through the De Lank granite quarry, used for many famous buildings including the Royal Opera House, between the moss-covered boulders and trees of the De Lank river valley and across the Pendrift Downs, passing Jubilee Rock - a huge granite boulder, decorated with carvings.

A circular walk from Lerryn, along wooded creeks and across fields, to the church of St Veep, which is the only one in England where the bells were cast in perfect tune.

A circular walk from St Neot though the valley of the River Loveny, past a prehistoric settlement, through bluebell woodland and along the River Fowey, and returning via the church, famous for its mediaeval stained-glass.

A circular walk along the coast from Talland Bay to Looe, passing the pilgrimage site of Looe Island which Jesus was said to have visited as a child, and returning via the ancient Giant's Hedge in Kilminorth Wood and Talland's mediaeval church.

A circular walk along the granite cliffs and the valleys of St Loy's and Penberth Coves, where colourful gardens flourish in one of the mildest winter climates on the British mainland.

A circular walk at St Gennys from the mediaeval church, via the smuggling routes though bluebell woods along the stream and an Iron Age clifftop fort crumbling into the sea, to some of North Cornwall's most remote coastline.

A circular walk from the sandy beach at Porthpean, past the brilliant white shingle beaches at Silvermine to the Iron Age fort on Black Head, returning via the site of an Iron Age metal works with spectacular views over St Austell Bay.

A circular walk along the rugged coast from Polperro, where a bell buoy rings out across the waves from the treacherous reef known as Udder Rock.