Bodmin Moor, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is a remote, bleak heather-covered upland granite moorland in North Cornwall. It is bounded in the north by the Camel River and in the south by the Fowey River.

Understand

Bodmin Moor is a remote, bleak heather heather-covered upland granite moorland in North Cornwall, about 208 km² (335 mi²) in extent and 250 or more metres above sea level. Its highest point, Brown Willy, is 420 metres above sea level. It is bounded in the north by the Camel River and in the south by the Fowey River.

It has no towns of any size but has a few villages that often have little more than a row of houses and maybe a church, a village shop or a pub. Many artefacts that date back to the Bronze Age have been found and there are a number of stone circles that were probably used for ceremonial or religious purposes. The principal towns on the periphery of the moor are:

• 1 Bodmin - Former administrative centre of Cornwall, to the south-west of Bodmin Moor.
• 2 Launceston — home of the 11th-century Launceston Castle, to the north-east of Bodmin Moor.
• 3 Liskeard — Ancient market town on the main Great Western Railway (GWR) between London Paddington and Penzance.
• 4 Camelford — Small town to the north of Bodmin Moor.

The A30 road which is along the spine of England's Southwest Peninsular passes over the top of Bodmin Moor.

History

The bleak Bodmin Moor as we know it today likely formed at the end of the Ice Age.

Since the late 18th century it garnered an unsavoury reputation for being used by smugglers to move contraband to evade the high taxes imposed on just about everything (alcohol, tea, playing cards, windows, newspaper pages, etc.) by the British government to fund the British Empire and its wars such as the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

Flora and fauna

Cryptozoologists claim a large wildcat dubbed the "Beast of Bodmin Moor" prowls the moor and could potentially ambush unprepared travellers.

Climate

Bodmin Moor enjoys a mild maritime climate due to its high elevation of about 200 m (650 ft) above sea level. This results in a low-temperature range with above-average rainfall.

The summer average minimum and maximum temperatures are 7 °C (45 °F) and 18 °C (64 °F) respectively and the winter average maximum and minimum temperatures are 2 °C (36 °F) and 11 °C (52 °F) respectively. The moor experiences high rainfall with 62 mm (2.4 in) falling on average during June and 120 mm (4.7 in) in November.

Snow is relatively common in the winter months, though insufficient for winter sports with blizzards occurring when the weather conditions are right. Fog also occurs frequently.

Get in

By road

• The A30 which links Penzance with London passes through the middle of Bodmin Moor reaching an altitude of 290 metres. The best road access from either the north-east (from Exeter and London) or the south-west is via this road.
• An alternate route is to use the A38 from Plymouth and to skirt the moor on its southern flank. The A38 terminates in Bodmin.

By rail

• The Great West Line which provides an hourly service between London Paddington and Penzance via Plymouth skirts the southern flank of Bodmin Moor with stops at 1 Liskeard and 2 Bodmin Parkway .

Fees and permits

Much of the moor is open countryside with no entrance formalities. However, to make sure the privacy of people who live and work on land covered by the right of access is protected, land that it is used for some specified purposes, for instance as a garden, park, cultivated land, or land covered by buildings will not be included in the right of access. Land used for these, and other purposes, is known as ‘excepted land’ and the right of access does not apply to it.

Get around

• The easiest way to get around Bodmin Moor is by car, but the roads are narrow and when one meets an oncoming vehicle, one of the drivers will have to reverse to the nearest passing spot.
• Another way to get around is to hike. The moor is small enough (no more than 20 km from end to end) that a reasonably fit hiker can easily traverse the moor in a day.

See

• 1 Dozemary Pool. A lake, about 15 ha in extent. According to legend, King Arthur rowed into the middle of the lake to receive the sword Excalibur from The Lady of the Lake. (updated May 2024)
• 2 Cheesewring (park at Minions and follow the footpath to the tor). Granite tor on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor, on Stowe's Hill, approximately 1,200 m (3,900 ft) north of the village of Minions.. (updated May 2024)
• 3 South Phoenix Mine Engine House (about 50 m north of the Cheesewring carpark in the village of Minions). The South Phoenix Mine Engine House, built in 1881, served a copper, tin and manganese mine in the 19th century. The mine was finally abandoned in 1911. The engine house has since been refurbished and now houses the Minions Heritage Centre (as of May 2024, the centre's website states that it is permanently closed) This engine house is one of many on the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape". (updated May 2024)
• 4 The Hurlers (Cornish: Hr Carwynnen). A group of three stone circles similar to but smaller than Stonehenge. The site is half-a-mile (0.8 km) west of the village of Minions on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor, and approximately four miles (6 km) north of Liskeard. Each stellar alignment was given with tabulated declinations at a date in the range of 2100 to 1500 BC! (updated Jan 2024)
• 5 Jamaica Inn, Smuggler's Museum (off the A30), enquiry@jamaicainn.co.uk. A former coaching inn, now a totel, restaurant and pub made famous by Daphne du Maurier's novel Jamaica Inn. The hotel complex also hosts Cornwall's Smugglers Museum and a reconstruction of Daphne du Maurier's study. Prices vary. (updated May 2024)
• 6 Golitha Falls, (Car park) Inkies Smokehouse, Liskeard PL14 6RX (The car park at Inkies Smokehouse is about 5 km north of Liskeard on an unnamed road . The falls themselves can be reached using a footpath (which can be muddy) for about 600 m from the car park.). The falls which are within the Draynes Wood SSSI, are a series of rapids on the upper stretches of the Fowey River. Below the falls, the river runs through a gorge and is of particular importance for ″lower plants″ such as liverworts, mosses and lichens. (updated Jun 2024)

Do

Memorial to 43rd Wessex DIvision on Rough Tor

• 1 Hiking in the Cardinham Woods, Tawnameer, Bodmin PL30 4AL (The Cardinham Woods car park is signposted from the Glyn Valley Crematorium )(off the Bodmin by-pass).). The woods are an extensive area of woodland on the south-western slopes of the moor. They are criss-crossed with hiking tracks and are also home to the now abandoned Wheal Glynn mine. There is a tea room and toilets at the car park. Car park fees: up to 2 hours - £2, up to 4 hours - £5, all day - £7. (updated Jun 2024)
• 2 Brown Willy (420 m), Car Park, Roughtor Road, Camelford (PL32 9QG) (Drive to the Rough Tor Car Park (about 2.5 km south-east of Camelford). From there, follow the footpath in a south-easterly direction for about 3.6 km, passing Rough Tor en-route.). Highest point in Cornwall (420 m). (updated Jun 2024)
• 3 Rough Tor and 43rd Wessex Division Memorial (400 m), Car Park, Roughtor Road, Camelford (PL32 9QG) (Drive to the Rough Tor Car Park (about 2.5 km south-east of Camelford). From there, follow the footpath in a south-easterly direction for 1200 metres.). Rough Tor is one of the highest points in Cornwall.It was givted to the National Trust as a Second World War memorial to the 43rd Wessex Division. (updated Jun 2024)

Drink

• 1 Jamaica Inn. (updated Jun 2024)

Stay safe

Crime is very low, though as with most tourist areas, some petty theft is known.

Visitors should have appropriate maps of the area. It is recommended that hikers have 1:25000 or 1:50000 Ordnance Survey maps and motorists have a good road atlas.

See the main articles: Severe weather, Cold weather

The biggest hazard for tourists is the weather, especially fog, which can occur at any time of the year, and snow in winter. During winter months, motorists are advised to carry a blanket in case the car gets stuck while hikers are advised to check weather conditions before setting off on a hike. Although deep snow is rare, when the wind comes from the "wrong direction", the fact that Cornwall is sandwiched between two seas results in heavy falls of snow.

Go next

The localities here within 30 km of Bodmin Moor, but excludes those towns that have been listed elsewhere in the article.

• Padstow
• Newquay
• Tintagel - A ruined castle overlooking the sea. According to legend, the birthplace of King Arthur.
• Plymouth
• Cotehele House and Gardens
• Eden Project

Routes through Bodmin Moor

Truro ← Bodmin ←	W  E	→ Launceton → Exeter
Penzance ← Bodmin Parkway ←	W  E	→ Saltash → Plymouth