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JUNE
55
CONCIERGE
DOWN TIME
WORDS AND PHOTOS
ANDREW MARSHALL
As the swirling fog began to close in
around me, I clearly remembered the
farmer’s words, “If you are not back
in two hours I’ll sell the car.” He had
been joking of course, but I still began
to wonder. What had started out as
an open path quickly became a deep
muddy rut hedged in by needle-sharp
gorse that scratched and pulled at my
legs as I tried to push through.
What was I doing stumbling around
on a Cornish moor, near Land’s End on
a drizzly April day, you may well ask,
and by the look on my partner’s face, I
know she was asking herself the same
thing. But the setting was perfect and
the atmosphere of inclemency couldn’t
be bettered. We climbed up onto a
flat area, and there, through a brief
parting of the mist we first spotted
it. Standing gaunt and stark against a
hillside cloaked in purple heather, was
the giant chambered barrow of Chûn
Quoit, a Neolithic burial chamber with
its huge capstone seated on four solid
walls of rock. It had the power
of presence to literally stop us in
our tracks.
Megalithic stones are literally
scattered across the Cornish
countryside and embrace several
thousand years of history. From
solitary standing stones that point
accusing fingers at the sky, holy wells
hidden deep within woodlands still
used for pagan rites, and impressive
stone circles that crest the tops of
windswept moors – this is a region
that retains strong connections with its
mystical past.
The wide variety of sacred stone
sites makes an excellent focus for a car
tour of the region and most are marked
on good road maps of Cornwall. The
Land’s End peninsula in particular has
more archeological sites than anywhere
else in Britain with around 800 in a
128 sq km area. With the abundance
of bed-and-breakfast accommodation,
boutique seaside hotels, and an ample
choice of traditional pubs and tea
rooms for refreshments en route,
driving Cornwall’s distinctive narrow
lanes heading for the next site is pure
pleasure.
Standing alongside Chûn Quoit, I
was instantly struck by its proportions.
It’s estimated that the capstone alone
weighs more than eight tons. Who
built it? How did they engineer the
movement and positioning of such
colossal rocks? Chambered barrows
are believed to be among the oldest
Chun Quoit