The village of Cubert was once known as St Cubert who is thought might have been a Welsh missionary and a companion of St Carantoc (of Crantock). Half way between the village and the coast is the mediaeval Holy Well dedicated to St Cubert. Whether Holywell Bay is named after this one, or the colourful freshwater spring in the cave on the beach, is still being debated.
The churchyard in Cubert is thought to date from Saxon times. The present church was built in the 13th Century and the tower was added around 1300; the spire was added somewhat later. The church was enlarged in the 15th Century by the addition of a south aisle. In the mid 1800s, the church was restored after lightning struck the tower and spire.
A well-known country remedy for the stings of nettles is to rub the sore area with the leaf of a dock plant. A common misconception is that dock leaves are alkaline and neutralise the acids in the nettle sting but, in reality, docks contain a mild (oxalic) acid and nettle stings aren't caused by the acid content anyway. Although dock is claimed by some to contain a natural antihistamine, no scientific evidence has been found for this. It is thought that it is simply the rubbing and moisture in the leaf which provides a short-term relief/distraction whilst the sting itself is diminishing over time. It's possible it may also dislodge any stinging spikes left in the surface of the skin. Therefore almost any moist leaf should provide a little relief, with the exception of another nettle leaf!
There are several quite common plants (catsear, hawkbit and hawksbeard) which all have yellow flowers similar to dandelion. Their main flowering period is later in the summer (late June and through July) than dandelion which itself peaks in April-May. If you want to have a crack and figuring out exactly which you are looking at, the leaves offer a good clue.
Catsear is the most common, especially along the coast, and is the easiest one to tell apart as the leaves are hairy (hence the name).
Hawkbit and hawksbeard both have non-hairy, deeply toothed leaves like dandelion but the leaves are narrower than dandelion. Hawksbeard has very well-defined "shark teeth" along most of the stem leading to the solid patch of leaf on the tip that all three have - these teeth are as wide as the widest part of the leaf. In hawkbit, these teeth are so tiny that the stem is nearly bare for about half its length.
One other plant with flowers similar to the dandelion is the sow thistle but this is easily recognised by its spiky thistle-like leaves.
The moonscape of dunes stretching towards the sea is Penhale Sands.
Penhale Sands, located between Holywell Bay and Perranporth, is the largest dune system in Cornwall and the highest in Britain, rising to 90 metres. In places, the sand is nearly 50 metres deep. The area has been designated an Important Plant Area by Plantlife due to the rare plant species and lichens. The soil here is, unusually for Cornwall, alkaline which is why rare plants can thrive here. This is due to the high density of shell fragments in the sand, which are composed of calcium carbonate (limestone). The area has also been designated a Special Area of Conservation due to the range of butterfly and moth species which live on the plants here.
Daisy flowers are not actually a single flower but a composite made of lots of little flowers. Each tiny yellow dot making up the central area is a tubular flower. Similarly each petal is a specially-adapted miniature flower.
Trebisken was recorded in 1291 as Trebreskyn and 1403 as Trebryskyn. The meaning is thought to be "farm near a small copse". The small blocks of tree cover along the footpaths may be relics of this.
There are several species of dock but two of the most common found in fields are the broad-leaved and curly dock. Broad-leaved docks are the ones with the big leaves that are usually grabbed after a stinging nettle encounter. They can live for at least 5 years and normally don't produce seeds until their second year. Curled docks have more slender leaves which often have more wavy edges. They are shorter-lived and can flower only 9 weeks after germination but often die after flowering if not cut.
Cow parsnip (also known as "hogweed" - not to be confused with "giant hogweed") is a member of the carrot family. It has more solid leaves than cow parsley or alexanders which it often grows alongside. It also flowers later. The leaves are noticeable from around mid-April. Flowering starts roughly at the start of June and continues through the summer.
Giant hogweed is regarded by some as the most dangerous plant in the UK (although hemlock is also a good contender). If you encounter giant hogweed, avoid touching it and children and dogs should be kept away from it as the sap contains a chemical which is extremely phototoxic. When activated by sunlight, this binds to the DNA in skin cells and kills them. Skin reaction starts as an itchy rash and can develop into third degree burns and scarring. It also makes the affected areas susceptible to severe sunburn for several years.
The plant gets its name as it can grow more than 10 feet tall, topped with white umbrella-shaped flowers. Due to the similar style of flowers, it is also known as giant cow parsley although the giant hogweed leaves are much more solid with a toothed edge, more similar to cow parsnip (normal hogweed). It is typically found near water or on waste ground.
The plant was introduced to Britain by Victorian botanists in the 19th century as an ornamental plant and has escaped from gardens into the wild. It has been spreading across the UK (as one plant produces 50,000 seeds) but is still very rare in Cornwall. A project to eradicate it along the Tamar River system is helping to stop further spread into Cornwall.
If you find giant hogweed in Cornwall (and are sure it's not normal hogweed), take a photo and report it to invasives@cormacltd.co.uk
In mediaeval times, blackthorn was associated with evil. This may also tie in with the English word "strife" which has Celtic origins. Straif was the name of a letter used in Celtic Ogham script and was originally the word for "sulphur". Some of the other letters in the script corresponded to tree names. In late mediaeval times, a retrospective assignment of trees to the letters in the alphabet used for Ogham that weren't already tree names became popular (sometimes known as the "tree alphabet") and blackthorn was chosen for Straif.
Marsh marigold is a plant with large, glossy leaves that is indeed found in marshes but is actually a member of the buttercup family rather than a marigold. The name is more likely to do the size of the striking yellow flowers in spring.
In shape, the flowers are fairly buttercup-like and have been likened to a goblet made from gold, giving rise to the alternative common name "kingcup" and also the Genus name (which based on the Greek for goblet).
Like other members of the buttercup family, the plants are poisonous and can cause skin irritation in some people.
The yellow water iris (also known as yellow flag) is a native plant but can become invasive and have a negative effect on biodiversity due to its ability to out-compete many other water plants. It is thought by some to be the original plant on which the "fleur-de-lis" heraldic symbol is based.
If heavy metals are present in the soil, the plant is quite effective at absorbing these. This together with its aptitude for growing in pools of shallow water makes it potentially useful for detoxifying mine drainage.
The sandy stream bed seems to provide a good habitat for trout which can often be seen in the stream here.
Small trout typically feed on invertebrates whereas larger trout generally feed on other fish but have been known to eat anything of a suitable size unlucky enough to fall into a river. In fact in New Zealand, mouse-shaped lures are sold for trout fishing!
The calcium-rich soils provide the perfect habitat for cowslips which usually thrive on chalk downs. In May there is a spectacular display of cowslips in this field.
Cowslips grow on chalky soils. Chalk is not found in Cornwall but a close approximation is a sand dune made up of fragments of chalky seashell. Cowslips can therefore be found in sandy soils along the coast, particularly on the inland edge of large dune systems such as Penhale Sands.
The name of the plant is thought to be from the Old English for cowpat (cow slop). Other common names including "Key of Heaven" and "Bunch of Keys" are based on the small flowers on the end of long stems.
Purple loosestrife usually grows in damp places such as next to a stream and can be spotted from spikes of bright purple flowers in August-September.
The common name is thought to be the result of a 16th century mistranslation of the Latin name. Attempts were then made to make "loose strife" fit with reported uses for the plant to try to rationalise the wacky name. The Latin name is now thought simply to refer to the name of city in Thrace (Greek-Turkish border) which perhaps had the plant growing along its watercourses.
The calcium carbonate from seashells has been a key factor in Cornwall's natural and industrial history due to the shortage of lime-rich rocks. The golden colour of the sand on the beaches is due to the small fragments of shell and in the past this was transported around Cornwall using horses, donkeys, canals and even by railway. You may be wondering where the shellfish themselves got the calcium carbonate from in the first place, since it was so scarce. As well as the "salt" (sodium chloride) that you can taste, sea water contains a range of other dissolved salts and around 1% of the dissolved material is calcium. Molluscs are able to extract the calcium ions from the seawater which they use to construct their shells.
Wild lilies grow along the track.
In order to attract pollinating insects, the plant heats the flower spike up to 15°C above that of the surroundings. The plant exudes a smell of decaying flesh which attracts flies and the flower is designed to trap these. Within the flower, the female organs mature first and insects carrying pollen from other plants (together with any unlucky enough not to be) are imprisoned behind a row a spines within the flower. Once the plant is pollinated, the male organs quickly mature and the plant's own pollen is dusted over the trapped flies. The spines then wither away enough for the flies to escape.
All members of the lily family, including wild arum, are poisonous to dogs.
Fern fronds form in a coil (known as a crozier or fiddlehead) with the delicate tip protected in the centre. As the outer parts begin to photosynthesise, the sugars they produce cause more water to be drawn into the leaf, causing it to expand and gradually unfurl.
At the junction, the track to the left (waymarked for Treamble) connected to the terminus of the Treamble railway. This was used to export ore from the mines in the area. This passed through East Wheal Rose to a junction just outside Newquay (now the Treloggan industrial estate). A branch was later added from Fiddler's Green to Perranporth to create the Newquay - Perranporth railway.
Tawny owls live in the valley here and can sometimes be heard hooting at night.
The tawny owl is largely nocturnal so you're less likely to see one than to hear it, but if you do it's brown speckled and about the size of a pigeon. However, they make the well-known "twit-twoo" sound. The "twit" (which is more like "ke-wick") is their version of "hello?" and the "twoo" (or "hoo-hoo-oooo") is a male territorial call. The two calls together are likely to be to a male responding "you'm on my land!" to another owl.
The name "Rose" or prefix "Ros" crops up quite a lot in Cornish place names. The reason is that ros is a Celtic word meaning either "moor" or "spur of a hill". Both of these occurred fairly frequently in the Cornish landscape, particularly before much of the lower-lying heathland was drained and cleared for pasture.
Yellow lesser celandines line the path in spring and early summer.
Celandine roots have numerous knobbly tubers and when these break off, a new plant can regrow from the tuber. Digging animals such as rabbits and squirrels can therefore help to spread celandines. In some parts of the world they have become an invasive problem where their dense mat of leaves chokes out native species which have not evolved to compete with them.
Of the spotted woodpecker species, the sparrow-sized Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is now not very common. Greater Spotted Woodpeckers are starling-sized and have a white patch at the top of their wings which Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers don't have. Male Greater Spotted Woodpeckers can be recognised from the red patch on the back of the head. Mature female Greater Spotted Woodpeckers don't have a red mark on the head but have the red rump. Juvenile Greater Spotted Woodpeckers have a red mark at the front of their head which can lead to confusion with Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers.
Cottage gardens such as this one and the wildflowers in the hedges along the tracks provide a several months supply of nectar for insects such as butterflies. Their elaborate lifecycles are based around the lack of this in the autumn and winter.
When a caterpillar is still developing, it grows a small group of cells - known as an imaginal disc - for each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly. When a caterpillar pupates, it digests itself, releasing enzymes which dissolve all of its tissues into a soup leaving only the imaginal discs. These then act as seeds from which the adult butterfly is resurrected.
The fields here are quite often planted with arable crops. The shell fragments in the soil both improve drainage and raise the pH of soils which would otherwise be heavy, acidic clays. The reason that pH matters is that many plants are inefficient at absorbing nitrogen in acidic conditions. If there is something to neutralise the acid, such as the calcium carbonate in seashells, plants are able to put on leaf growth much more efficiently. This is why many lime kilns were built on Cornish beaches as further from the coast the soils are generally quite acidic, so coal and limestone were imported to create lime.
The house name Rose Wollas is Cornish for "Lower Rose" whilst "Perran Glaze" is based on the Cornish word for colours of the sea.
A few different factors all combine to vary the colour of the sea:
A glass in your hand might lure you into thinking otherwise, but pure water is faintly blue. The main wavelengths that the chemical bonds in water absorb are either in the infra-red or ultra-violet, and not in the visible spectrum, which is why a glass of pure water does not look coloured. However one fairly obscure harmonic of the vibrations in the water molecule corresponds to the wavelength of red light and so water very weakly absorbs the red from white light, giving it a very slightly blue tinge. If there is enough water, both the blue tinge and reflection of blue light by any suspended particles make it look blue.
Another factor is that the surface of the ocean acts as a mirror and reflects the colour of the sky and this is why it may appear grey under a cloudy sky. Under a blue sky, this intensifies the blueness.
In shallow water, the sand which is golden in Cornwall due to fragments of seashell, reflects yellow light and this combines with the blue from seawater to generate colours from green to turquoise. The ocean also sometimes appears green due to the presence of planktonic plant life.
The Cornish language has a word glas (often appearing in place names as "glaze") which is the Swiss Army Knife of sea colour descriptions. It means blue, or green, or grey.
Some of the tourism literature used to say that the green colour of the sea in Cornwall was due to copper dissolved in the water. This is total nonsense. In order to be visible, the concentration of copper salts have to be incredibly high which would never happen with an entire Atlantic Ocean to dilute it. The highest copper levels are found in estuaries fed by rivers into which mines drain. Here there is at most in the order of a few micrograms per litre and this is carefully monitored by the Environment Agency.
The Wesley brothers arrived in Cornwall in 1743 and began preaching, bringing with them charismatic lay preachers who spoke in the dialect of the locals. During the 18th Century in Cornwall, a rift had developed between the the elite Anglican clergy and the majority of the population who were predominantly miners, farmers and fishermen. The "down to earth" nature of the Methodists appealed greatly and is one of the reasons it was enthusiastically adopted.
Perran Round is the best-preserved example of a mediaeval amphitheatre known as a plen-an-gwarry (Playing Place) where "miracle plays" were performed, re-enacting miracles performed by the Saints. These were described as "often noisy, bawdy and entertaining". The depression in the middle (which was known as The Devil's Spoon) was the place from where the Devil sprang from during the performances. It is possible that the circular enclosure may have originally been constructed in the Iron Age as a fortified farmstead and repurposed during mediaeval times.
During late winter or early spring, if you encounter a patch of plants with white bell-shaped flowers, smelling strongly of onions, and with long, narrow leaves then they are likely to be three-cornered leeks. Once you're familiar with their narrow, ridged leaves, you'll be able to spot these emerging from late October onwards.
All parts of the plant are edible by humans and the flavour of the leaves is relatively mild so they can be used in recipes in place of spring onions or chives. They are at their best for culinary use from November to April. By mid-May, they have flowered and the leaves are starting to die back.
The long leaves can be mistaken for bluebells or daffodils which are both poisonous but do not smell of onions. However, fingers that have previously picked 3-cornered leeks also smell of onions and so mistakes have been made this way.
In sheltered places, hawthorn trees can reach 20-40ft in height and live up to 400 years. In harsher environments such as the coast and moors they can be as little as 5-6ft tall.
Honesty is recognisable by its four-petal purple flowers and serrated leaves in spring and flat, circular, translucent seed pods in late summer and autumn. It was originally from eastern Europe and southwestern Asia but has been naturalised in the UK for hundreds of years and is also found in many temperate regions of the world. The name "honesty" arose in 16th Century Britain and is thought to be a reference to the translucency of the seed pods. The Genus name - Lunaria - likens the seed pods to moons and for similar reasons it is known as "silver dollars" in the USA. Despite its exotic appearance, it's a member of the cabbage family.
The stream at the bottom of the valley is the same one that you crossed earlier in the walk near Stampas farm, but upstream of where the tributary stream from Hendra Farm joins. The Wheal Hope lead mine was situated just upstream on the right side of the road. The stream rises from the Carn Moor area on the far side of the Newquay road from Goonhavern where the Wheal Albert lead and silver mine was once based.
Orange tip butterflies are one of the most noticeable and memorable due to their brilliant orange wing tips, but it's only the males that have orange-tipped wings. The striking orange is a warning to predators that they taste highly unpleasant. Intelligent birds such as crows will avoid repeating culinary disasters by remembering the colour pattern associated with it.
The females are mainly white with a bit of black at the wing tips. There will be an evolutionary reason for why it's not worth the females bothering with the orange warning pigment. This could be because the males spend much more time in flight (looking for females), and the resources needed to produce the bitter chemicals and orange pigment are better spent instead on making more eggs.
As additional protection from predators (especially for the females), they have also evolved a green camouflage pattern on the underside of their wings that makes them quite hard to spot when they land and close their wings.
Orange tips overwinter as pupae so they are able to emerge in April, making them one of the first butterflies to be around in the spring. They can be seen until mid-summer then their caterpillars spend the remainder of the summer feeding ready for the winter.
Treamble was recorded in 1316 as Taranbol. This is from the Cornish words for "thunder" and "pool" or "pit". There are now no obvious landscape features that can be matched-up to work out the origin of this. Although "thunder pit" seems like it could be a mining or quarrying reference, the industrial-scale mining that was carried out here took place many centuries after the name was recorded. There is a small stream at the bottom of the valley which has likely been altered substantially by mining activity and building a railway so it's possible that in Early Mediaeval times there was a small waterfall with a plunge pool.
Quite a bit of iron mining activity occurred here during Victorian times. A tramway passed over the track here and Great Retallack Mine was situated part-way along the track. Further along was Treamble Mine.
The caravan park lies on the site of the Treamble mine. This was an iron mine on the Perran Iron Lode, started in the middle of the 19th century and worked intermittently until the Second World War. During the 1930s, as well as iron, clay was extracted for use as fuller's earth. Power was provided by an engine house and waterwheel. An aerial cable was used to transport material to the processing area near the railway terminus.
The iron lode runs all the way to Perran Sands where there is a mine in the cliff at the northern end of the beach. It was originally worked at Treamble from two open pits. When the western pit was excavated, a lead lode was also exposed. Where this intersected the Perran Iron Lode, it contained silver ores and even some silver in metallic form.
The iron sulphide compounds mined here react very readily with water and oxygen to produce rusty-coloured iron hydroxides often seen in the rivers in mining areas. Because oxygen is a much smaller atom than sulphur, oxygen atoms can fit more tightly around an iron atom forming stronger chemical bonds, releasing energy in the form of heat (chemists describe the reaction as "exothermic"). Consequently, even though the mines here were relatively shallow (about 40 metres deep), temperatures of over 50 Celcius were recorded on the Treamble Iron Lode.
In the late 18th and early 19th Century there were two mines in the valley either side of the bridge, known as Wheal Mexico and Wheal Peru. Both started as lead mines and the one to the left of the bridge dates back to Tudor times, working the lode of lead ore that was also mined at Treamble. In 1785, rich silver ores were discovered here and at was at this point the mine reopened under the name Wheal Mexico. The quantity of ore within the lode was not that great but the high concentration of silver more than made up for this. There are even reports of lumps of pure silver being raised from the mine.
The Smuggler's Den was originally a farmhouse, built in the 17th Century and consisting of 3 rooms, the middle of which was unheated. At the end of the 17th Century, an additional room was added to create the large U-shaped building that fronts onto the road. The rear buildings were added much more recently. Before married life, Prince Harry had been known to take part in the pub quiz here.
Rooks nest in colonies and are one of the most social members of the crow family. Scientists have found that rooks are happy to work cooperatively to solve problems (e.g. each pulling on a separate string to release food).
Mount mine was predominantly an iron mine working the Perran Iron Lode although manganese, lead and even chunks of pure silver were also extracted during Victorian times. The mine began as surface pits, the largest of which was gradually extended down to about 100ft. The far end of the tarmac track running out onto the dunes is built on the trackbed of a railway branch line that connected to the iron mine at the far end of Perranporth beach. It's also likely some of the cottages in Mount were built and inhabited by miners in this period as many of the cottages are recorded on the OS map from the 1880s.
The mine was reopened during the Second World War to produce iron for weaponry but production was on a relatively small scale.
The metallic minerals associated with outcrops of granite tend to occur in bands which radiate out from the granite outcrop. A band of tin deposits usually occurs closest to the granite, then beyond this a band containing copper ore. A band of zinc and lead deposits is commonly found further away from the granite, with just iron at the furthest extreme. The reason for the banding is that the deposition of each mineral occurs within a specific temperature range. Granite starts as a molten blob of magma which cools very slowly and provides a source of heat. The temperature of water in the cracks in the neighbouring rock therefore decreases with increasing distance from the hot granite.
Public byways are rights of way down which motor vehicles may be driven depending on how brave you are and how expensive your car is to fix. You are also permitted to use a horse-drawn carriage, should you own one. Byways tend to be surfaced in an ad-hoc manner either with gravel or occasionally with a smattering of tarmac, but still leaving plenty of room for a good crop of grass to grow down the centre. They are conventionally marked using red waymarks or a "Public Byway" sign. There are 130 miles of byways in Cornwall.
Willow trees are usually found in wet places including riverbanks and waterlogged ground. Common species include grey willow and goat willow but these often hybridise so they are more often known by the more broad-brush collective term "pussy willows" (due to their catkins). In January the fluffy, grey male catkins appear and and turn bright yellow in March when they release their pollen. Then in April, the fertilised female catkins develop into woolly seeds. In early May, air can be filled with the downy seeds that look a bit like dandelion seeds.
Hemlock (also known as water dropwort or poison hemlock) is a member of the carrot family (related to cow parsley and alexanders) and is common in damp, shady places, particularly near streams. The stems are tubular and quite thick like alexanders and the leaves look quite like coriander (more toothed on the edges than alexanders). New leaves begin to shoot in early winter and by February these are starting to grow into quite noticeable small plants. It flowers in April and May with white flowers similar to cow parsley.
Hemlock has a deceptively pleasant sweet smell but don't be tempted to try eating it: this is the most poisonous plant in UK. The plant contains alkaloid compounds which cause muscle paralysis leading to death by respiratory failure. Just a handful of leaves can kill a human and a root contains enough poison to kill a cow. In Ancient Greece it was used to execute prisoners including the philosopher, Socrates.
There is a common myth that the poisonous compounds from hemlock can enter the human food chain via milk/meat from animals that have ingested it - this has been scientifically proven to be complete nonsense.
Researchers think that hemlock produces alkaloid compounds to attract pollinating insects. The compounds are volatile so they evaporate in the warm weather and carry in the air. Although the plants are poisonous to mammals, they are the main food plant of some butterfly species.
The Latin name for the hemlock's genus (Conium) comes from the Ancient Greek word for hemlock. This word itself may be related to the Greek word for "whirl" as vertigo is one of the symptoms of ingesting the plant. The name hemlock is from the Old English word for the plant (hymlic which meant "hop-like", based on a vague resemblance to the vine on which hops grow). Other common names include "poison parsley" and "devil's porridge".
Some estimates suggest the UK has up to half of the world's total bluebell population; nowhere else in the world do they grow in such abundance. However, the poor bluebell faces a number of threats including climate change and hybridisation from garden plants. In the past, there has also been large-scale unsustainable removal of bulbs for sale although it is now a criminal offence to remove the bulbs of wild bluebells with a fine up to £5,000 per bulb!
During periods of cold weather, spring flowers, such as bluebells, have already started the process of growth by preparing leaves and flowers in underground bulbs during summer and autumn. They are then able to grow in the cold of winter, or early spring, by using these resources stored in their bulb. Once they have flowered, the leaves die off and the cycle begins again.
Other species (such as cow parsley or dandelions) require warm weather before they are able to germinate and grow. With the warmer springs induced by climate change, bluebells lose their "early start" advantage, and can be out-competed.
Because bluebells spread very slowly, they're considered to be an indicator of ancient woodland sites. In areas where trees are not very old, the fact there are bluebells around can indicate that there has been a wood on a site for a very long time. Even if there are no trees there at all, bluebells tell us that there was woodland there some time in the past. The bluebells along the coast are a relic of the gnarled oak woodland that used to grow here before it was cleared for grazing. There is still a patch of the ancient oak woodland left along the coast at Dizzard.
Some plant nutrients such as phosphorus tend to be more abundant near the surface of the soil where decaying organic matter collects. Bluebell seedlings start life at the surface so these are OK but as bluebell plants mature and send their roots deeper into the soil to avoid winter frosts, they have a phosphorus problem. They have solved this by partnering with a fungus that extends from their root cells, drawing in minerals from the soil in return for some carbohydrates from the plant.
Bluebells are extremely poisonous, containing a number of biologically-active compounds and were used (probably with varying success) in mediaeval medicine. The sap was used as a glue for book-binding as its toxicity repelled insects. It was also used to attach the fletchings onto arrows.
In Elizabethan times, starch made from the bulbs was used to stiffen collars and cuffs in clothing. The ruffs that were highly fashionable at the time would have needed a lot of starch to prevent them flopping. The toxins in bluebell sap might also have had the desirable property of preventing the starch encouraging the formation of mould.
In folklore, the bluebell is a symbol of constancy, presumably based on the fact that they flower in the same place every year. It was said that anyone who wears a bluebell is compelled to tell the truth. This could be the origin of the "…something blue…" that a bride should wear on her wedding day.
According to folklore, it's unlucky to bring bluebells into a house and also unlucky to walk through bluebells as it was thought that the little bells would ring and summon fairies and goblins.
In Old Cornish, both bluebells and marigolds were known as lesengoc which translates to "flower of the cuckoo". In Modern Cornish, the marigold has remained more-or-less the same but the bluebell has been changed to bleujenn an gog ("plant of the cuckoo"). The association between bluebells and cuckoos exists in Welsh ("bells of the cuckoo") and Gaelic ("cuckoo's shoe"), and in some English folk names such as Cuckoo's Boots and Cuckoo Stockings. It is thought that the association is due to the time that bluebells flower coinciding with the time that the call of the cuckoo is first heard.
Bluebells are also known by folk names based on their shape including Lady’s Nightcap and Witches’ Thimbles.
Other common names for the bluebell include "wild hyacinth" and "wood hyacinth" as they are related to the hyacinth family. Their Genus name Hyacinthoides also means "hyacinth-like".
When photographing bluebells, the flowers that look blue to your eye can end up looking purple in photos.
The first thing to check is that your camera isn't on auto white balance as the large amount of blue will cause the camera to shift the white balance towards reds to try to compensate.
Another thing to watch out for is that the camera's light metering will often over-expose the blue slightly to get a reasonable amount of red and green light and the "lost blue" can change the balance of the colours. You can get around this by deliberately under-exposing the photo (and checking there is no clipping if your camera has a histogram display) and then brightening it afterwards with editing software.
Bluebells are very vulnerable to trampling. The reason for this is that when their leaves emerge in the early part of the year, they are powered by the stored sugars in their bulbs. Sunlight is very limited at this time of the year and even more so in the shady places where they grow. In order to survive, they then need to photosynthesise flat-out to store enough starch in the bulb for next year's growth. If a bluebell’s leaves are crushed, it cannot photosynthesise and and doesn't have enough reserves left in its bulb to grow new ones. It's therefore important to stick to footpaths in bluebell woodland and best to take photos with a zoom lens from there as wandering around in the bluebells to take photos will inadvertently kill them.
A rare genetic mutation occurs in bluebells which results in about 1 bluebell in 10,000 being white rather than blue.
Three-cornered leeks - which have white bell-shaped flowers and are very common - are often misidentified as "white bluebells". The easiest way to tell them apart is that 3-cornered leeks smell strongly of onion. Their flower stems are also triangular (hence the name).
The ferns with solid leaves are appropriately called hart's tongue as the leaf resembles the tongue of a deer. It is the only native species of fern that doesn't have divided leaves. The Latin name for the species means "centipede" as the underside of the leaves have rows of brown spore cases that form a pattern resembling centipede legs.
Hart's tongue ferns thrive in shady places and are tolerant of the lime used in mortar so are sometimes found growing in old walls. It's an evergreen so leaves can be seen all year round but there's usually a flurry of new growth in mid March when new leaves can be seen gradually unfurling over a number of days.
The lead ore found in Cornwall is a form of lead sulphide known as galena which often contains an appreciable amount of silver. This was first smelted to produce "argentiferous lead" and then the silver was separated by a process known as "cupellation". The molten alloy of the 2 metals was placed in an oxygen rich furnace which caused the lead, but not the silver, to oxidise. The lead oxide was then absorbed into a calcium-rich material such as the ash from bones or seashells, leaving the liquid metal silver on the surface of the "cake". The lead oxide could later be converted back into lead by smelting it with charcoal.
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