Roche is first recorded in 1201 as "La Roche" (the rock), due to the French-speaking Norman gentry in that period. It was also recorded as Rupe (from Latin rupes for "cliff" or "crag"). Over time, the pronunciation of Roche changed to be more compatible with Middle English, resulting in "roach".
The church building dates from the 15th Century but incorporates some earlier elements from Norman times such as the font. The church was restored twice the 19th Century during which all the woodwork was replaced. The tower has changed little since the 15th Century apart from that it originally had pinnacles.
Sycamores leaves can sometimes be seen with black dots. This "tar spot" fungus reduces the efficiency of the leaves slightly but overall seems not to harm the tree significantly. The fungus overwinters on fallen dead leaves and its spores are released in spring to infect new leaves.
Sycamore is a member of the maple family which is why the leaves look a bit like the Canadian flag. Although sycamore doesn't have the striking red autumn colour of other maples, the young leaves and developing seeds are a vivid red colour which is caused by similar red anthrocyanin compounds.
All plants in the onion family are poisonous to dogs including wild garlic. This is one of the reasons that feeding dogs human foods (many of which contain onion such as gravy powder) is not good for them. Garlic is extremely toxic to dogs and cats and the consumption of even a small amount can lead to severe poisoning. Keep dogs away from wild garlic and wash their paws if they come into contact with it.
During winter, from November to March, winter heliotrope is visible along the edges of roads and paths as carpets of rounded heart-shaped leaves.
Despite only having the male form in the UK (is and therefore unable to produce seeds), it can spread vegetatively through its network of underground roots. A small fragment of root can give rise to a new plant which allows it to colonise new locations. Within less than 30 years of its introduction it had been recorded in the wild in Middlesex. Roughly a century later it has become one of the most common plants along roads and bridleways in Cornwall.
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.
Three-cornered leeks are sometimes confused with wild garlic. This is not surprising as they are part of the onion/garlic family, many of which have white flowers. However, "wild garlic" is normally reserved for their broader-leaved cousin (also known as "ramsons") which smells and tastes of garlic, whereas three-cornered leeks smell more of onion and taste more like chives. It's a relatively subtle distinction since both plants are "oniony" and edible.
The leaves of ramsons are also softer whereas the slightly sturdier and much more slender leaves of 3-cornered leeks has earned them the "leek" name. However, this is a bit of an overstretch as the leaves are nowhere near as tough as (wild or domesticated) leek leaves.
The roots of red campion contain saponins (soapy compounds) which protect the plants against microbes and fungi. These compounds make it easier for large molecules such as proteins to enter cell membranes. This has the potential to increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy against cancer by allowing immunotoxins to enter the cancer cells more easily.
Tremodrett was recorded in 1086 as Tremodret and the first record of Tregonhay is from 1293 as Tregenhay. It is thought that both might be based on personal names from mediaeval times (i.e. Modret's farm).
Ferns evolved a long time before flowering plants and dominated the planet during the Carboniferous period. The bark from tree ferns during this period is thought to have been the main source of the planet's coal reserves.
The lane passes through part of the Mid Cornwall Moors SSSI which provides an important habitat for vulnerable birds, butterflies and plants.
Horsetail is a "living fossil" - the only surviving genus from a group of plants which formed the understory of the great conifer forests 300 million years ago, found in today's coal deposits. The modern species date from the Jurassic period.
To discourage grazing animals, the stems are coated with abrasive silicates (similar to grass leaves). Horsetails have therefore been used historically for pot scouring and wood polishing.
It spreads via rhizomes (underground stems) and can be a nightmare weed in gardens and for farmers where its abrasive properties can damage equipment over time. It is also resilient to many herbicides but routine cultivation does eventually get rid of it.
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.
Common valerian is a tall, upright plant with pink flowers that likes damp ground. It can reach 5-6ft high in sheltered places but in harsher environments such as the coast it's generally 2-3ft tall. The flowers have a pleasant scent and their nectar attracts butterflies.
Due to some very unfortunate naming, there is potential for confusion with red valerian which is both more common in Cornwall and, despite its name, is most often actually pink (although sometimes red or white). If it grows in a wall or hangs out from a verge, or has profuse flowers, or is in flower before June, it's red valerian (even if it's pink or white). If it grows in a damp place and is upright with pale pink flowers in spaced-out flattish clusters a bit like cow parsley, then you've found some not-so-common common valerian.
Valerian root has been used for centuries in herbal remedies to promote sleep. Some scientific analysis has been done on a subset of the broad range of chemical compounds that it contains and an effect is considered plausible although there is not yet any strong clinical evidence to support this. However, the smell of valerian's essential oil is less likely to promote sleep, described as "unwashed feet" or "well-matured cheese".
Valerian root also seems to be an attractant to cats in a similar way to catnip. Perhaps it should be called "catnap"?
The settlement of Woon was first recorded in 1327 when as Woyn. It is from the Cornish word goon, meaning moorland. By 1350, it had been subdivided forming Netherwoyn (Lower Woon). There was also a Middle Woon recorded in Victorian times but this is now buried under the waste tips of Goonbarrow china clay works.
Himalayan Balsam is a tall plant with very pretty pink flowers that can often be seen lining footpaths in the summer and early autumn. It was introduced as an ornamental species in 1839 and unfortunately the plant is now a major ecological problem. It can grow from a seed to 9ft high in a few months, forming dense thickets and wiping out other plant species. It is also extremely invasive as the seed pods open explosively, launching around 800 seeds per plant up to 7 metres and the seeds are also adapted to travel by water. It is a nuisance on riverbanks as its roots are shallow and allow the sediment to become easily eroded into the river. It can be identified by its bright pink flowers and it has a characteristic sweet smell.
To make blackberry wine, combine 2kg blackberries + 4 litres of boiling water in a plastic container with a lid. Once the water has cooled to lukewarm, mash blackberries and add red wine yeast and pectic enzyme (blackberries contain pectin so this is needed to stop the wine being cloudy). Cover for 4-5 days then strain through muslin.
Transfer the liquid to a demijohn and add 1kg of sugar. Top up with a little more water to make it up to a gallon. After fermentation, the wine should clear by itself; in the unlikely event that it doesn't, use some finings. Rack off from the sediment and bottle; it's worth allowing the wine a year or two to mature as it massively improves with age. As a variation, you can add 500g of elderberries and increase the sugar content for a more port-like wine which will need a couple of years longer for the elderberry tannins to mellow out.
Blackbirds can be found in deciduous woodland, particularly where there is dense undergrowth. In the man-made landscape, hedges provide plenty of dense undergrowth and have consequently become a really important habitat for blackbirds. Moreover, many gardens have such a high density of hedges and bushes that they are able to support ten times the blackbird population versus an equivalent area of their natural woodland habitat.
Bracken is a type of fern. Perhaps the easiest way to spot mature bracken plants is by their sturdy stem which acts a bit like the trunk of a tree with leaves going out horizontally from this. Other ferns leaves tend to grow directly out of the ground. Earlier in the year, bracken is recognisable by the fronds emerging from the ground singly rather than grouped in tufts.
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.
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.
If you are crossing a field in which there are horses:
The stinkhorns are a family of phallic-shaped mushrooms, typically found near dead wood. Their form (the Latin name Phallus impudicus means "shamelessly phallic") disturbed the sensibilities some Victorians so greatly that they would rise at dawn to attack them with clubs or burn them to prevent their spread and protect the morals of maids. Unsurprisingly, there are some other colourful folk names including one very similar to Deadman's Cove.
As "stinkhorn" suggests, the fungus produces a foul odour, which it uses to attract insects. The mushroom initially forms inside an oval capsule on the ground which ruptures and the fruiting body then rises quite quickly (typically overnight). In the case of the common stinkhorn, the cap is covered with a smelly olive-green slime containing the spores. This is fairly quickly eaten by insects who carry away some of the spores on their legs. Once the slime has been consumed, a white raised honeycomb structure remains of the cap. Therefore you're most likely to encounter pristine specimens early in the morning before the insects have reached them.
The chimney was part of a china clay drying kiln (located on the opposite side of the track), part of the Great Wheal Prosper china clay works at Carbis Wharf which stretches to the right along the road. The kiln at this end (known as the West Dry) closed first but the rest remained as the last coal-fired working clay dryer in Cornwall and was still working in the 1990s. It has since been converted into holiday accommodation. Many of the industrial features have been incorporated (e.g. the walls of the settling tanks now form walled gardens).
In late summer you may find the area has been sprayed as control for Japanese knotweed that has colonised in addition to the Himalayan Balsam.
Japanese knotweed was introduced into the UK in the early 19th Century as an ornamental plant but has escaped into the wild. It spreads via underground stems (rhizomes), forming a dense colony that out-competes native vegetation. A new plant can propagate from a tiny fragment (the weight of a grain of salt) of rhizome or stem which is how it spreads to new locations. Consequently cut plant material is classified as "controlled waste" that needs careful disposal and mechanical vegetation management techniques such as strimming cause it to spread more widely rather than controlling it. Even some herbicides can cause it to either put up more shoots or go into a dormant state and re-shoot several years later. It evolved to grow in the harsh environment of active volcanoes so is able to come back from having all its foliage scorched.
If you spot Japanese knotweed on a public footpath, please use this form to report it. The form asks for a grid reference. One way to get that is to use Cornwall Council mapping on a computer where the grid reference of your mouse arrow is shown at the bottom of the screen as you move it around the map.
Two butterflies commonly found in fields and on the coast are the Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper (also known as the "Hedge Brown"). These are both orange and brown and have a black-and-white spot on each wingtip. Gatekeepers normally have a double white dot on each black spot whereas meadow brown usually just have the one.
Another common brown butterfly found in both woodland and along hedgerows is the Speckled Wood. It also has a black-and-white spot on the wingtips but the wings are also patterned with lighter dots (as in the photo) and there are more spots on the rear of the wings.
The spots are there to confuse predators such as birds who at a quick glance might see them as a pair of eyes. The location of the rings at the wingtips give the impression that a creature with eyes that far apart must be quite big and may eat birds!
Hendra is a common Cornish place name meaning "home farm" (from the Cornish word hendre which itself is based on the words hen meaning old, and dre is equivalent to tre). Hendra was also used as a boy's first name with the meaning literally "from the family farm".
Dandelion is a corruption of the French dent de lion (lion's tooth), which is thought to refer to the shape of the leaves. The plant is a member of the sunflower family.
It's thought that the iconic chapel on Roche rock would have attracted pilgrims during mediaeval times. Old stone stiles on footpaths such as this one may be surviving relics from the pilgrimage routes.
In the 1890s, Lord Falmouth had wooden signs erected stating his ownership of the land containing Roche Rock. This did not go down well with the locals who removed them. An iron sign on a 10ft metal pole set in concrete was later put in place. The locals also removed this with the help of 3lb of dynamite, which made the national headlines. The land was fenced and a padlocked gate placed across the footpath stating access was by permission of Lord Falmouth and guarded by police officers. After evidence of public access dating back to the 15th Century was produced, it was agreed the Lord Falmouth was only permitted to lock the gate for 1 day each year. The path across the land has since been recorded as a Public Footpath and the land containing the rock is Access Land (and also now part of the Mid Cornwall Moors SSSI).
Roche Rock is a mixture of quartz and tourmaline, formed when the blob of magma that created the surrounding granite began to solidify and some of the last remaining molten rock liquids rich in boron replaced the feldspar normally found in granite. The result is an extremely hard rock outcrop which has survived for hundreds millions of years during which the surrounding rocks have been weathered away.
The chapel on the rock was built in the early 15th Century by the Tregarrick family that owned the Manor and is dedicated to St Michael. Rather than the rusty iron ladders visible today, access was originally via a stone staircase. The stone from this was repurposed as convenient building materials for use within the village.
Cricket's origins are uncertain and the earliest definite reference is in south-east England in the middle of the 16th century. It is thought that cricket originated as a child's game in southeast England during mediaeval times. In its earliest form, the cricket bat resembled a hockey stick.
After the restoration in 1660s, cricket's popularity exploded due to gambling on sport. This became such a problem that a law was passed, limiting the maximum amount gambled to £100 but this was still more than the annual income of 99% of the population.
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.
Rooks can be distinguished from other members of the crow family by their pale, hairless, pointy beak (other members of the crow family have black beaks and also a moustache on the top of their beak).
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).
Experiments have shown that rooks are able to use tools to solve problems, choosing tools with optimal sizes and shapes to solve a problem. They are also able to adapt tools e.g. bending a wire to make a hook to retrieve food.
Rooks eat pretty much anything but their primary food source is earthworms and insect larvae which their beak is evolved to probe for.
Gorse is a legume, related to peas and like other members of the pea family it's able to get its nitrogen from the air. It's also tolerant to heavy metals in the soil and to salt. This makes it able to grow in Cornwall's harshest environments: moorland, coast and mine waste tips.
Like other members of the pea family, gorse produces its seeds in pods. The seeds are ejected with a popping sound when pods split open in hot weather. This can catapult the seeds up to five metres. The plants are able to live 30 years and survive sub-zero temperatures, the seeds can withstand fire and remain viable in the soil for 30 years.
Gorse seeds each contain a small body of ant food. The seeds also release a chemical which attracts ants from some distance away. The ants carry the seeds to their nests, eat the ant food and then discard the seeds, helping them to disperse.
The seeds of common gorse are the source of the chemical used to identify people with the rare "hh" blood group. The red blood cells in the vast majority of people (in blood groups A, B, AB and O) have a material called "H substance" on their surface. It turns out that the chemical extracted from gorse binds remarkably specifically to this and cells from the "hh" blood group (that have no H substance) are left alone.
Gorse is also known (particularly in the Westcountry) as furze from the Middle English word furs. This itself is from the Old English word fyres, closely related to the Old English word for fire.
Before the Industrial Revolution, gorse was valued as a fuel for bread ovens and kilns as it burns rapidly, very hot and with little ash. It was in such demand that there were quite strict rules about how much gorse could be cut on common land.
In more recent times, due to reliance on fossil fuels, this is now out of balance and gorse has increased in rural areas which have been abandoned agriculturally.
As gorse ages, it accumulates more dead material. The spiky, springy nature of the plant even when dead means air can circulate well through the dead material and when this dries out in the summer, it substantially increases the risk of fires. As gorse seeds have evolved to withstand fire, controlled burning can be used to used to keep the gorse at a young age where uncontrolled fires are less likely.
Gorse is present as two species along the Atlantic coast and size is the easiest way to tell them apart: Common Gorse bushes are up to 10ft tall whereas Western Gorse is more of a mat - less than 1ft tall. Common Gorse flowers in spring whereas Western Gorse flowers in late summer - early autumn.
In 2005 a man had to be rescued from a 10ft deep patch of coastal gorse by helicopter. Whilst mountain biking home along the coast from a bar, with the assistance of a not insignificant amount of alcohol, he managed to catapult himself into the bushes where he remained stuck for 2 days before being found by a passer-by. She asked if he needed help, to which he replied "can you ring the RAF?".
Between the two species, some gorse is almost always in flower, hence the old country phrases: "when gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion" (which is recorded from the mid-19th century) and "when the furze is in bloom, my love's in tune" (which dates from the mid-18th century). Common gorse flowers are bright yellow. Western gorse flowers are very slightly more orange - more like the colour of the "yolk" in a Cadbury's creme egg. Also like creme eggs, gorse flowers are edible but are significantly better for use in salads and to make a tea, beer or wine.
Common gorse flowers have a coconut-like scent but rather than fresh coconut, it is reminiscent of desiccated coconut or the popular brand of surf wax, Mr Zoggs. However, not everyone experiences the smell in the same way: for some people it's very strong and for others it quite weak. One complicating factor is that Western Gorse flowers don't have any scent, so you need to be sniffing a tall gorse plant to test yourself.
Flower scents are volatile organic compounds which drift though the air and has evolved as an advertisement to pollinating insects that nectar is available. Squeezing the flowers releases these compounds onto the surface where they can evaporate and therefore intensifies the smell. Similarly the warming effect of sunlight helps the compounds to evaporate faster and so the smell is more intense on sunny days.
Gorse flower wine can be made using 5 litres of gorse flowers stripped from the stems and simmering these in 5 litres of boiling water. Once the flowers are removed, 1.3kg of sugar should be dissolved in the hot water and allowed to cool to room temperature. Then add 500g of chopped raisins and juice and zest of 2 lemons and ferment with white wine yeast and yeast nutrient. Although flowers are present year-round, they are best picked in spring (April and May) when they are most profuse and fragrant.
Bilberries (known in Cornwall as 'erts) are closely related to blueberries. The fruits are much smaller but the flavour is more intense.
Like heather, bilberry is a member of the Ericaceae family and fungi in its roots help it extract nitrogen from acidic soils. Bilberries are therefore typically found on moorland where there is less competition from other plants.
Although Cornwall is home to the village of Bilberry (near Bugle), the name is not thought to be anything to do with the plant - more likely the "bury" relates to some form of ancient earthwork.
It is thought that rumours that the RAF used bilberries and carrots to improve night vision of bomber pilots were an elaborate decoy to conceal that Britain had radar which is what in reality made the pilots more effective.
The extraction of china clay has dramatically altered the Cornish landscape: it is estimated that 120 million tons have been extracted. For every 1 tonne of china clay, there are 9 tonnes of mineral waste products (a gritty sand of quartz and mica), which has led to the creation of large areas of tips. The now disused conical (or "sky tips") can be seen near St Austell from as far away as Bodmin Moor.
Due to the density of china clay pits, the area around St Austell has become known as "The Clays". This has dominated St Austell's more recent industrial history and to some degree masked the area's earlier history: prior to china clay, St Austell was an important centre for copper and tin mining.
China clay in Cornwall and Devon resulted from a sequence of events that began over 300 million years ago; molten rock cooled into granite: a mixture of quartz, feldspar and mica. As it cooled, the feldspar reacted with other minerals to form china clay.
The clay from Cornwall was found to be a much finer quality than elsewhere in Europe and also turned out to be the largest deposit in the world. By the mid-19th Century, 7,000 workers were employed in the St Austell area alone and by 1910, Cornwall was producing 50% of the world's China Clay.
At the time of writing, the UK is still the third largest producer of China Clay in the world: Cornwall produces approximately 1 million tonnes of kaolin each year. Due to increasing mechanisation and large amounts of production being moved to Brazil, the industry now only employs around 1000 people.
The word kaolin is thought to be a corruption of the Chinese for "high ridge" where it was presumably found.
Granite is the most common igneous rock found at Earth's surface and also the oldest - thought to be formed up to 300 million years ago.
The word granite comes from the Latin granum (a grain), in reference to its coarse-grained structure. Granite forms from a big blob of magma (known as a pluton) which intrudes into the existing rocks. The huge mass of molten rock stores an enormous amount of heat so the magma cools very slowly below the surface of the Earth, allowing plenty of time for large crystals to form.
Granite mostly contains slightly acidic chemical compounds, and consequently there is nothing to neutralise acids arising from plant decay and carbon dioxide dissolved in rainwater, resulting in acidic moorland soils.
Granite is pretty hard stuff. It ranks at 7 out of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. It's harder than normal steel but not quite as hard as hardened steel (which is 7-8). Cutting on granite worktops is therefore not a good idea as knife blades become blunt quickly.
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