Cornish Wilds

In our Landscape & Lore series, we discover the wild landscapes of Britain and the incredible stories they inspire.

We introduce the land, it's history, folklore and the tales it has to tell.

Cornwall Books. Twine and flowers craft literature

THE BOOKS

The rugged beauty of Cornwall has inspired some of Britain's most evocative novels. Daphne Du Maurier's work used the region as setting for gothic and unsettling titles including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and My Cousin Rachel.

Other famous works inspired by the hidden coves and haunted moors of the county include Winston Graham's Poldark series, The Swordfish and the Star by Gavin Knight and The Lighthouse by PD James.

A dramatic coastal landscape with steep grassy cliffs dropping into a turbulent blue-gray ocean under an overcast sky. Books and landscapes

THE LAND

The rugged wilds of Cornwall are founded on ancient granite and slate; copper and tin - the result of continental plates crashing to form this haunting landscape.

Two distinctly magical frames were produced. A granite outcrop, upon which the gothic Bodmin Moor sits in it's mystery and want, and the crag and sand of a spectacular, cove-pocked coastline, where smugglers thrived and perished in equal measure.

THE HISTORY

With over 10,000 years of human history, Cornwall is a fiercely independent region with a proud cultural heritage.

Bronze Age tribes lived and mined the area extensively, leaving remnants of stone monuments that can still be seen today. However, Cornwall is most famous for it's Celtic links. The region was ruled for centuries by the Dumnonni tribe - groups who mined and farmed in Cornwall and Devon, and traded across sea. At this time, Kernewek - a famous Cornish language - started to emerge, and was the primary language of until a few hundred years ago.

When the Romans conquered much of Britain, the Dumnonni largely retained independence through careful alliances which allowed Celtic leaders to keep power. At the fall of the Romans, the Celtic kingdom of Dumnonia was formed - a period which sparked the legend of King Arthur. Dumnonia gave way to another Celtic Kingdom: Cornubia or Kernow.

Such was the resilience of the people that whilst Saxons thrived across England, they struggled to get a hold in Cornwall. Rather than falling to Viking attacks, the region allied with Norseman to help resist Saxon rule. Eventually, Kernow was forced under English rule, but its independent will did win concessions and, over the years, has held special legal status.

Black and white photograph of an old stone building with ivy, a broken wooden roof section, a stone gatepost, and a wooden gate with a sign reading PRIVATE. Trees and shrubs surround the property.

THE FOLKLORE

Cornwall is the location for arguably the world's most famous folklore: The Legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. This rich story is entwined with the dramatic Tintagel Castle, located on one of Cornwall's jagged headlands.

Aside from this, the tin mines of Cornwall have bred rich folklore and superstition. Cornish miners who saw a snail on their way to work would give some food or tallow for good luck. Miners would not work in a mine where a cat was found, believing it to be bad luck. Most famously, miners believed in 'knockers', gnome-like figures that dwelled in the mines. Knockers were believed to be spirits of perished miners, who would knock on the cave wall to alert of impending collapse, in an effort to save others from their fate.

Finally, piskies are another legendary figure in Cornwall lore. These small, wingless figures, are either helpful or a hinderance depending on how you treat them. Believed to be descendants of pre-historic people, they dwell on moorland and have been known to lure travellers into endless loops on Bodmin Moor -or worse - into inescapable bogs.