- Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor (Cornish: Goen Bren [http://homepage.univie.ac.at/albert.bock/files/placenames.pdf] ) is a
granite moorland in northeasternCornwall , UK, 208 km² (80 sq mile) in size, dating from theCarboniferous period of geological history.The name "Bodmin Moor" is relatively recent, being an
Ordnance Survey invention of 1813. It was formerly known as "Fowey Moor", after the river which rises here. [ [http://www.cornwalltour.co.uk/bodmin_moor.html Conwall Tour - An illustrated guide to Cornwall - Bodmin Moor ] ]Dramatic granite tors rise from the rolling moorland
Brown Willy being the highest point in Cornwall at 417m (1368 ft) [ [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/ GENUKI: Cornwall ] ] andRough Tor at 400m (1313 ft).On the southern slopes of the moor lies
Dozmary Pool , where, according to Arthurian legend,Sir Bedivere threwExcalibur toThe Lady of the Lake . It is Cornwall's only natural inland lake and is glacial in origin. [Cornish Archaeology No 34 1995]The Moor contains about 500 holdings with around 10,000 Beef Cows, 55,000 Breeding Ewes and 1,000 Horses and Ponies. [ [http://www.bodminmoor.co.uk/history.html The Bodmin Moor Pages ~ The History ] ] Most of the moor is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)and has been officially designated anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), as part of Cornwall AONB. [http://www.cornwall-aonb.gov.uk/documents/12_bodmin_character.pdf]Rivers
The moor is the source of a number of the county's main rivers. The
River Fowey rises at a height of 290m and flows throughLostwithiel and into theFowey estuary. [ [http://www.cornwallriversproject.org.uk/geography/fowey.htm Cornwall Rivers Project | Geography | Fowey and Lerryn ] ] TheRiver Camel rises on Hendraburnick Down and flows for approximately 40km (25 miles) before joining the sea atPadstow . [ [http://www.cornwallriversproject.org.uk/geography/camel.htm Cornwall Rivers Project | Geography | Camel and Allen ] ] The River Camel and De Lank are an important habitat for the otter and both have been proposed as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) [ [http://www.bodminmoor.co.uk/rivers.html The Rivers of Bodmin Moor - The Bodmin Moor Pages ] ]Colliford Lake andSiblyback Lake reservoirs supply water for a large part of the county's population.History
10,000 years ago
Mesolithic hunter-gatherers wandered the moor when it was wooded and had a temperate climate. During theNeolithic era, from about 4,500 to 2,300 BC, people began clearing trees and farming the land. More than 200Bronze Age settlements with enclosures and field patterns have been recorded. [ [http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2007_bod_t.html channel4.com - Time Team - Bodmin Moor, Cornwall - text only ] ] and many prehistoric stone barrows and circles lie scattered across the moor.King Arthur's Hall thought to be a lateNeolithic or earlyBronze Age ceremonial site can be found to the east ofSt Breward on the moor. [ [http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/secretcornwall.htm Secret cornwall - Bodmin moor and its environs ] ]In 1844 on Bodmin Moor the body of 18 year old Charlotte Dymond was discovered. Local labourer Matthew Weeks was accused of the murder and at noon on 12th August 1844 he was led from
Bodmin Gaol and hanged. The murder site now has a momument erected from public money and the grave is atDavidstow churchyard. [ [http://www.parmaq.com/truecrime/CharlotteDymond.htm The Murder of Charlotte Dymond] ]ee also
*
Beast of Bodmin
*Geology of the United Kingdom
*List of topics related to Cornwall
*Brown Willy effect References
* Weatherhill, Craig "Cornish Placenames and Language"
External links
* [http://www.cornwalltour.co.uk/bodmin_moor.html Illustrated Guide to Bodmin Moor]
* [http://www.cornwall365.co.uk/cornwall/places,12,Bodmin-Moor.html Photos of Bodmin Moor]
* [http://www.countryside.gov.uk/LivingLandscapes/finest_countryside/aonbs/aonb_cornwall.asp Cornwall AONB]
* [http://www.marhamchurch.eu/Cornwall_picture_5.htm Photos of Roughtor and Cheesewring]
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