maryatkinsonwildonline: Rivers of Cornwall 2 : The Fowey in Summer

The Fowey, like the River Lyhner, rises on Bodmin Moor and flows south for about 30 miles to the sea past the twin towns of Polruan and Fowey on opposite sides of the Fowey estuary. Because of the unsettled weather during our travels down the river, we could only look at short sections at a time, dodging the worst of the rain.

Catchment of the River Fowey

The river (pronounced Foy as in boy) rises in the north eastern side of the moor and runs through a surrounding bowl of the rounded hills of High Moor and Buttern Hill, past Cornwall’s highest point, the granite tor of Brown Willy.

The Fowey rises in this rather featureless area of moorland between the familiar profile of Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, at about 450m above sea level.

The photo of Brown Willy was taken from the top of Buttern Hill, to the East. This is one of the best-preserved kists in Cornwall. It is a Bronze Age burial chamber, big enough to take a crouched burial.

Several streams join the Fowey high up on the moor, rising from marshes like this.

The marshes in summer are colourful with Common Valerian, Marsh Thistle, Foxgloves, Angelica.

The stunted hawthorns on the moor are often draped with beards of lichen.

Not much more than freshets, the streams of the upper reaches run through marshes and thickets of willow.

The young river then flows below Leskernick Hill with its big cairn and on its western and southern slopes the well –preserved remains of over fifty Bronze Age round houses within two discrete settlements. The rounded open moorland hills of Codda , Tolborough and Blackhill Downs.surround the shallow valley

One of the many round houses at the settlement of Leskernick.

Troops of Foxgloves stand tall on the banks.

until the river flows under the main A30 trunk road and runs quite steeply down the eastern side of the moor.

The hamlet of Bolventor with its famous pub is nearby . The Jamaica Inn featured in Daphne du Maurier's novel of that name; a tale of smuggling and wrecking.

The horizons of the moor are often marked by tracts of coniferous plantations. They detract from the wide open character of the moor, but when re-growth follows in large clear-felled areas, we can see and hear Nightjars calling and hunting at twilight.


The river flows through marshy meadows and willow woodland. Summer vegetation is luxuriant with Hemlock Water Dropwort. Its roots are highly poisonous to livestock but they are normally not eaten unless the growth is opened up by floods.

The river is narrow but clean and fast flowing, subject to sudden rises in level after rain on the moor. Green tresses of waterweed sway in the current and dippers nest under some of the bridges.

The handsome bridge at Ninestones, partway down this section of the river gives access to one of several small moorland farms nestled among sheltering trees.

Moorland farmhouse, looking cozy now, but remote, cold and enveloped in clammy mists in winter.

The opposite hillside of Browngelly has the extensive remains of ancient and medieval settlements partly buried under gorse and bracken.

Coming off the moor, the river runs through wet mossy woodland.

The beam bridge at Draynes was built in 1878 to replace a ford. A car park here gives access for the many visitors to the well-loved ancient oakwoods of the Draynes Valley with its attractive Golitha Falls.


The river runs alongside a fine row of beech trees which must have been planted getting on for a couple of hundred years ago.Forty years ago there were Pied Flycatchers nesting in the old oaks in the woodland here but they haven't been seen for many years now.

The lifting of lockdown restrictions has made a big rise in traffic and the car park by the river at Draynes was very busy with people coming and going from walks in the woods to the falls at Golitha.

Golitha Falls.

The defile where the river runs between great boulders is a well known site for mosses and lichens, and contributes to the area's status as an SSSI and National Nature Reserve. Years ago when Kim was a student we picked her up after an afternoon’s drawing down at the Falls. We found a drowned rat! She had fallen into a deep pool below, still clutching her drawings. Luckily no harm done except to her dignity.

On the moorland before the Fowey runs down the hillside is an ancient inscribed stone believed to commemorate King Doniert, the last of the Cornish kings, said to have drowned in the Fowey in around 875AD.

The river then turns south and plunges down the southern edge of the moor. The lanes here are deep and sunken, within lush mossy woodlands.

At Treverbyn the old medieval bridge on the right is no longer used. It is listed because it still retains some of the original 14th century structure. It is replaced by the newer bridge on the left of the picture. The river was looking very beery after all the recent rain.

The next bridge is Ashford , before the river turns west.
This bridge is listed and was built in about 1850 to replace an earlier one. It's construction is the same as the Draynes bridge.We set the moth trap here a few nights ago. We had a good catch and also huge numbers of various sorts of Caddis Flies were attracted to the light.

The Glynn Valley is shared between the river, the busy A38 trunk road, the main railway line from Paddington to Penzance and extensive coniferous plantations. The handsome Glynn House , most recently rebuilt in the mid 1800s has given its name to this stretch of the valley. There has been a dwelling at Glynn since before the Norman Conquest, with successive houses built on the site.

Trago Mills, the first of a chain of retail outlets first developed in 1960 on the site of the original gunpowder mill which blew up in the latter part of the 1800s. It started in a small shed where the owner sold various lots of bankrupt stock which he had bought cheap. Now notorious for its quirky architecture and the often tumultuous relations between the owner and council authorities, it is nevertheless a popular venue.

Further along the valley the river passes Cabilla and Redrice Reserves belonging to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. A large area of mixed woodland, this is home to the rare Blue Ground Beetle and is also a good site for butterflies and moths. Purple Hairstreaks and Silver-washed Fritillaries can be seen along the tracks..

Purple Hairstreak. These butterflies usually stay in the tree tops, but can sometimes be seen basking on leaves lower down. We have watched displaying pairs in persistent spiraling flight high up above the trees.

Silver-washed Fritillary butterfly.

Several adits in this vicinity open from old tin and copper mines and are winter hibernation sites for bats. Tony has done counts of them for over twenty years. One goes under the A38 from near the river. When he was little, grandson no.1 went too and Tony said 'he disappeared up there like a rat in a drainpipe'.This adit interestingly also regularly has signs of otter lying up in it.

Now the river runs south again, under Respryn Bridge, another listed, originally medieval bridge.

Some years ago the bridge was hit and extensively damaged by a lorry and subsequent repairs incorporated width restrictions.

The capstones of many of the local medieval bridges have been 'stapled' together.

The railway runs alongside the river in the widening valley. They pass the National Trust property of Lanhydrock House. Originally the property of the Robartes family, who were Parliamentarians in the Civil War and opposed to the Royalist family at Boconnoc on the opposite bank. The estate has many fine trees, many of which are veteran. An avenue of Sycamores was planted in 1648 and some still survive.

Less than a mile north of Lostwithiel is the National Trust Restormel Castle. It was built in the 13th Century but having at one time been held by the Parliamentarians in the Civil War, fell into disrepair in the 16 hundreds. It was CLOSED when we wanted to visit! Lockdown? or just the wrong day?

This is an English Heritage aerial view.

The next substantial settlement is the old town of Lostwithiel which was the capital of Cornwall in the 13th Century. It still retains some historical features.

It was a Stannary town. A Stannary was an area of tin mining and the five Cornish Stannary towns are Lostwithiel, Bodmin, Truro, Helston and Liskeard . This is where twice a year all tin and copper were brought in for assaying and stamping, and the coinage was made under strict rules and supervision. The Cornish tinners were very powerful and their Stannery Law overruled the Common Law until 1838.

The Coinage Hall in Lostwithiel still stands in the town centre.

The main road with its modern bridge replaces the wide seven span medieval bridge pictured below.(the seventh span is hidden by foliage on the right.)

The narrow old bridge at Lostwithiel.

Intriguing glimpses.

The handsome spire of the parish church of St. Bartholomew. The original church was built in the 13th Century with most of the structure and the spire, added in the 14th Century. The font has very fine 14th century carving. The church was extensively restored in the 1870s.

On the upper side of Lostwithiel the river alternated between deep pools and shining riffles. A moorhen flew downstream and landed with a splash in the water below the overhanging foliage.

A clump of very floriferous brambles was attracting Meadow Browns, a Red Admiral and a Comma butterfly.

Comma Butterfly.

The brambles were on the edge of the town's Millennium Park, a pleasant area with rough grassland, various planted trees and numerous seats.

Immediately downstream of the town which is the furthest navigable place on the Fowey, the river is canalized for some distance with a pleasant walking track alongside.The town's fortunes declined with those of tin, and the river silted up with silt from the mines so that bigger ships could no longer come up to the quay.

As we follow the valley, the lanes are full of flower at this time of the year. The pastoral countryside is very attractive.

This is a clump of purple Tufted Vetch.

A froth of white Hedge Bedstraw makes the warm air smell like new hay.

We next tried to get to the river at St Winnow. This is a pleasant little riverside hamlet with a little church well worth looking at. Usually very quiet, this time it was choked with holidaymakers - 'staycationers' in the current jargon. We couldn't park, so made our way further down and managed to find a secluded creek for our lunch.


The river has now widened to become an estuary. This is looking upstream at half tide. St Winnow can just be discerned in the distance. The lovely village of Golant is a few hundred yards downstream on the opposite bank. About forty years ago we admired a pink rose growing up the pub wall in Golant. I asked the landlady if she knew its name. It was Madame Gregoire Staechelin and I was able to buy one from a specialist rose grower. She still makes a brief but lovely display of blooms up our back wall. I have just found out her alternative name is Spanish Beauty.

Short creeks with brackish water run into the estuary. First, the River Ethy runs into a creek at Lerryn. This one is Pont Pill with an old derelict mill alongside the bridge.

On the west bank of the estuary is a china clay terminal where china clay from extensive clay pits inland, is run down a pipe before loading onto cargo ships. Back in the seventies there were several cargo ships laid up in the estuary near here.

The Estuary's lowest crossing, a car ferry at Bodinnick was avoided on this visit. Always busy, we envisaged this summer the narrow lane to the ferry would be clogged and the queue to cross interminable

The ferry crossing to Fowey. The Ferry Inn at the bottom dates from the 16 hundreds.


The estuary reaches the sea flanked by the towns of Fowey on the far, west, bank, and Polruan this side. The two towns are connected here by a passenger ferry. Parking is up above the narrow streets.