PATHWAYS TO THE PAST – May 2010

The 4th year of walks and talks amongst the ancient sites of West Penwith took place on the weekend of May 29th-30th.  Although the weather could have been better for the walks, that did not deter the many people who came to enjoy the varied number of interesting walks and talks about all aspects of the ancient sites in West Penwith. As usual, the different approaches by the walk leaders and talk facilitators all complemented each other, and provided a rich and nourishing menu of events.
                The weekend started with a walk led by Barry Reilly entitled Morning with Bran, a guided walk to Caer Bran hilltop enclosure and on to Brane Barrow. Barry’s ideas about the significance of Bran as a Celtic tribal leader added additional interest to this first walk. After lunch local archaeologist David Giddings led A beeline to Bosporthennis and took a good-sized group to the ‘quoit’ (entrance grave) at Bosporthennis and on to the Courtyard House settlement and Beehive Hut. This lesser-known area of West Penwith was opened up to the Group, many of whom were not familiar with the area.  In the evening Paul Bonnington took his usual slot, this year to give a photographic account of Digging up the Past, recent excavations at Carn Gulva, Bosporthennis & Constantine Bay near Padstow. Each of these excavations revealed something different about the society and beliefs of prehistoric peoples in Cornwall.
                On the Sunday morning, Steve Hartgroves from Historic Environment service gave an illustrated talk on Cornwall from the Air with some absolutely beautiful photographs of ancient sites and landscape in West Penwith and the Isles of Scilly, which helped to show them from a new and different perspective. In the afternoon Paul Bonnington led a well-supported walk to Foage and Zennor – to meet the ancestors, with much to discuss and learn about the area. Finally, to round off the whole weekend, in the evening Anna Tyacke came to talk about Found in Cornwall- the Portable Antiquities Scheme, with good illustrations of finds and interesting discussion about why they may have been deposited.
                Pathways to the Past has now become a well-established and much-loved event on the late May Bank Holiday weekend each year. Make a date in your diary now for the 2011 event! It will be on the weekend of May 28th-29th, and full details will be given here towards the end of this year.