Along the Cheesewring trail

After having lunch with my friends in The Cheesewring Inn, I thought it a good idea to walk it off by taking Zac on the Moor (Bodmin Moor, where my home is within a couple of miles of this inn).  It was a lovely, sunny day and he seemed ready and eager for a reasonable walk, so we set off along the grassy track that leads across the Moor to the Cheesewring rock formation on the edge of the quarry. 

Wilkie Collins described the Cheesewring in 1861 in his book Rambles Beyond Railways:

If a man dreams of a great pile of stones in a nightmare, he would dream of such a pile as the Cheesewring. All the heaviest and largest of the seven thick slabs of which it is composed are at the top ; all the lightest and smallest at the bottom. It rises perpendicularly to a height of thirty-two feet, without lateral support of any kind. The fifth and sixth rocks are of immense size and thickness, and overhang fearfully all round the four lower rocks which support them. All are perfectly irregular; the projections of one do not fit into the interstices of another; they are heaped up loosely in their extraordinary top-heavy form on slanting ground, half way down a steep hill.

It really is extraordinary, not man-made, but a pile of rocks left exposed by continual erosion of the soil around them, leaving you to wonder how it has survived all these years without falling.

We walked past a couple of ponies grazing contentedly at the edge of the track; even my close proximity as I took photos didn't warrant even a blink of their eyes.

Looking across towards Caradon Hill with its transmitter mast, which serves Central and East Cornwall and some parts of North and West Devon for their UHF and DAB services.

 Houseman's Engine House which has lots of information boards all about the mining history of the area inside.

 Time for a rest - I found a handy rock to sit on and told Zac to lie down, but he soon wanted to go further on.

There's the continuation of the track leading to the Cheeswring in the distance, situated almost on the lip of the quarry.  Apparently this landmark rock formation was threatened in the late 1800's by the blasting in the quarry, but locals banded together to save and preserve it.

Here's a close-up, showing the precarious nature of its position at the edge of the quarry.  Nowadays, parts of the quarry face are used by climbers looking for a challenge.

 More mine ruins, close to Minions village.

 A pause in the shade of a stunted thorn tree.

  And finally - as we passed the grounds of a house right on the edge of the Moor, a little flurry as a flock of hens came running to see if we had anything for them.
I love to hear hens chuntering and gossiping and felt quite sad that I didn't have any tasty tit-bits in my pockets.