Nature and Wildlife walk in Kings Wood, Clay Area and St Mewan Beacon

6/30/2021

Great day out! Nature and wildlife walk in Kings Wood, Clay Area and St Mewan Beacon. Long, lovely and enjoyable walk.So delighted to have seen 4x Silver-washed Fritillary. It really made my day.

Kings Wood is a 58.5-hectare (144.6-acre) site situated on the eastern side of the scenic Pentewan Valley Road (B3273).

Kings Wood is part of a panoramic wooded terrain that slopes down the breath-taking Cornish landscape of Pentewan Valley. It is a designated County Wildlife Site, highly regarded for its rich ground flora and fantastic scenic views across the stunning south coast of Cornwall.

Trewoon had a major part to play in the china clay industry in Cornwall being the home to the Blackpool Clay Pits and Dryers.

The Clay Trails are a series of scenic routes for walking, cycling and horse riding for the general public. This is the China Clay Country where china clay (KAOLIN) has been extracted for aver 300 years, a process that has literally shaped the landscape. There are pits, that have become blue / green coloured lakes and spoil heaps, now overgrown and forming the "Cornish Alps".

St Mewan Beacon is a natural landmark lies some distance from the village, to the north-west of Trewoon. It is a tor exposure of quartz-topaz-tourmaline rocks that has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its geological characteristics. St Mewan Beacon was studied by Cornish mining engineer and mineralogist Joseph Henry Collins who published an account of it in 1914.