The RIVER LYNHER and FROGWELL
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The RIVER LYNHER and FROGWELL Today’s group of nineteen walkers will be passing two small hamlets over the next couple of hours, first Newbridge and later after a steep, meandering climb, Frogwell, however, as the crow flies they are a mere 700 metres apart. To begin with, it was time to warm up our aging leg muscles with a relaxing stroll beside the River Lynher through Cadsonbury Woods. Right across the Tamar Valley, the hedgerows are ripe with haws, hips and berries whereas in our woodlands the leaves are changing colour on the trees. Now Storm Brian has left the West Country, a great number of ripe, brown nuts have been blown to the ground in its wake, an autumnal bonanza just free for the taking. In recent years, with so many cooking programmes on T.V. there has been a massive resurgence and interest in foraging wild food for its culinary use. As far back as the Neolithic period, (c.4300 - 1400BC) early settlers have been exploiting the woods, not just for timber and fuel but for food too. However, there was another important resource - acorns! Domesticated pigs enjoyed acorns and Celtic farmers would drive their pigs into the woods each year in autumn to fatten them up, these would have been Iron-Age pigs, a breed descended from wild boar. Pannage, as it became known, rarely takes place in Britain nowadays, however since 1079 when William the Conqueror first created the New Forest in Southern England, pannage has been carried out there annually. As we all wandered through Cadsonbury Woods this morning beside the fast flowing river, I began thinking about nuts and with September and October being the best months for gathering this bounty, why then is there a nursery rhyme that goes ‘Here we go gathering nuts in May, on a cold and frosty morning’ when everyone knows you don’t harvest nuts so early in the year? Well the nuts they referred to were known as Pignuts which grow underground and look like this. The smallest and daintiest of all those flat, white wildflower species growing in the summer months are the Pignuts, a member of the carrot family. Their tiny round tubers can be harvested around the month of May and they resemble nuts the size of a hazelnut. To eat, remove the outer skin by simply scraping it off; the nuts are said to taste something like celery heart crossed with raw hazelnut or sweet chestnut. Some people are said to add them to soups and stews. People watching badgers in the wild have reported them “eating bluebell bulbs” whereas in fact they are digging up and munching the pignuts which often grow alongside. Studies have shown that pignuts constitute up to 5% of the diet of some badger populations. A word of warning, never consume anything from the wild unless you are absolutely sure it is safe to do so! Leaving the woods behind us, everyone set off along the quiet lane towards Callington’s New Bridge and once across, took a left turn towards Frogwell Mill. This former water mill was powered by a wheel positioned on the south side of the building facing the main road; it would turn day and night grinding the corn. One family in particular, the Bunkham’s, lived here for many years and I am reliably informed that they had 11 sons and that many of their ancestors still live in the area, indeed two of the brothers married two sisters who were the aunts of a lady who once walked with us. (Her Dad’s sisters) Once across the nearby stile, thick growth cushioned our steps as we wove our way across the two wildflower meadows, leaving a temporary ripple behind showing the way we had come. In field number three a good-size herd of bulls were grazing right in front of the kissing gate that we were aiming for; they stood staring at us as we approached in the bright sunlight but eventually they decided to head off down the hill. Once we were all through the gate it was time for a refreshment stop when a few of us went over to stroke a pregnant mare as she stood staring at us over the fence; I now know that the gestation period of a horse is between 11-12 months but when asked earlier, I had no idea; I also discovered that they can live up to 30 years. The hamlet of Frogwell lay at the end of a shady lane with the little chapel on our right. This has long been a Methodist centre and with the Bunkham’s being devout Methodists this is the chapel the entire family would have attended each Sunday after first stopping the water-wheel from turning of course. It was John Wesley (1703-1791) who is widely credited with founding the Methodist Movement. He first visited Cornwall in 1743 and proceeded to visit a further 32 times before his death in 1791. From the mid-18th century, Methodism began to grow in popularity in Cornwall – particularly amongst the mining communities, who took great comfort in its messages of self-improvement and salvation and chapels like this became the hub of the community in most Cornish mining towns and villages, bringing people together for social events as well as services. A short walk from here a footpath led us through a farmyard and up a shady, rocky track with water running down its centre but we were soon over the stile at the top. From here Maggie led us up towards a hedge at the top of this steep, grassy meadow. There were far-reaching views of Bodmin Moor behind us and Cadsonbury Hillfort with its unmistakeable flat top and steep sides, over to our right. Here a herd of sheep were grazing but all ran off towards the gate where we were due to exit onto the old stage coach route. It was all downhill from here and back across New Bridge; as I took my eyes off the rocky ground briefly to look at the aircraft vapour trails in the blue sky above, I spotted two Buzzards happily spiralling around a thermal. The perfect end to another lovely walk! .