Before the Winter Solstice I spent a week down in Cornwall. My wife was working down there and I had a week’s holiday to take, so I decided that the trip would server two purposes – I’d be there to support her with the driving and taking her out for a proper meal together in the evening, but also I would have the day free to visit many of the great places that Kal and I had visited in the summer – perhaps some new ones too.
I would be able to test how the energies felt at this time of the year, and it would also be a more leisurely visit, as I would have as much time as I needed to spend at any place. As it turned out, in winter, it’s not ideal to be hanging around in some of these exposed places getting wet and cold! And so, as each day arrived, I would pick a part of the county and head to that area, looking for new and familiar sites to visit. I got through many more sites than I imagined! Many of them I couldn’t find, or didn’t exist any more, and I haven’t documented that wasted time, but in the next seven or so posts I will take you through my experiences at the many places I did get to see. The experiences vary from simple tourist visits, photographic opportunities and walk to encounters with spirits and progress on my quests.
Come with me into Cornwall in Winter! First stop – the village of St Cleer on Bodmin Moor.
1. Doniert’s Stone
I was heading towards Bodmin Moor from the south. Normally I would approach from the east or the north, so I was driving on roads I didn’t know. By chance, one of these roads passed by a site called “Doniert’s Stone” – a tall pillar which once had a cross on it. Now it is broken into two remaining parts. Interestingly, the inscription can still be read, and talks about the person buried at the site – Donyarth, the last recorded King of Cornwall (then part of the tribal state of Dumnonia).
I found the location of the spirit of place for the site. It was very close to the broken cross, so I sat down on one of the stones to see what I could find out by communing. I firstly asked to connect to “Donyarth”. Here was the information that I got back from ym conversation:-
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He wanted it known that his name was pronounced “Den-EYE-art” with the emphasis on the EYE part. Quite insistent on that!
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He loved the land he was buried in, and this location particularly
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He thought it was “Eden“. I was fascinated that he would describe it in that way. Clearly Celtic Christianity had landed here by the 5th Century.
I asked if there was anything I could do, but there wasn’t. He was staying, and didn’t need or want anything from anyone. I began to realise that although I was in contact with him, we were not compatible. The longer I tuned in to him the less I liked him. These days that’s a rarity for me, and such sentiments are usually reserved for those who are arrogant, self-centred or haughty. Doniert had all three of these qualities. I said my goodbyes, and left.
There was so much more to see today, I didn’t want to hang around. I still had Trethecy Quoit, The Hurlers and The Cheesewring to see.
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