Here in Australia we hear a lot about the Aboriginal
Dreamtime and their Aural History (or their Dreaming). After watching that magnificent ABC
production First Footprints which uses such aural history as the basis for
telling the story of Australia from the first arrival of people to this
continent to the time of the arrival of Captain James Cook and his crew to
Botany Bay, it occurred to me that we all have our dreaming.
Some years ago, I was visiting Cornwall, a county in England
where I spent much of my childhood. One
day I took a walk in Eastern Cornwall from a small village called North Hill up
onto Bodmin Moor. On the way we passed through a farm yard
where the various stages of the use of the buildings could be seen from the
barns to the present farmhouse. As we approached the open moor we passed close
to Allabury Camp, an Iron Age Hill fort, and passed many hut circles and also
evidence of more recent mining activity.
When we reached the summit of the tor we were rewarded a panoramic
view. To the north the view is to North
Cornwall whilst to the east is a view across the Lynher and Tamar Valleys
towards Dartmoor. Closer to the tor
Trewortha Farm can be seen and just by the farm there are three reconstructed
round houses. Not far away the remains
of two long deserted Medieval settlements can be found. To the south there are many remains to the
mining industry that was once the staple industry of the area up to the
beginning of the 20th century.
Granite was quarried and tin was mined.
Not far away are the remains of Upton Castle, thought to be a 12th century defended manor house.
As we sat there, I realized that I was looking at the entire
sweep of human history of the area from the days when people first started
living in communities and were involved clearing the land to grow their crops,
managing the woodlands for timber and
mining/quarrying for the construction of their dwellings. Suddenly two fighter
jets roared over the tor which brought me back to the present. Modern Britain is all around; the modern city
of Plymouth is not far away.
It was then that I realized that this was my dreaming. This is the story of ordinary people who,
over the millennia, have lived out their lives in a daily struggle to feed
their families. Today much of this is lost in the day to day life in a modern
materialistic society. We are losing our Dreamtime.
The Village of North Hill
A country lane leading up to Hawk's Tor
Hawks Tor
The Summit
A hut circle on the flanks of the tor
The reconstructed Roundhouses near Trewortha Farm
Two photos around the site of Upton Castle
The Hurlers - three stone circles on the edge of the village of Minions. The tor in the background is Stowe Hill the site of a pre roman settlement. A more modern quarry was dug into the side of this tor during the 19th century which has destroyed much of the earlier remains.
The remains of tin mine on Caradon Hill. These engine houses can be seen all around the county and also in Devon around Dartmoor. Similar engine houses were constructed here in Australia by Cornish miners and can still be seen around Moonta and Burra in South Australia
The follwing link takesw you to another blog I have been keeping of my travels over the past ten years. This particular link is of a visit I made to Rough Tor on Bodmin Moor. There many Prehistoric remains here and this was the site of a Time Team dig which was very interesting.
This neext link is the guide for a walk in the area which follows much the same route as I took that day
The following links give a lot more information
